Gel Holder

With 3 speedlights and several gels for each I needed to come up with a way to carry them around. Something simple yet effective. So here is what I came up with...

Lets start off by talking about what I have to carry. I carry the following which you can multiply by 3 for a total of 24 gels. (You can pick all of the below cut for your speedlights from PhotoGels.com.)

• Full CTO
  
• 1/2 CTO
  
• 1/4 CTO
  
• Full CTB
  
• 1/2 CTB
  
• 1/4 CTB
  
• Full Plusgreen
  
• 1/2 Plusgreen
  
• 1/4 Plusgreen
  

So how could I carry it? First a discussion of the mechanics of attaching the gels to the speedlight. Actually, this is easy enough, I put velcro on the gel and use a speedstrap to attach it to the speedlight. Why is the important you ask, because in my DIY gel holder that velcro will also keep the gel in place there. Again, simple enough, no rocket science.

With the above, lets get on to the actual holder. The concept is to use a day planner and use adhesive velcro to attach the gels, one gel type per open page set. Very simple but very effective. Below are a few shots of the planner with different gels so you can see how it all comes together.

1/4 CTO:

Full Plusgreen:

1/2 CTB:

As you can see, it makes identifying the gels to use nice and easy and with the velcro in place I am able to transfer them in and out as needed without fuss. There is only one challenge I have faced with this system. The planner gets very thick due to the added bulk of the gels and velcro. It could be easily overcome by using a bigger planner but I wanted to go no bigger than what would fit in the end pocket of Domke bag. Hence, my setup looks bulky, but it is light and plyable, easily used and carried. However, in the spirit of full disclosure below is a picture of the holder on its side so you can see the thickness.

Anyway, take a look and give it a try, I think you'll find it usable. More importantly, if you have any gel holder ideas let me know about them. I'm always looking to improve my systems.