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If you frequent DIY Photography, you’ll know we’re big fans of the Light Blaster, a speedlight accessory that allows you to cast shapes and designs onto a subject or background.
Today, we have for you a fun DIY project that does essentially the same thing, except for your smartphone’s camera flash.
UPDATE: This giveaway is now over, thanks for playing!
Making an incredible image has a lot to do with who is behind the camera, but having some good tools to inspire creativity and open options is never a bad idea.
This is why we teamed up with Spiffy Gear to give away a Complete Light Blaster Set ($355 Retail Value)
A Light Blaster is a device that projects slides or transparencies onto walls and models. There is a commercial Light Blaster version for small strobes out there and it does have a studio adapter. But I, as always, prefer to go the DIY route :)
Though this article will have a lot of build info, the reason I made this is because I had a photo in mind and wanted to create it. Of course that once the tool is built, it pushes me to use it in creative ways.
A while back I saw the Light Blaster in a online shopping site, I liked the effect and that Inspire me to build a Light Blaster on my own.
My first order of business was to look for something that would serve as the body of the unit. I needed a material that is strong enough to carry a lens and light enough to not overwhelm a light stand. I decided to a use a small plastic food container from the dollar store as my Light Blaster body.
I always love playing with light, creating new techniques or finding a new gadget to help my images stand out from the crowd. I also love creating mood and texture with my light. So I would like to share with you two pieces of kit that are always at hand in my studio when I need to produce that slightly different portrait.
My two ‘go-to’ items when that extra bit of mood or atmosphere is needed are the Light Blaster from Spiffy Gear and the Universal Focus spot from Bowens. Though they produce different results, they are both similar in the fact they create unusual and sometimes bizarre light patterns. The Light Blaster uses simple slides or old fashioned transparencies to achieve this result whereas the Universal spot utilises Gobo’s and pattern cut-outs.
Having seen the Light Blaster image projector, I wanted to know if I could build myself. Kinda out of pure curiosity. I wanted to know, is building a Light Blaster would be a task I can handle.
The main idea was to mimic the Light Blaster functionality and create a slide projector that could project 35mm slides with strobe and an old lens.
Howard Ashton-Jones is the official photographer to Scottish Gymnastics, but likes to take time out on personal projects to experiment and get creative. Last week his new image shot with a Light Blaster went viral, trending on 500px, Model Mayhem, etc. Howard reminds us all the importance of personal projects and shows us how he got the shot… To learn more about Howard, visit his IMB page.
If you use the Light Blaster Projection system, there is a good chance you’ve amassed quite a bit of slides. I’ve seen people hack a Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket by removing the middle stitches that separate each compartment, but why settle for fabric when you can print a nifty Swiss army knife style.
This file from thingiverse is made to hold several slides in a sweet-looking wallet that kinda resembles a Swiss-army knife.
We are big fans of Spiffy Gear’s Light Blaster and have seen quite a few creative uses of it over the time. From jewels photography & commercial work through light graffiti , and even a wedding proposal. But studio shooters were always complaining about the need to use hot shoe Strobes with the system.
Today, the Light Blaster gets a new add on – a Universal Studio Strobe Adapter:
There are these moments I have, lying in bed, closing my eyes and there it is: that idea that won’t let me sleep. Most of the time the idea get stranger and stranger as time goes by, because instead of being asleep, which is what I probably should do, I get inspired.
So I wake up and there it is: The telephone call, asking if you want to buy four mirrors. A few moments later I am standing with my first cup of coffee in my kitchen to realize what just happened:
I didn’t sleep very well the next night either, because I started testing my DIY-ground-fogger.
Udi 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 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.
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