DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Quick tip: Why you need bricks covered with gaffer tape in your studio

Nov 19, 2018 by John Aldred 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Studio photographers. They’re an odd bunch. And they don’t get much odder than multi award-winning photographer, Simon Ellingworth. Of course, I’m kidding, he’s a lovely guy. But he’s often asked why he has bricks in his studio covered in black gaffer tape. In this short video, he explains why.

To put it simply, bricks can be very handy in the studio. They’re heavy and can easily help to support things like foamcore panels, reflectors and other items when you just need to throw something down quickly and have it stand up unaided. They’re often a lot less hassle than setting up more stands and trying to deal with clamps.

But the problem with bricks is that they’re bricks. They often chip or throw off a lot of dust and they can very quickly dirty a white reflector or other parts of your set. And this is where the gaffer tape comes in. It helps to contain any dust to prevent it from polluting your scene. Using black tape also helps to prevent any funny red (or whatever colour your brick is) reflections from casting into your shot, too.

The idea can be scaled up to larger bricks, as well. Simon says he uses this same gaffer-tape-covering technique with breeze blocks (that’s cinder blocks, for the Americans) to support larger items.

So, if you’ve got a few bricks laying around, now you know how they can help you with your photography in the studio.

This and many more tips are included in Simon’s complete online on-demand course How to setup a Home Photographic Studio available at Trade Secrets Live.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

10 ways to use gaffer tape on set or in the studio Here’s 50 ways to use gaffer tape and some of them might surprise you Gaffer tape inventor and founder of Lowel-Light, Ross Lowell, dies at 92 Rip-Tie has a super strong alternative to gaffer tape with no sticky residue

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: Bricks, DIY, Simon Ellingworth, studio photography, Trade Secrets Live

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Photographers, don’t fight the shadows. Embrace them
This artist creates negative murals that appear when you invert the image »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • SpaceX shares unique view of Earth in latest video
  • Get ready to photograph two total solar eclipses this year
  • How I started (and succeeded) photographing space from my backyard
  • Insta360’s new teaser says they’re entering the gimbal market
  • Users report blurry photos from Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+ cameras

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy