DIYPhotography.net

I always keep my eye on the strobist flickr pool. It is one of the best places to get your lighting ideas. The other day, I saw a cool Corona shot there made by Nick Wheeler. Nick was so kind to share his lighting technique with DIYP readers. So, the following article is a guest post by Nick Wheeler, If you like this tutorial as much as I did stop by Nick's flickr stream and say "Hi" (You'll also get a nice dose of fine images).

Just recently, I became the proud owner of a new dining room table. Not a massively exciting announcement you might think (and you would be right), but what was getting me excited was the fact that it had a frosted glass top. While my significant other was wondering where to put it and what to do with the old table, I was thinking “I wonder what would happen if I stuck a flash underneath it?”

The answer at first was a little disappointing but after a while I was getting some pretty good results, particularly with bottles and containers of liquid. I was finding that with light coming from underneath it was helping light up the liquid and giving it a nice glow. The only problem I was having was the table top itself. The glass was dimpled, not smooth, and while that gave a nice effect, it was not ideal for every shot. The answer of course was a spot of DIY!

Click to continue ›

One of the nice things I like about DIYP is the community that is starting to build around it. After everyone has done a round of introduction, and got to know the general audience of this blog, I must admit that I still get a kick from photographers sending a note or sharing a technique via the mail, or on the flickr group.

The setup below is a twist on the 3 lights basic setup I got on the mail from Adam Hand. It is a great setup for starters, and HEY! it is under 100$. Adam, the floor is yours:

Any one who has worked in photography for a while knows that lighting is more important than the subject, lens and camera (look at Edward Weston’s work). However, if you research studio lighting you will find that it can cost as much or more than your lens and camera.

Click to continue ›

Beauty Dish for the Mechanically challenged a guest post by Just Fab

I had the honor of being photographed by one of my mentors, Don Giannatti (Wizwow on flickr) the other day after attending one of his fantastic lighting seminars. He chose to use a beauty dish on me. I love the way beauty dishes look, especially the way it sculpts the edges of my roundish face. Soft concentrated light which falls off quickly. You can learn more about the merits of the beauty dish on Don’s site.

Most of my inspiration for lighting setups come from that site and DVD. Anyway, I was so excited when I saw the images I knew I had to come up with something that could recreate the look that was portable and wouldn’t break the bank. Although I am handy with PVC pipes, my ability to use power tools are in question. I was thinking of cutting out a hole in a wok or mixing bowl, but I still couldn’t figure out how to rig it to reflect the concentrated beam back into the dish, plus my lighting stand would probably never stay upright with that kind of weight.

Click to continue ›

Photographer Nathan Moody Has posted a nice threatening portrait done with the strip light setup shown here.

After enjoying this great portrait and lighting,

I can see some more added value to this picture and discussion on the "picture flick thread" (click image to go there.

The first cookie is the method used to remove the light fall off - a bounce card under the camera.

A second cookie is fluorescent flicker discussion on the photo page. O'bran was concerned with flickering of the light caused by the way fluorescent works - they flickr many times a second depending on the current fluctuation in your electricity socket. Click to continue ›

Photographer David Greene was kind enough to share a cool lighting technique he uses for fashion photography. Using your everyday florescence fixtures and bulbs David creates two strip lights. Watch the flick.

There strip lights are good enough to go with f/3.5 on100 ISO which is nice, and you don't need to use florescence filters, cuz the bulbs (can you call florescence bulbs?) are daylight balanced. Click to continue ›

Reader Mike Coutinho saw the post about the studio compression pole, and this triggered something in his mind.

Mike told me about the Third Hand system (via toolmonger) which provides a very similar functionality.

Same as with the DIY system, you can create a vertical pole from floor to ceiling and hang stuff on it (Flash, backdrop, diffuser panel).

The extra value of this solution is that it does not have to go vertical; the top pad can support various angles, so you can go diagonally wild. Another "feature" is that the Third Hand comes ready and there is not much DIY you need to assemble the pole. Click to continue ›

Just Fab has come up with a great PVC contraption she calls the Ghetto Studio. It's a great and portable setup that takes great Glamuor shots.

I asked Just Fab to share her plans and setup and she kindly agreed. Below you will find the instructions to build such setup. Total cost is less then 40$.

We have showed a PVC setup before, but it was very big. This PVC setup can be used both indoor and outdoor. The bottom and top are tiltable, covered with Ripstop nylon. Bottom hasa car windshield screen as a reflector. The strobe goes behind the topscrim and bounces off the bottom to reflect up. Instant one light setupto do butterfly lighting. I did have to glue some of the piecestogether to keep it from falling over in the wind, but it's modular andtears down. The bottom screen tilts about 1/16 the way down, the top istilts in the middle. I can reverse those is need be. You simply shootin between the two.

Here is an image taken with this setup. Look for shadows under the eyes. Found any? No!

Sweetness by Just Fab

The next following images show the materials you need to create this Ghetto Studio, as well as assembly needed.

Click to continue ›

usefulguy from DIYPhotography's Instructables group has posted a pretty neat Instructable explaining how to make a photo studio compression pole. It kinda reminds me of the hardware store light-backdrop stand, but it is even easier to use.

The good news is the cost: all the parts cost 9.43 at Home Depot. Real cheap for an all purpose studio stand.

To make a good thing better, he even has a video showing how one can use the pole in a studio:

Click to continue ›

Reader Peter Boden a great photographer in general and a Bike photographer in particular have a neat way to creatively light his subjects - among them a BMW K1200 RS. Without a doubt a subject that needs respectful handling. Not an easy subject to light - highly reflective curved surfaces, combined with black-matte-light-absorbing surfaces. Not an easy task. But wait, there is more. Since we are talking Heavy Bike here, just lighting will not make the cut. Once you have achieved acceptable lighting, you want to make sure you convey the right emotion. Click to continue ›

Reader Michael Lim (zac08) came up with a cool snooted flood light. It combines the concept of a home made snoot with a clamp. The design is similar to a mixup of both, but uses a florescent light instead of a flash.

The bonus here that there is almost no assembly/DIY-ing required; it comes ready from the shop. As for hacking the right materials, the snoot used is a Lay's Potato Chips pack. (Empty of course, lighting is tasty). Here is what Zac has to say; Click to continue ›