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Brian Zimmerman designs

Studio Lighting – Home Made Cheap DIY Backdrop Stand

Mar 19, 2006 by Udi Tirosh 6 Comments
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In The following article, Brian will demonstrate how to build a DIY backdrop stand. The stand, along with matching backdrop will help to create a controlled environment, with good subject/background separation. The cost is very low, just some PVC pipes, muslin and two really good hands. Oh, and a wife to agree to place this in the leaving room.[Read More…]

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Studio Lighting – DIY Homemade Flash Mini-Bouncer

Mar 13, 2006 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment
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Here Brian shows how to build a homemade cheap flash bouncer. The flash bouncer can be used to increase the size of a hot-shoe flash. The bouncer is great and very easy to build. An alternative to the bouncer is the home made softbox. Another option for building this homemade flash bouncer is to use polypropylene sheet, it is sterdier then cardboard. Enjoy your read, Udi.[Read More…]

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Studio Lighting – DIY Homemade Soft Flash Diffuser

Mar 12, 2006 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment
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In the following article Brian Zimmerman will demostrare how to make a small, home made flash diffuser. you might also want to check out the diy mini flash bouncer guide or the diy flash softbox guide as alternate solutions. [Read More…]

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Studio Lighting – Soft Panel Frame Designed for Hotlight

Mar 12, 2006 by Udi Tirosh 1 Comment
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A stand made of 3/4″ PVC to hold a diffusion panel made of ripstop nylon that slides up and down and tilts. Sliding joint is made of a “Slip-Tee” as described in the Tinker Tubes document at “http://www.software-cinema.com/tinkertubes/tt-book.pdf”. Total cost, including 500W light stand, nylon and PVC parts is about $50. I also got a similar quartz-halogen 250W clip-on light for about $15 that I hung above to add some highlights to the hair.

A 250W light was hung above and slightly to the right and behind the subject to add some highlights to the hair. [Read More…]

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Studio Lighting – DIY Cheap Soft Light Panel Frame Designed for Flash (or hotlight)

Mar 9, 2006 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment
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Soft light Panel Introduction

In the following article, Brian Zimmerman will demonstrate the construction of a soft light panel frame. As Brian will illustrate, the soft light panel frame can be used to reduce the harshness of light, and to crate soft eye pleasing picture. THe soft light panel can be used to take portrait pictures, or still life picture. The construction is not easy, but very rewarding.
Enjoy your build.

[Read More…]

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Studio Lighting – Brian Zimmerman Designs

Mar 5, 2006 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment
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All the articles in this section were contributed by Brian L. Zimmerman. Brian has done a great deal of home studio constructions and was very kind to share his knowladge. Brian has built a homemade flash diffuser, a homemade flash bouncer, homemade backgroung stands, and other soft light panels. (I bring the information here in first person form, as a direct quote from Brian).
you can see more of his work at BLZphotos.com.


The articles in this section present various designs for home-made soft lighting panels and stands that can be useful in portraiture, still life or product photography. Click on articels in the section to see Brian's design for use with a slave flash (or hotlight) mounted behind the 3×4' panel on a single pole stand (what I currently use with slave flash). See the Hotlight Design folder for another lighting stand designed for use with "hotlight" illumination using the same 3×4' panel with an inexpensive quartz-halogen worklight. Soft flash folder shows a simple way to soften flash output on a typical flash unit, plus a tip for selecting nylon fabric. Other articles show designs for a flash bouncer, backdrop stand, reflector stand, and carrying case for the stands.
Disclaimer:
I cannot guarantee that any of these designs will give you the exact results you want, but they can give some good results with minimal investment of money (my goal), if you have the time to experiment and are somewhat of a handyman with some basic tools. I bought all the supplies I needed except the nylon fabric at a local hardware store (Lowes, like Home Depot). Ripstop Nylon is Item number 263-7783 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, 60" width @ 5.99/yard. Or maybe from looking at what I have done, you might come up with a better design to fit your own needs. I'd enjoy hearing about your own endeavors to use a home-made lighting setup.
References:
Dean Collin's Tinker Tubes: http://www.software-cinema.com/tinkertubes/tt-book.pdf
Todd Asher's Backdrop Stand: http://home.mn.rr.com/rayzorfist/temp/
Todd's Instructions: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1025&message=4158683

Home studio by Brian L. Zimmerman

  • Soft Light Panel Frame
  • Soft Flash Diffuser
  • Flash Mini-Bouncer
  • Backdrop Stand
  • Mini Flash Diffuser

© 2002-2005 Brian L. Zimmerman, BLZphotos.com

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex 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

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave 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: from diyphotography.netJohn 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: from diyphotography.netDunja 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.

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