Flash brackets are designed to increase the distance between the flash head and the lens in order to minimize the occurrence of red eye and to also reduce flash-shadows behind the subject. Great for Weddings in particular. Whether you need a flash bracket is a personal decision as your choice should be based on your needs specifically. Our needs were pretty specific and I’m going to show you what we ended settling on and why. After that I’ll go over some of the other flash brackets we considered.
When Michele and I started to venture into Wedding Photography we realized very quickly that rotating the camera and re-arranging the orientation of the flash quickly was a huge pain in the butt. Another issue that developed was the 4 AA batteries in the Canon Speedlite 580EX II did not last very long at the insane rate I was firing at the time, and long recycle times were all to often an issue when I could not change the batteries. I never want to be in a position where I cannot take the shot because my flash is not ready!! We needed a solution to both these issues and fast. What I came up with after tons of re-search as the best “Bang for the Buck” was a camera flash bracket, and some kind of battery booster pack for the flash.
There are a ton of flash brackets out there believe me, and I did some serious re-search before I purchased the Custom Brackets QRS-H2 Camera Rotation System. I found http://www.custombrackets.com in Popular Photography Magazine
The booster pack for the flash was a pretty easy decision as the Canon CP-E4 Compact Battery Pack was only $149.95. Relatively cheap compared to other booster pack solutions and it’s small and lite enough to mount on the QRS-H2 custom bracket as you will in the images below. I’ll do a full article on flash booster/ battery packs at another time for those interested 
This article is all about Flash Brackets!
The QRS-H2:
Check out some images of this killer flash bracket:
Official Specs:
The Custom Bracket QRS-H2 Camera Rotation Bracket is an ideal choice for use with Digital and 35mm SLR cameras. It has a built-in textured adjustable handle. The bracket is held comfortably in your left hand, leaving your right hand free to operate the camera functions. The unique rotation system-which rotates around the center of the lens-allows for locking not just at the vertical or horizontal axis, but anywhere in between as well.
This model has been improved by using roller bearings for the camera rotation mechanism. This means it is now virtually maintenance free. The bracket now also includes a swivel leg for better balance.
Note: Requires the optional #CMP Universal Camera Mounting Plate. Also requires an optional flash mounting plate (except Metz 45/50/60/70/76 series flashes). Please click here to see a listing of custom plates.
- Camera mounting plates
- Can be used with or without vertical grips/add-on battery boosters.
- Flash quick-release
- The flash arm features adjustable height and allows tilting.
- Bracket base
- Ready for optional tripod quick-release.
- System stands upright
- System stands upright, protecting camera and flash.
- System interchangeability
- Switch camera/flash from system to system.
- Accepts optional bracket accessory adapters
- Radio slaves, TTL modules, Focusing lights, etc.
- Aluminum construction
- Computer-controlled six-sided machining.
