Can DIY Modifiers Compete Against Pro Grade Modifiers?

Last week I wrote about why you would want to do a DIY photography project, but can it match up to pro gear? Challenge… Accepted!

This week I did a whole photoshoot using only DIY modifiers for main lights. With the help of my girlfriend and her friends to model for me, the challenge was on.

The idea behind challenge was to prove that making your own modifiers and equipment is not all that bad compared to branded expensive material. (And before the first comment starts coming in, let me say that I do own a couple of Westcott softboxes and umbrellas, and I use them when needed or when working with high end clients, I just really like my DIY’s).

To start the shoot I used a DIY beauty dish (comparable here) as the main light boomed above the subject, and the subject really close to the grey wall in the studio.

I wanted a darker background so by moving my subject away from the background I can darken the grey wall.

To fill the shadow on the model, I got my DIY music stand triflector (comparable here) and placed it at the bottom of model.

My setup for this shot.

I moved my setup to a white seamless paper and pointed a bare flash at the background to make it slightly white.

After that I used my 4 feet DIY ringlight (comparable here) for my light source. I started by only using the diy ring light as the mainlight.

I was shooting at tungsten white balance because of the color of the bulbs in the ringlight. I placed a bare flash behind the subject pointing at the background, the light became blue colored because of the tungsten WB I was using, very similar to this technique.

Using a bare flash, I placed illustration board with cutouts to create these shadows. (comparable here)

The last setup we did is a shot on white. For the white background I used a big umbrella on the back of the subject to also get some spill on the side of the face.

So there it is, a whole photoshoot using only diy lighting modifiers. Share your own diy photoshoot below in the comments!