Weapon stores are a cool place for photogs to hang out in, not necessarily because photographers use firearms (though we are constantly treated as terrorists), but because photogs share some of the same concerns of hunters.
Readers Michael Page just spotted that bullet cases or ("Ammo" boxes) can be used to store batteries on long trips where you have no chargers. Or when you need lots of batteries to stay dry.
The following sliced fruits shots tutorial is by photographer and artist William van der Steen.
The tutorial will take you step by step toward creating an image similar to that wonderful sliced up banana.
here we go Click to continue ›
Wouldn't be nice if you could setup a small studio on every table? Around every plate?
Martin Kimeldorf did just this, and was kind enough to share. You know Martin. He is the master mind behind gadgets like the Light Stand Portable Backdrop Mount and the Kimel Bouncer.
The next invention by martin is kinda like the diffusion panel that we featured way, way back on the early days of DIYP, only it is way more portable, and has a build in flash mount.
It's all Martin after the jump.
Gotta love strawberries. And gotta love strawberries in cream even more.
Maybe this is why my taste buds had me coming to this picture again and again.
Then again, it might be the technical details of the shot that drew my attention. Getting a nice splash is hard enough but getting strawberry on spoon splash is nearly impossible. Read on for some musings, thoughts and tips.
How did I manage not to burn the house down??
Well, first, my wife was not at home, LOL... and second, with the remote trigger in one hand, and an extinguisher in the other... just in case!! ;O))
This is what Filipe Batista had to say when I wondered how he took that shot. The extinguisher bit is enough to hint that no Photoshop was used to create the fire and as they say it the magic industry. Don't worry, that fire is harmless. Unless you touch it.
Filipe was kind enough to share the secretes behind this fire spectacle with DIYP readers:
Mrs. H. should have known better than to push Steve Hermitage (Flickr) into doing the dishes.
What started out as an innocent dish washing exercise ended as a lab for shooting tiny worlds of soap, and revenge taken against a Tia Maria glass.
This is just too good of a project not to share. It is a ton of fun and the setup is very simple as Steve explains in his setup shot (after the jump).
Until today there was only one way I knew of to put starts in my eyes - to get a hefty blow to the jaw from the guy you just shot candid.
Until today, that is. Until I saw Laya Gerlock's amazing Stars Ring Light. Fortunately for us DIYers, when Laya heard what we need to get through to see stars, he agreed to share the making of this beautiful modifier.
While I've done some considerable efforts to disconnect the Gordian knot between bodily functions and lighting, my efforts are futile once and again.
Visit Tony's excellent picture tutorial for the quickest toilet gridspot ever.
Click image for larger version on flickr
Of course, you can always make your snoot in a more conventional way - with a cooling grid or coroplast (or heavens forbid, buy one).
I'll admit, Super Macro Your Cell Phone Camera With A DVD Lens is one weird title.
However, if you just moved to a blu ray DVD player and you're looking for some good use for your old DVD, cnflikt (who also took the shots for this tutorial) came up with a hack to enable you to take super macro shots with your cellphone. Of course you'll need a camera phone for that. cnflikt uses the notorious, yet old-skooled K800i, but any camera phone will work here.
Two things about backdrops.
1. Studio backdrops are not cheap. A single color muslin backdrop can cost up to 30$ and the fancy ones with patterns can cost even more.
2. Backdrops take space. No matter how you look at it, each roll of seamless or fold up fabric take space. It is especially "bad" if you're using seamless paper. I mean those rolls are huge and having just a few of them will get you a 'sad smiley' with your significant other.
The easy solution of course is to use a black backdrop; a white backdrop and some magic to get all the rest. (If you've already gelled flashes till your head popped, skip right to the pattern part).
