This gives the construction details for building your own Flash Gel Holder as shown here for holding Lee or Rosco Sample Pack lighting gels on your flash.  If you would like one of these but don’t feel up to building it yourself I am also offering them for sale. Contact me if you would be interested in purchasing one pre-made.

Step 1 - Layout

Steps to determine the size to cut the plexiglass.

1. Determine the size needed to cover the front of your flash.
2. Add a approximately 1/4 inch to the width on each side to insure complete coverage. (1/2″ total)
3. Add 1/2″ to the height to allow for the 2 bends in the plexiglass

The width to cut the plexiglass will be the same as the width calculated above. For the length you need to double the height calculated above and add 1.375″ (1.25″ for the velcro support piece and an additional 1/8″ to allow for the 180 degree bend).

So for the Nikon SB-24 speedlight the plexiglass should be cut to 3.0″ X 5.5″

Step 2 - Prepare the plexiglass

1. Cut the plexiglass to dimension determined above. The thickness should be between 1/16″ and 1/8″.
2. Round the corners using sandpaper either by hand or with a disc or belt sander
3. Polish the edges. There are variety of ways to do this, I think flame polishing is the easiest.
4. Mark the bend lines on the plexiglass. The 90 deg bend will be 1.25″ in from the edge. The 180 degree bend will be located halfway between the remaining plastic.

You should end up with a piece that looks like the piece on the left in the photo below.

Step 3 - Bend the Plexiglass

Using a heat strip, bend the 90 degree bend first. Then peform the 180 degree bend, bending away from the 90 degree bend. The end result should look like this.

I have gotten a lot of questions about what a heat strip is. They are basically a resistive heater in a long strip that can get up to 900 degrees Farenheit. Here is a commercial one, or you can make you own from a toaster or electric heater.

Step 4 - Attach Velcro

Attach velcro to the plexiglass as shown below. Velcro strips work better than the dots I’ve shown but when I was building this I could not locate my velcro strips. I prefer to have the loop portion on the strobe and the hook on the gel holder.

Step 5 - Attach Flash Gel Holder to your Flash

Step 6 - Insert Gel into Holder

Select a gel, you can use gels from Lee or Rosco Sample Packs or cut you own from a larger gel.

You are done. Now go take some photos!

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