DIYPhotography.net

Elizabeth Giorgi of Being Geek Chic (God, I love this name) shares a great little tutorial that shows you how to make a fashionable camera wrist strap. The kind that is kinda like lanyard that keep cameras from finding their way to the cement pavement.

The stitching job is really easy and if you ever wanted to get into sewing (come'on I know you do) this is a great starters project, that will ease you in to the world of doubles, zig-zags and overlocks. (And you win a wonderful strap in the process). Hit the jump for a full movie tutorial. Click to continue ›

Have you ever gone on a family trip expecting to take great pictures only to discover that the camera either stayed in the bag or that you'll be sleeping outside the tent with the bears?

Or let me put this differently when you are a photographer going on a trip with the family can be a super cool experience. It can also be a nerve wrecking adventure both for you and your family if not handled correctly.

Here is what I have learned after years of traveling with both my family and my camera. Would love to hear your tips on the comments. Click to continue ›

Here is a project perfect for father's day.

I know how everybody loves a good duct tape wallet. But come on... We are photographers. Duct tape? Not in this class. We use the real thing - Gaffers Tape. And we use it wisely - to child-proof light stands, to make them invisible and to make lighting modifiers.

It would only make sense that a present for the one who raised you so well would be made from original photographic Gaffers tape.

Click to continue ›

The two films below shows two ways to mount a camera on your bicycle.

The first shows what great results you can get with simply mounting a video capable camera like the Canon 5D Mark II on the front basket.

The second film is a bit more technical and it shots how to build a small and efficient mount for a small camera. (Of course, you can always go for a super quick mount hack for small cameras)

UPDATE: a third video was added that shows modifiying a reflector holder to accept a 1/4 20 screw. Click to continue ›

It is not really possible to defy the inverse square law. I know I tried and failed miserably. But you can stretch it.

A better beamer is a device that does just that, it extend the distance the light from your strobe travels. So while the inverse square law is still in effect, it stretches over a greater distance.

Physics bla-bla aside, it means that light coming from your strobe will go further. Some strobes, like the SB900 has an impressive zoom functions that does just that.

Flickr used lonelyhome contrapted a poorman's better beamer using a cheapo Fresnel lens (around $1) and some plastic (I assume cardboard will do too).

The picture is really self explanatory. Click to continue ›

UK based photographer Ian Cornwell needed to take some pictures from the outside of a driving car for a an emergency plumbing service.

it sounds simple, till you factor in the low angle and wide lens. This makes sticking your head out the window and leaning over a really bad options.

It's time for a car rig.

Instead of going for one of the high end car rigs, or even our DIYP's poorman's rig, Ian came up with a clever concept involving three pieces of gear: an industrial suction cup; a super clamp and a ball head. Click to continue ›

Lagging lightstands is a bummer. They don't fit in the bag. They are hard and pointy, and in general they create traction. Lots of traction. If you are just going Bazooka with one stand this is OK. But if you have to carry a few of them... Darn!.

Photographer Peter Miesch was dealing with the same issue and came up with a wonderful lightstand carrying system bag much like the Standbagger that puts an end to the photographer's assistant misery. Of course, if you are like me and you are your own assistant, than the solution is even more wonderful. This project requires some sewing skills, so if words like zigzag stitch and bobbin make you go AUH? ask your grandma for help. Click to continue ›

Photographer Matt Kenney came up with quite a clever way to provide external power to his battery operated strobe (Canon 430EXII).

Instead of building a specialized case with a dedicated battery, or drilling a power socket into the flash, Matt went for the shelf product and used one of them $6, 6V flash lights (about a dollar a volt). I always prefer off the shelf products to making something new, always. Matt then went ahead and equipped it with a 6V rechargeable battery, and a charging jack.

On the strobe side, Matt used wooden batteries to allow the power to flow. IT get a recycle time of 1.2 seconds for full pop (holdya'rhorses SB900 users, it will heat up soon enough).

Matt was kind enough to allow me to share his picture tutorial on DIYP Click to continue ›

The post below shows a simple way to capture video while taking still pictures. Sure, there is some added weight and yea, video will not get a dedicated person and will just "follow along", yet, this is a neat way to achieve video with just one person shooting, This is also a great instructional tool for yourself to see how you interact with your model, what things work and what makes them shrink.

There are two versions for this mod - a dueler which mounts a DSLR with a video camera and a 9Shooter that also has sound attached. From now on it is all Elliot McGucken. Click to continue ›

In this post, Kevin A Crider will show you how to make a DIY Hard Camera Case the size of a suitcase. And yes, you can get a pro, feature rich version for $800, but if you walk to the closest garage sale, you can make a camera hard case for $5 and the price of the foam.

All this project requires is a suitcase that opens in the middle and a sheet of foam. You may use any suit case, but the ones that open in the middle allows us to store equipment on both sides. Click to continue ›