Is this the right way to put a Speedlite in an umbrella?

Setting up my umbrellas for the first time yesterday, it just didn't "feel" like I had assembled everything properly. The head of the Speedlite was way off the axis of the umbrella, and the whole setup just seemed kinda clumsy. It looked practically identical to the umbrella setup in the link below (see how the flash head is about 8" above the umbrella's axis). Is this correct? If not, what am I missing?

http://www.juliagreerp​hotography.com/sb-800-article.htm

Thanks.

Yeah thats how it works. Your bracket should allow you to aim the flash at the center so the height of the flash is mitigated a bit. It doesnt have to be perfectly centered around the shaft. There have been lots of modifications posted with users trying to come up with methods to center the flash more directly, but when you step back and take a photo of the umbrella with the flash firing, the coverage seems pretty even and can be measured at various points and generally the coverage seems pretty even. Shoot and be happy.

nathancarter wrote in post #12718630
Setting up my umbrellas for the first time yesterday, it just didn't "feel" like I had assembled everything properly. The head of the Speedlite was way off the axis of the umbrella, and the whole setup just seemed kinda clumsy. It looked practically identical to the umbrella setup in the link below (see how the flash head is about 8" above the umbrella's axis). Is this correct? If not, what am I missing?

http://www.juliagreerp​hotography.com/sb-800-article.htm

Thanks.

If you're referring to the setup with the Softlighter, the umbrella bracket is actually being used upside-down. The umbrella shaft hole should be on the same segment that flash is mounted on. However, that's not to say that it can't be used upside-down if that gives you better control in pointing the flashhead where you want it to point. That said, if I were going to use the umbrella bracket upside-down like that (and I usually do with the Softlighter), then I'd "bend" the top segment forward 90 degrees so that the flash head is closer to the umbrella shaft and not up so high.

The hole for the umbrella shaft should be angled upward at about 15 degrees. If that's not the case, either you've put the umbrella in backwards, or you may have the adapter installed on the light stand upside down.

However, in some older adapters that hole is not angled upward, but rather is just drilled perpendicular to the adapter body. If that's the case you may want to consider getting a new adapter.

the umbrella hole should be on the same side of the pivot point as the flash.

That's hilarious. A tutorial page where the bracket is used incorrectly.
How does the author tilt the whole setup to get the light aimed at the subject when the tilt is above the umbrella.

By the way, the best flash umbrella holder is the Pocket Wizard AC7. It mounts the flash horizontally with the head just above the umbrella shaft. Screw a Spigot into the AC7 and you can mount it on a bracket that permits tilting.

And it only costs about $35.

Thanks for the advice.

peabody2468 wrote in post #12719255
The hole for the umbrella shaft should be angled upward at about 15 degrees. If that's not the case, either you've put the umbrella in backwards, or you may have the adapter installed on the light stand upside down.

Ah, I was missing that. I got the Manfrotto umbrella adapters which do have the angled hole.