Reader Jerry Hamby just sent in this great hair light project. It is made from a cheapo 45 ws ebay flash and - believe it or not - a green-bean super value can (the kind you don't want to eat too much of at one time). Just before sharing his tutorial with you, allow me to extend two small tips:
1. Empty the bean can before using it.
2. Do not empty it alone.
Now, to the tutorial. Click to continue ›
Do you know those weekends when it is just to hot to get out of the home? Well just for those weekends we have a great weekend project. Actually we have two weekend projects.
The first project is a Foamcore softbox. We've had those before, even for small flashes. But this one comes complete with build and assembly instructions by Paul Both. To top sugar with cream (or light with diffusion) Paul also made a nice strip light - again complete with plans and chocolate syrup. (The designs were made for the 580EX2 and 430EX Canon flashes, but will fit any flash with minor adjustments).
Paul said the role of inspiring muse for this creation was Nick Wheeler who made the best softbox ever, just a little while ago.
Download the plans for the softbox here and for the striplight here. Read on for assembly instructions (flickr set here).
Nick rocks again with a follow up on the Better Softbox - a comparison of softbox lining materials.
One of the questions asked in the comments when I built my first large softbox was "would a matte white finish on the interior give a more efficient output?" I had to admit, it had never crossed my mind to use anything other than aluminium foil as the lining material as I had just assumed this would be very efficient. After doing a bit of research on the internet I found a table with the following values listed for the reflective efficiency of various materials and finishes: Click to continue ›
Anybody who's read this blog for a while knows that I am a big fan of Nick Wheeler. Not only he creates great imagery and photographs, but he also shares his setups, and creative process. If you did not visit his stream so far, you are in for a treat.
Last time Nick guest posted on DIYP, he showed how with a little time, two good hands and ingenuity you can create a professional grade softbox. But Nick was not happy and promised to return with a better design. And Nick is the kind of guy that keeps his word. Read on to see how Nick created an even better softbox (who would have thought this is possible) with interchanging lining and a truly genius flash holder.
In the previous post I demonstrated my lack of patience by constructing a Honl Speed Strap, while waiting for my Amazon Honl speed strap to arrive.
In this post, I'll show the accessories I built, and explain their various effects on a picture taken.
All my DIY accessories have real commercial products made by David Honl. While the lighting result is usually similar, I must say that Honl products look way more professional. (In fact they look professional enough that I bought some of them, even when I knew I can make them myself).
But, just before I go into the details of constructing and demonstrating the different accessories, I would like to highlight some of the comments on the original post, dealing with different materials that can be used to construct a better model of the speed strap. Click to continue ›
I really wanted a speed strap. Ever since the restrictive light post over at Strobist, I wished for one of those magical straps. If you are not familiar with them look at David Honl's site, it is filled with goodies.
"Why do you need one", you ask? Because they are A - Really good at blocking light. B - Small and can get in my small bag when I go out for a shoot and C - They are just too cool that I could not effort not having one.
I even designed a new one. (Not so good, more on that in a few lines).
Then I decided that I am going to get one from Amazon. Since I (like my eight months son) can not delay satisfaction, must take photos to live, I made a new one that really works (and inspired by the Thomas Schwenger Complete Two Seconds Lighting Kit). Click to continue ›
The Readers Project column is one of my favorite columns in the DIYP. It is a column that brings you DIYP readers to front page and let you share your experience with the rest of DIYP community. (See the bottom of this post for more projects).
There are actually a few ways to get featured in the Readers Projects column: you can post the setup and explanation to the Flickr Image Pool or Discussion threads; you can drop me a note, or you can give me a call (ok, no one has actually done this yet, but I am open...)
Spiderlights are a great source of light. Basically a Spiderlight is a mount with five sockets with which you can do whatever lighting you want: fluorescent or PL bulbs, hot lights or bulb-strobes (Jim from ProPhotoLife has a great comparison of your options here). The only rebuke is the price: if you want to get your hand on one of those, be prepared to bye-bye a few hundreds of dollars. Click to continue ›
Photographer J. Chris Hansen built the soup bowl beauty dish for his photography studio. It was all well and dandy while it was mounted on a speedlight. But when he tried to mount the beauty dish on an Alien Bee flash they melted. Luckily for us, Chris did not give up and upgraded the design to use stainless steal bowls. From here it is all Chris. 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 ›
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 ›
