Child Proofing A Lightstand
Kindergarten teachers are gods. No really. Gods, I tell you.
I just had a really wacky weekend, where I volunteered to shoot thirty something little hurricanes kids at my daughter's Kindergarten.
They had a huge custom party and wanted some portraits to remember. As the teacher knows I carry a camera on occasion, she asked. How did I byte into this one could I say no? I'll post a complete on assignment on this soon. In the meantime, here is a little tip: How to Child Proof A Lightstand.
For on location shooting I use the Manfrotto 001B 6-Feet Nano Stand. It is light, folds up nicely and carries a strobe with umbrella or a snoot with out making the slightest complain.
It goes up pretty well on one hand, and feels solid on the other hand. Well, at least for indoor shooting.
At least that's what the little 001B thought until it met a bunch of nose-running-bumping-jumping kids with costumes.
Sandbags were not an option here because of two reasons:
1. I did not have any sandbags with me.
2. Sand bags make great footballs. Trust me. I've been there before.
I did carry some Gaffers Tape. I always carry some Gaffers' Tape. Actually, I think that if enough people will carry Gaffer's Tape on regular basis, the world will be cured of all its sickness - it is a miraculous material.
Any way, the solution was simple, I Gaffertaped the 001B's legs to the floor. Was this Karate proof? No. But it was enough to save the stand from falling on the occasional bump. (A leg closeup here).
This is where I have to say it again, Kindergarten teachers are gods. While I was shooting a kid at a time, and dealing with one more at the queue. The teacher: made a queue, arranged the other kids in a sing and dance circle, orchestrated the preparation of the candy tables, separated those two boys that always fight in the corner where no one sees, and did plenty of others things that I probably missed cuz I was busy taking a shot of one kid at a time. GODs I tell you.
The thing about Gaffers Tape is that it comes in huge black rolls that makes you look really uncool when you carry them for no apparent reason. Zeke from Nice Photo Mag has a nice little hack that solves this problem. See video below:
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That is one of those ah-ha!
That is one of those ah-ha! ideas. Taping the stand to the floor should work for animal shoots, too, I'd guess. Don't know why, but dogs don't seem to care if they break your umbrella when they knock over your stands. Very nice.
GAFFERS TAPE RULES!!!!!!
re: Ah-Ha
Dogs Small animals are a valid point. I guess that any situation where safety and some gear security is needed can be resolved with gaffertaping your lightstand.
With dogs, however, I hear about another syndrome the think-the-lightstand-is-a-tree syndrome ;)
God is a DJ :-)
Lovely photo of the real godess in the house...
The backdrop is interesting... looks like smoke in the background, together with the bluish spot. Nice!
When I was "assigned" to photo my youngster's kindergarten I took them out to the slide in the back yard and shot using daylight and a fill flash but that's kind of corny... that is why I like your artistic approach.
re: GOD
Thanks Ron,
I am glad you likes this. I found the backdrop thing to be very handy. I did not plan on using it at first. My plan was to project the flash through a pattern to the wall. Alas, my stop on the premise was too small and the kids ran too fast, so I had to revert to less strobist methods.
dogs...
I initially whacked my head - why hadn't I thought of this when shooting dogs? Then I started thinking of peoples living room floors and the fact that they might not appreciate gaffers tape on their floor.
Sandbags probably aren't a good idea with retrievers around either...
Sandbags
I wish I had gaffers tape at this one shoot. I made my own sandbags out of decoration sand and stockings. I tied the stockings together. The family did not stop laughing at them. It reminded them of a part of their grandmother.
I need to fix those bags... or get some gaffers tape.
Thanks for the post.
use a Rice sack, filled with gravel.
anyone who shops in Chinatown knows these jute sacks for rice
( the Indian stores have lots, the Chinese stores tend to have more of the plastic sacks, without handles ),
and gravel doesn't fall through sackcloth so easily as sand does,
and there's usually some gravel one can borrow in the laneway/parkinglot/shoulder-of-the-road.
Also, dogs that think sandbags are toys won't mess with the gravel filled ones.
Cheers,
Sandbags probably aren't a
Sandbags probably aren't a good idea with retrievers around either..
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