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.
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.
Build your own custom vlogging rig to fit any camera setup
Vlogging has seen a massive boom over the last couple of years. But, there still aren’t really any perfect options out there when it comes to the gear used and how to set it up. Everything seems to have a compromise. You get touch screen, but no 4K. 4K but no touch screen. Or you get both, but the AF can’t keep up. Or you get everything you want, but you can’t see the camera’s LCD and have no idea how your framing is.
There’s all kinds of different workarounds out there to make life a little easier. Some options, though, aren’t quite as versatile as others. Switching from a mounted camera to handheld (or vice versa) can be a pain. In this video from DSLR Video Shooter, Caleb Pike shows us how to build out own vlogging rig that can be easily adapted to almost any setup.
7 LED lights for video or stills for under $50
Lists are good, we like lists, especially when they aim to try and save us some money while letting us get the best value. This particular list comes from Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter. In it, Caleb tackles LED lights, in particular, super low budget LED lights.
It can be difficult to know what to buy in this area. Some are cheap because they suck. Others are just really good value. But, if you don’t really have comparisons and some kind of frame of reference, it can be a bit of a gamble. It’s even a gamble when going with names you know and trust for super low budget gear.
