DIYPhotography.net

Who said that hi-end lighting equipment has to be expensive?

And who says the only way to shoot with fluorescent light is to use the flicker-free kino-flo lights that can cost you thousands of dollars?

I began using this fluorescent lighting technique nearly 10 years ago, long before kino-flo’s and Peter Hurley became popular. I have been asked to describe it so many times that I decided it was time to put together a few tutorials to show how to build it and how to use it.

In this article, I am going to deal with the “how-to use” the fluorescent studio lights. Jump to the end and you will find a video and parts list that will help you build your own set-up for less than four hundred dollars. Click to continue ›

A beauty dish provides a light pattern that is kinda between what you get from a bare flash and a softbox. Beauty dishes are an awesome modifier tool, but they have one caveat - price. While branded beauty dishes are kinda on the higher range of modifiers when it comes to costs, they are pretty easy to build for a few dollars if you have a pair of good hands and the time to drive to a close by home depot.

Here is an interesting concept from Eric Ferguson. Eric took a roll of flexible LED strips and wrapped it on a can which he attached to an umbrella.

The nice thing about this mod is that unlike DIY LED strip light, you don't need to cut the LED into strips. This means it that this project requires no soldering, making it a quicka nd easy project to get the full power of a 600 LED strip.

I can see two obvious cool factors here:

1. A typical roll of 12v LED is usually 2 Amps, just right for the average power convertor for just about any gadget that you already have somewhere around the house.

2. This would probably be a great on-location light with a 12V battery.

, As much as I love the idea of light light in an umbrella, I think I am going to love it even more in a modifier that is has the light a bit more controlled for spill, like an Apollo softbox.

[via CheesyCam] Click to continue ›

OK, this is becoming a bit of a personal obsession so if you are fed up with lo-fi projectors, just move along nothing to see.

They say that there is nothing you can't build with Lego. This is absolutely true. Even life sizes houses.

Photographer Jacek Poplawski cobbled up a projector from a few Lego bricks and some spare lenses he took off from a "real" slide projector. Those can be found on eBay for as little as $15. Click to continue ›

Usually you use a seamless white when you want to take pictures on a white nutral background.

There are several variations on that, if the subject is small, you can use a piece of paper, and it you want something a bit more permanent you can build a cyclorama wall, but what about photographing a fire truck with that white background?

You would need a huge seamless. Or... a huge egg shaped studio. Click to continue ›

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that we are a big fans of reflectors. I would say that the 5-in-1 reflector is probably one of the most useful items a photographer can have in their bag. It is cheap and can serve for shade, a backdrop in a pinch and, of course, reflecting light.

The only caveat with the 5-in-1 is that it is usually a rather smallish item. Maybe 43" in diameter.

So, it has become kind of a ritual. Every year I take portraits of every kid in my daughter's class. This has been the 5th year and it got me thinking about stuff.

But first, here is the general idea. Each year I go to my daughter's school and take pictures of all the kids in her class. There is no preset date for this, but I try to hit one of two events: Purim (where everyone shows up in a custom) or very close to end of year.

I do not charge for these pictures, nor do I hand businesses cards to the parents. The teacher and parents are free to use the pictures as they please and more than once, the pictures found themselves in birthday calendars, fridge magnets and T-shirts.

I use a very similar setup each year, with the same collapsible backdrop. Usually with one strobe and umbrella on the kids and another gelled on the backdrop.

There is no monetary compensation in doing this kind of project, but I consider it to be one of my best personal projects as it intertwines with so many aspects of my life.

While there are plenty of wireless triggers around, the most fail-safe way of triggering a strobe is still by using a sync cord. Alas, not all strobes come equipped with a sync jack (pc, or 1/8).

Marcell, A.K.A Fiberstrobe came up with a way to add a sync chord to any strobe that has an optical slave. In his case it was everybody's lovable hackable strobe - the YN-460II. It synched wonderfully indoors but failed to fire under strong sun.

The YN460 does not have a PC or a 1/8 jack so actually an optical sync is the only solution if you are unwilling to add an external hot-shoe.

But, they don't call him fiberstrobe for nothing. Using Velcro, cardboard and foamies, Marcell created an optical sync wire that works on light rather than closing an electrical circuit.

[DIY fiber sync cord] Click to continue ›

About a week ago we shared a sweet little video by Tristan Shea Penner showing the flattering results made with a DIY setup similar to Peter Hurley's Kino Flo setup.

While the video showed the awesome photographs that resulted from using the setup, you needed a sharp eye to hunt the different build parts and schematics scattered around the video. We asked for it and here it is. Tristan shared the build diagram. Click to continue ›

Flash diffusers have always been one of the more effective projects on the blog. If you are a run and gun photographer doing events or coverage, you don't always have time to set up an off camera flash on location, and having a diffuser is the next best thing. (though you can still hold the strobe by hand/boom, foam it or mount it on a bag).

The problem with most of the DIY diffusers we features along the years is that they are either not very slick looking or that they provide only a small surface to bounce off.

Click to continue ›