DIY Macro lighting setup.

Macro photography can be fun and challenging. When the sun is at its' brightest, you can shoot at minimum apertures and fast shutter speeds to get those crickets in good focus. So what happens when there isn't enough light to get your aperture or shutter where you want it? answer: create your own light!

Sure, you could up the ISO real high but, by doing so you make the file less sellable as stock. It will only be a nice web sized picture on your flickr photostream and not much more than that. iStock, Getty and all of those major stock sites will probably laugh at your submission then give you the big rejection email.

I've tried several portable macro flash setups. From the ray flash, to the nikon r1c1 kit. All of them have their drawbacks and issues. Not to say my DIY setup is the best but, it's very, very good IF you've already own these key components, therefore bypassing the need to purchase more kits JUST for macro photography.

The Ray Flash is nice but I'm a bit bothered by the overall evenness of the exposure and the 1-2 stops light loss from the speedlight.

Nikon's R1C1 is pretty good except it's weaker than your SB800-900, and takes those expensive midget batteries. So on top of carrying AA NiMMs, you'd also have to pack CR123A's.

My rig consists of:
Custom Brackets CB Junior - Flash bracket
Manfrotto 482 Micro Ball Head
Nikon SU-800 Speedlight Commander
Nikon SB-900 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
L) WESTCOTT (2200) MICRO APOLLO

You can save a ton of money by using a sc-17 cord. I just liking being a little fancy, plus the SU commander allows me to fire off another flash unit off the camera.

You're probably going to wonder what the point of all this is, and why can't I just hotshoe my flash and light stuff that way. Well, try to light something that's inches away from the lens while the flash is on the hotshoe. Doesn't work too well huh? Even though you set that flash to disperse as wide as possible, it's still insufficient. Leveraging the speedlight with a custom bracket and angling it down in front of the lens creates a very natural light. Not fake and unnatural like ring flash.

The only drawback to all of this is indeed the weight! Holy hell is it heavy! Thankfully, I'm 6'2" with a membership to New York Sports Club, and doing a lot of curls has helped. Most would be turned off by this DIY simply because of the weight. Take into consideration I'm rigging a D3x, which is pretty heavy in itself.