Having a 7 foot umbrella mounted onto a lightstand using a traditional umbrella flash backet still finds me cringing at the sight of the slim umbrella stem curving (slightly) downward. Having posted here before using a two meter mini-boom arm as umbrella support (only, no flash on it) still requires the Speedlight mounted in a separate flash bracket mounted on top of the lightstand: with this old setup, the boom arm rides on the top-most lightstand segment (inset photo, lower right). Thinking minimalist, I've been able to to with just a Bogen reflector arm holder (top photo). Attached at the end of the Bogen is the generic Bowen's mount Speedlight "T" bracket with a SB-900 flash mounted-as counter-weight. The two small clamps of the reflector holder fastens the umbrella's stem at both ends via friction. My new setup #2 with the Bogen arm uses less gear, but do take note that the lightstand will cast a shadow onto the umbrella fabric, so rotating the T-bracket in the 9/3'oclock position should minimize this effect(not shown). After successfully testing this setup for stability, I had a small "eureka" moment there, but ey, lemme know if you guys out there have your own umbrella "stem-friendly" setups of your own.
