Light tents (also called light boxes) are a great way to shoot a product. They eliminate harsh reflections and create appealing highlights. This specific light tent from Robert Miler has a nice twist since it can fold flat for storage.
It is all Robert from after the jump
I guess this should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyhow: two flashes are better than one. Now you must be wondering why?
For starters, two flashes will get you a higher score on the GAS scale. (G.A.S. stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome). This alone is a good reason to get two. But there are lighting oriented reasons as well. For some tech talk and a multi flash bracket tutorial, hit the jump. Click to continue ›
We all love getting our hands dirty with studio lighting equipment. Here is everything you'll need to get a studio going. All the modifiers are DIYed so mark the next few weekends as taken. Click each image to get to the relevant project page.
A Beauty Dish is a flash modifier used commonly in fashion
photography. It has a great combination of soft light and fast light fall
off. When you look at it closely, however, you find out that it is
nothing more than a terracotta bowl and a plastic jar (or a small car
mirror). By Mr. Embrey.
The fact that Pocketwizard have a new TTL enabled unit is old news. The Flex TT5 and Flex TT1 have been shipping for almost a year now.
In the beginning the Flex units were having some hard time dealing with radio interference coming from some of the Canon flashes. This interference comin from the Canon flashes had impact both on distance and reliability of the TTX units.
The good news: Pocketwizard made a 580 radio-frequency-blocking-beer-holder for the delinquent Canon flashes. They go by the code name AC5 (I can only guess that it stands for Allocation Control, or Algorithmic Collision. Go figure).
The even better news: Pocketwizard decided to provide them AC5s shields free of charge to US photographers who bought the Flex units.
The not so good news: If you are living outside of the US, this offer is not for you. Other thing is that the AC5s will be free only till the end of the month.
Good news again: photographer Daniel Aqua posted a DIY tutorial on the Flickr pool that shows how to build a Canon shield at home. Click to continue ›
Thanks for everyone who took part on the Strobist Gel Collection giveaway from Rosco.
One thing that giveaway thought me was never to ask for notes on a picture of a doll that seems to have a lightstand attached to one of its sensitive parts. No dolls were heart while making this cheat sheet. Trust me. The notes on the image, however were hilarious, check them out here. Winners after the jump. Click to continue ›
After reviewing the Rosco Strobist gel collection, I just had to take it for an intense spin.
Since one of the main uses I see for this kit is the ability to color objects and backgrounds for creative effects, I did a little matrix of colors. (I am a computer geek, I know).
As with all the other cheat sheets on the site, I will go through the idea, the setup and end with a creative commons statement. Unlike the other cheat sheets, we are also going to have a Rosco Strobist gel collection giveaway. That stuff is near the end of the post.
I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Rosco Free sample swatch book program (I am not even gonna link to that, see why in just a bit). I bet you noticed that those fine babies are gone from the stores too.
Here's why: When Rosco made the sample program, the main target of it was to enable stage workers, artists and theater decorator to select just the right gel for their needs. They never saw it coming when a huge crowd of photo enthusiasts started to use those free sample swatch books for gelling flashes. Now why would you want to gel your flash and a solution to the problem + a review after the jump. Click to continue ›
A few days back I launched a new product - my baby - the Bokeh Masters Kit with a little giveaway to kick things off.
My first reaction was thank you. In little less than 48 hours, my entire stock of Masters Edition kit went down. As well as lots of Demo kits.
I am thankful for this great acceptance of the kit.
But you are not here for my thanks, you are here to see who won the prizes. Winners just after the jump. Click to continue ›
Everybody loves shaped bokeh images. So do I. Shaped bokeh images are those cool images that have all the blurred lights spear as a heart or star or any other shape.
This is why I wanted to share a very cool new gadget that's out there for creative photographers - The Bokeh Masters Kit. It is a pro level tool that achieves the same effect as we did with the "Create Your Own Bokeh" post way back when we just started the blog. Click to continue ›
In this post you will find a collection of really (and I mean really) cheap alternatives to pro lighting.
Will you get the same crisp results that you get with pro gear? Probably just an approximation. On the other hand none of those mods cost more than a nickel and a dime, so it is well worth the try.
