HD lights to mate with stand!!

Ok guys I am building up my studio and need some help. I have 2 Home Depot 500watt lighst that I wanna attatch to a lightstand and then fit that to an unbrella. So does anyone have a idea on how to make this work? Thanks much

A photo of the lights might incite some attachment ideas.

It is hard to reply on how the efficiently attach something that you have no idea of the physically attributes.

There are all sort of basic designs for 500 Watt lights.

Enjoy! Lon

I personally wouldn't recommend attaching two 500 watt halogen lights to any umbrella's - unless you want them to go up in smoke!

TeeJay wrote in post #2932536
I personally wouldn't recommend attaching two 500 watt halogen lights to any umbrella's - unless you want them to go up in smoke!

There are umbrellas specifically designed to be used with hotlights. They have been around for ages. Their construction is typically of fiberglass cloth. They are not even that more expensive than garden variety umbrellas constructed of nylon and other more pedestrian cloths.

There are a couple of these in use at my Camera Club and I suspect they are at least 30 years old. They are very rugged. I have cleaned the ones for my camera club a few times. Cleanup is easy, I just dunk them in a strong detergent/bleach solution and they look spiffy. This easy cleanup rigor is another advantage of the fiberglass cloth construction. I would not want to apply a strong bleach to nylon or other common fabrics. Glass cloth just laughs at such solutions.

I personally have a couple of smaller umbrellas made of fiberglass cloth to use with my 1000 Watt Lowel "Totalights". This combo gives me two relative soft, and relatively compact 1000 Watt lights. I mostly use them for video.

Lowel has these as do other lightings companies that specialize in hot lights.

Enjoy! Lon

Before I discovered flash, I took a few portraits using a work light (two 500w halogen lamps on a stand) and a silver umbrella. I used plastic cable ties to attach the umbrella to a central handle on the light stand. It basically worked but there was no way to adjust the umbrella angle.

I don't think it's necessarily a fire hazard, but the metal parts of the umbrella will get pretty warm and I wouldn't leave it unattended when lit.

Between the heat and the marginal shutter speeds I obtained, I quickly realized that this is not the best way to light portraits.

one of these

snokid wrote in post #2936797
one of these

and one of these

and a 1/4" 20 bolt

Bob

Your top "one of these" is made of plastic and would likely melt if connected with the bottom brass "one of these" to a 500 Watt hotlight. I think it might be an very robust glass filled plastic, but still plastic.

But, there are aluminum versions of your top "one of these" that would likely be useful.

Enjoy! Lon