It’s always fun and useful to learn skills, tips and tricks about lighting, and Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter has shared tons of them so far. In his latest video, he shares important things to consider when lighting a bald subject. There are five tricks which will help you light hairless people properly, and since Caleb decided to shave his head, he demonstrates them on himself as the subject.
If you don’t want to risk losing your data you need a good backup workflow
There’s one simple fact about hard drives. They’re going to die. It’s not a question of if, but when. And when it does happen, because it will, there’s two things you can do. The first is that you could panic, research data recovery services and spend a small fortune trying to get the data back. Or, you can simply replace the dead drive and restore from backup.
Personally I prefer the latter option, which means having a good backup workflow in place. Photographers and filmmakers create a lot of data. So, you really do need a good backup solution in place if you don’t want to lose weeks, months or even years worth of work. In this video, Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter talks us through his backup workflow.
How to make a DIY triangle LED “ring” light for less than $100
The ring lights are useful when you need even light on the subject’s face and the circular catchlights. We’ve featured several DIY ring lights so far, But Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter decided to make something a bit different.
He made a DIY triangular “ring” light, which produces the same even light on the face, but creates interesting, triangular catchlights. The total cost of the components was around $92 (it could get even less), and he explains the process step by step, so I’m sure everyone could make this in no time.
This is why you should use soft light for portraits and how to make it
The choice for shooting hard vs soft light is quite an easy one for many people. But if you don’t understand what the difference is, what difference it makes to your subject, or how to create it, soft light can be a bit of a mystery. Soft light is fantastic for portraits, though. It’s particularly flattering, especially to ladies, and isn’t that difficult to understand.
This video from Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter walks us through how to get it and why we need it. Caleb uses his lights for video, although the principles are exactly the same for photography, too.
Make a simple and versatile product lighting setup for under $50
We’ve featured several great, budget-friendly product photography lighting setups. And if you ask for such a solution for video, Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter demonstrates one in his latest video. It’s easy to set it up, allows plenty of variations, and it costs less than $50. And while Caleb focuses on shooting video, you can, of course, use this setup for stills as well.
Use GoPro parts to build the perfect monitor DSLR mount
Getting a monitor on a DSLR* can be tricky. Base plates, cages, and magic arms all come to mind. If you want something a little more compact, cold-shoe ball mount is the go-to option.
Caleb Pike has a sweet little solution that uses GoPro parts that make a mount that only tilts and does not rotate or pivot. This makes it extra easy to tilt the screen with one hand and not worry about it rotating around. It stays perfectly aligned.
How and why to use paper backdrops when shooting in a small space
Whether for stills or video, paper backdrops are super handy, especially in a permanent fixture. But they’re also useful when setting up in a small space on location, too. There’s countless portable backdrop stands out there capable of handling paper rolls, and they’re very quick to set up.
Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter has switched over from his old background of acoustic foam panels to a new, clean, paper backdrop. In this video, Caleb tells us why, and offers some tips on working with paper backdrops on set.
The best LED video lighting kit you can get for $500
With as much competition as there is in today’s LED marketplace, it can be tough to know what’s worth buying. There’s so many models out there that look almost identical to each other (or are identical, but with a different brand name). CRIs are all over the place, as is colour balance. As a beginner looking to pick up your first video lighting set, you might not even know where to begin.
Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter has been doing some comparisons recently for lights at different budgets. In his newest video, he puts together a complete beginner LED lighting kit for video. It’s a pretty versatile set of gear, and offers many options to get you up and running without breaking the bank.
10 video LED lights for stills or video between $50-100
Not too long ago, we saw a comparison of 7 popular LED lights for under $50. We all like ultra cheap, but sometimes you need to stretch the budget just a little bit more. Jumping up to the next level gives a rather substantial increase in both power and versatility.
In this video, Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter compares 10 popular LED lights ranging between $50-100. So, if you’ve been thinking about skipping the ultra low budget and investing a little bit more into your continuous lighting setup, have a watch. A couple of the results are rather surprising.
How to use your exposure settings for creative effect
Whether you’re shooting photography or video, film or digital, exposure generally boils down to three elements in your camera. ISO, aperture and shutter speed. All three of these things will affect your exposure, how bright the image is. But each will also change how the final image appears on the camera. Aperture changes your depth of field. Shutter speed changes motion blur. ISO determines the amount of noise you get.
There are differences in how you might approach certain problems when it comes to shooting video vs stills, though. We may be limited by technical issues, such as flash sync speed for photography. Or the 180° shutter rule for video. So, in this video, filmmaker Caleb Pike talks us through what each does, and how we can use them to our advantage to get the results we want.
