A large clamp provides a very flexible method for mounting a flash, and certainly won't break the bank! Using a large plastic clamp from my local hardware store, along with a 1/4" bolt, a nut, and a wing nut, I made this flash clamp in just a few minutes, and it only cost me a few dollars.

The built-in flash on most cameras is quite limiting, and a dedicated flash can provide a lot more flexibility and control of the lighting. However, moving the dedicated flash off the camera hot-shoe, and having it remote from the camera provides a whole new range of lighting options. The popularity of David Hobby's Strobist blog, where he provides lots of useful information about flash photography, particularly off-camera flash photography, confirms that lots of people are getting interested in it.

Assuming you already have a flash unit, you need some way to trigger the flash remotely from your camera. I have a set of the cheap Cactus wireless flash triggers (from Gadget Infinity), as well as a set of Phottix Tetra wireless flash triggers.
Instead of using wireless flash triggers, I can also use the built-in infrared communications capabilities in Canon flashes, and mount a Canon 580EX flash on my camera, and use it to remotely trigger a Canon 430EX or 580EX flash.

As you won't always have the luxury of a voice-activated light stand (ie, a person to hold the flash), you'll often need some way of mounting the remote flash, and you may not (yet) have purpose-built light stands in your camera bag.

I came across these plastic clamps at my local hardware, and they were less than AUD$2 each.
The handles of the clamp already had a small hole, which I drilled out to fit the 1/4" bolt. After inserting the bolt from the inside of the handle, the nut was firmly tightened to hold the bolt in place.

1/4" bolt attached through a hole in the end of the clamp handle,
and wing nut is tightened against the flash base

The flash (or wireless flash trigger receiver) is then screwed onto the bolt a few turns, and the wing nut is then tightened against the flash to hold it in place.
This allows you to aim the flash in any direction relative to the clamp.

With a flash mounted on the clamp, you can then and clamp it to anything appropriate in the vicinity, ie, a chair, bookcase, railing, etc.

Canon 430EX mounted on a clamp

Canon 430EX and Phottix Cleon remote receiver mounted on a clamp

I also experimented with some similarly sized metal clamps, but found that they had a tendency to easily scratch whatever they were clamped onto. While that's typically not a problem outdoors, the jaws of the plastic clamps are much less likely to scratch.

some of the different types of clamps that can be used

Have a look at your local hardware store - there are lots of items that can be pressed into service as photographer's accessories very cheaply!


Update (September 2009): I have posted details of an improved version of the clamp.