Top 5 Light Stand Alternatives

by Sean Setters

Let's face it, while light stands can be extremely handy, they can also take up a lot of space in your studio when in use (especially when multiple light stands are being used) and cumbersome to transport. Other times, a light stand simply won't fit where you want to place your light. Thankfully, there are a few good alternatives for propping up your shoe-mount flashes and/or studio strobes when a light stand just won't do or is otherwise unavailable.

Manfrotto 175F Justin Spring Clamp with Flash Shoe

1) Justin Clamp

The Justin Clamp is a spring clamp with a cold flash swivel shoe. It's great for clamping shoe-mount flashes to boards/pipes/banisters up to approx. 1.6" (4 cm) thick.

So why is it called a "Justin" Clamp? We have famed photographer Joe McNally to thank for that. According to his 2009 blog post:

I was hanging SB-80 flashes all over aircraft with these cheesy, flimsy, third party [lousy] hot shoe clamping doobers, and getting frustrated as [could be], cause the little ball heads really couldn’t hold more than a thimble full of weight, and they were always slipping and the flashes would spill light in unwanted directions.

I called my bud Justin Stailey, then of the Bogen Corporation, and complained. Photographers. We’re good at complaining. I said there had to be a better way, and Justin being Justin, found one. He brought some off the shelf Manfrotto parts over to my studio and cobbled this little Frankenstein of a clamp together. I said "Perfect, that’s what I want, give me 10 of them."

I wrote about in American Photo, and called it the Justin Clamp. Got Justin in hot water, though, cause his professors at RIT were pretty upset that a relatively recent graduate all of a sudden had a frikkin’ piece of equipment named after his own self. Justin is now with Leica cameras, and exploring the wonders of German optics.

So now you know!

Impact Super Clamp with Ratchet Handle

2) Super Clamp with Stud or Pin

The Super Clamp allows you to affix your flash to pipes/tubes 0.5" - 2.1" (1.3 - 5.3 cm) and also includes a wedge insert that allows you to securely clamp the device to flat surfaces as well. The standard Super Clamp comes with a hex stud that you can use to mount an umbrella swivel or a studio strobe (some studio strobes may require a Super Clamp with Pin). Also, if using with a monolight, you may be better off getting a T-handle/ Mafer version of the super clamp as the ratchet version may impede using ratchet mechanism on your studio light.

Avenger C1000 Drop Ceiling Scissor Clamp

3) Drop Ceiling Scissor Clamp

A drop ceiling scissor clamp is an inexpensive tool that is especially well suited for office environment lighting applications. Hop on a chair (carefully), reach up and affix the clamp on a cross bar and it's ready for mounting an umbrella swivel or strobe. I've had a pair of these in my lighting kit for years and they've been very helpful for on-location headshots (I typically use them with shoe-mount flashes to light the background or for a hair/separation light positioned behind a subject). Drop ceiling scissor clamps are so small, and so inexpensive, there's no excuse not have at least a couple of them in your lighting kit.

Avenger F1000 Pump Cup with Baby Swivel Pin

4) Suction Cup with Baby Pin

If you don't have room to set up a light stand, but you have a smooth, flat surface (such as glass) available, the Avenger Pump Cup can really save the day. With a load capacity rating of 4.41 lbs (2 kg), you won't want to use this tool with heavy modifiers on your lights. However, for loads within the load capacity rating, the stability of this device is impressive. I recently got a second one to use in my automobile boom rig, and decided to test the new F1000 before having to depend on it for a shoot. After pumping the cup to the proper suction (the red line disappears), the tool was impossible to remove from a window pane. In fact, it remained there for 3 days (with me trying to release it each day) before it finally released after a significant amount of effort.

Note that Avenger makes a swivel pin version (seen above) and one with a straight pin. While the straight pin model is slightly less expensive, I think the versatility afforded by the swivel pin is well worth its slightly higher price.

Impact 3in Baby Pin Wall Plate

5) Baby Pin Wall Plate

For permanent studio applications, baby pin wall plates provide fixed mounting options at a bargain price compared to quality light stands. For less than $15.00 and the cost of 4 screws, you can mount a 3" or 6" (7.6 or 15.2 cm) baby pin wall plate to your ceiling, a wall stud or a support beam/column. For those with small studios, mounting your lights to the walls and ceiling can help you maximize the space you have for posing your subjects. On that note, I recently installed an Avenger F805 6.0" Baby Wall Plate to a ceiling support beam in my studio so that I could leave a hair/separation light semi-permanently installed in a typically optimal location.

Wrap-Up

Don't get me wrong, I love light stands, especially C-stands and my personal favorite, the Matthews Maxi Kit Steel Stand. But there are times when adding a (or another) light stand to your setup is impractical or even impossible, given certain constraints. In those situations, the tools above can provide you with various ways to mount your lights without requiring the use of a light stand. Also, don't underestimate the importance of minimizing the number of light stands you have set up for a particular session; one less light stand erected means there is one less light stand leg for your subject (or yourself) to trip over, possibly causing injury or equipment damage in the process.

Posted: 2/8/2018 7:27:52 AM ET   Posted By: Sean
Posted to: Canon News, Sony News    Category: Photo Tips and Stories
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