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DIY backdrops for home shoots and lighting setup

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Bored of being stuck indoors yet? Shooting against the same white background all the time can get tiresome, so why not switch it up with some creative DIY alternatives.

Early on in my photographic career, I spent literally thousands of hours photographing subjects in front of white walls. This was an incredibly popular look in the 90’s as we moved away from the grey and brown cloudy backdrops of the 1980’s, but times are changing once again as we tire of the stark and clinical look of a pure white backdrop.

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Cheap DIY system for controlling daylight in your studio

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One of the advantages of artificial lighting is that you can control it and direct it as you like. Controlling daylight is another story. It’s not so easy to increase it or reduce it to your liking, especially not to be super-precise with it. Koldunov Brothers have come up with a clever DIY solution for adjusting the amount of natural light in your studio. It seems pretty simple to make, it takes very little investment and a bit of your good will.

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Tips and tricks for building a DIY home studio on a budget

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Building a studio in your home is the dream for many photographers. Assuming you can convince the rest of your family it’s a good idea, it can even become a reality. For those just getting into studio photography, building a home studio may be an afterthought to a home you already own. You may be very limited on space, so how can you make the most of it?

In this video, photographer Joe Edelman walks us through his home studio. While many of us might not be able to dedicate the space that Joe has, there’s always ways to make things feel bigger than they are. Joe shows us some of his space saving tips, as well as props and tools which serve multiple functions. No matter how large or small your studio, there are always ways to optimise your space and workflow.

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A step by step tutorial on building an IKEA beauty dish

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I converted an IKEA lamp to a beauty dish a while ago and I was surprised of the result. I found a description when I was looking for other things and got curious if that really would work. I decided to try and I bought one at a visit to IKEA. But the one I bought was in aluminium finish and not white as the one below.

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How To Take A Classic Three Light Studio Portrait With Hardware Store LED Light Bulbs

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When I was getting started with photography, I knew that I had to learn how to light a subject indoors, but I couldn’t afford studio strobes – or even a hot shoe flash.

I ended up learning how to use artificial light by re-purposing a set of three 500 watt halogen work lights.  They turned a room into a sauna, constantly blew fuses and occasionally melted down my DIY light mods, but they taught me how to visualize light.

So when I was putting together my second studio lighting class at Skillshare, I though that it would be fun to return to my roots and photograph a classic three light studio portrait using hardware store LED light bulbs.

In this article I will show you how its done.

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Create an Epic DIY Battery Charging Station For Your Gear

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Charging batteries is an everyday part of the 21st-century photographer’s life.  While we shared earlier today how to prevent a battery fire, this little bit of awesome may do just the opposite.  (Okay, so, not really…)

The video production team at Vimeo put together a great tutorial on how they constructed the most epic battery charging station in recent history.

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Brooke Shaden Explains How To Light Portraits With Nothing But A House Lamp

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Brooke Shaden is the kind of inventive photographer who prefers to do-it-herself rather than spends wheelbarrows of money on expensive studio lighting and modifiers. Instead, Shaden challenges us to get creative with what resources we have available to us. In this case, it was one or two basic house lamps from Ikea. (And if you really want to get elaborate with your set up, she also explains how to use a tissue to diffuse the light from the lamps.)[Read More…]

Shooting a Commercial Image With Trash and Walmart Gear

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The heart of DIYP is about creating much from little, using what is on-hand or can be cheaply fashioned to achieve quality results. That is exactly what this post is about. Not gun control, not gun rights, or even the timeless tradition of hunting. As we know, there is no better way to send a conversation with an American into verbal bloodshed than by mentioning the Second Amendment, socialized healthcare, or the fact Tampa Bay actually has an NFL team.

I attribute a great portion of my rekindled interest in photography to the late Bill Simone, a phenomenal commercial photographer whose work for one of my previous employers was dynamic and emotive, especially to a young adult whose previous exposure to photography had primarily been relegated to a 35mm camera. Some of my favorite images from Bill were simple, single-light setups that seemed to draw the viewer into the photo, and they looked great in a glossy catalog!

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Getting Creative With A Master Clamp — Are They The Ultimate Multipurpose Photographers Tool?

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For about $35, you can purchase a Tether Tools Master Clamp (or a Manfrotto Super Clamp) a multi-purpose gear holder that can be attached to just about anything thanks to it’s incredibly versatile design. The aptly named Master Clamp is the perfect tool to call on when you’re in a bind (or not) and need to figure out a way to rig a difficult or complex  setup, as most photographers and videographers inevitably will. This Clamp, under different brands, has already made a name for itself as a must have item in a lot of professionals gear bags and with good reason–you can use them for a lot of different things.
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How To Build A 22 Gallon High Speed Photography Studio

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High speed photography has a tendency to be messy (broken glass, water and other flying debris) and potentially dangerous (guns, and that flying debris again). However it’s the need for darkness which can prove to be the biggest problem. Having built a high-speed laser trigger, I needed a way of actually using it to take some photos. This presented me with a puzzle, as I work in an open plan office and have small children at home. Neither lend themselves to blacked-out rooms, flying shards of glass and small arms. The solution I came up with manages to solve all of these problems and more, and is I think worth trying even by those who are lucky enough to have access to real studios.

My inspiration was the film changing bag, which is simply a light-proof bag with elasticated holes for arms. This is great for times when you need complete darkness but don’t have a darkroom, such as when you’re loading a film into a developing tank. Clearly a bag would be no use here, but perhaps a box would do. I looked at the large, black recycling boxes that we have around here and thought they may be on the right track. A quick search on Amazon for the largest black plastic box I could find turned up this 84 litre (22 gallon) beauty, complete with lid for £21 ($37). It sits comfortably on my desk, and is easily stored underneath it.

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