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How to make a simple $10 DIY disco prism for Profoto A1

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Controlling and modifying light is a lot of what photography with studio lights and battery powered strobes are about. Especially when it comes to portraits, I like to work with my lighting setups so they add something that is not perfect or flat.

Twisting and turning your lights to make use of the edges is one very effective way of doing that. Breaking up the light with a scrim, gobo or something else is also very rewarding.

This DIY project is all about a cheap prism from a LED Disco Party Bulb that I found for under 10 EUR/USD.

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Here are some ideas for photos you can take with a $6 shiny purse and your smartphone flashlight

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Mainly, I do photography for fun, and I like experimenting with random stuff to get unusual effects in my photos. For my birthday last year, a got a brilliant shiny cosmetic purse from a friend. It instantly became my favorite traveling companion, but I also immediately saw the potential for using it in my photos.

There have been a few occasions this year that I have used this little purse for photography, combining it with the LED flashlight on my smartphone. And I must say: I’m surprised by the funky lighting effects you can achieve with just two everyday items!

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Here is how the position of light changes your portraits

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The position of light in relation with your subject can significantly affect the atmosphere of your shots. Depending on where you place the lighting, you can completely change the mood of the scene. In this video, Mark Wallace of Adorama teaches you the basics and gives you a quick preview of how the placement of light affects your portraits. If you’re new to portrait photography, you’ll find this especially useful.

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Create cool lighting effects for video and photos using a projector

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Adding a projector to your kit might seem a little old fashioned these days. But projecting images toward your subject or the background can be extremely effective. Whether you’re shooting video or stills, it offers results that would otherwise be impossible to create.

Doing it with video is relatively straightforward, and there are many different ways you can apply it. This video from DP Justin Jones and Ted Sim at Aputure shows us three great ways we can use projection in our work. Specifically they cover music videos, but the techniques can be applied to anything. When it comes to photography, it can be a little more tricky, but it’s definitely possible.

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How to easily create four natural lighting effects with LED studio lights

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Recreating practical lighting effects for video and photography is a fairly straightforward process. You just need to think about how the lights are constructed in the real world, and then recreate your own version of it. When it comes to creating natural lighting effects, though, things can be a little more tricky.

Natural lighting effects can be extremely effective, but are often difficult to capture as they occur in the real world. So Ted Sim is back with another Four Minute Film School showing how to recreate four very popular and common natural lighting effects with studio lights.

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4 super easy practical lighting effects for video or stills

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Effects lighting is an extremely fun area of lighting to explore. In this context, they’re about recreating the light that we see in our daily lives with studio lights. While aimed more at video, the techniques and setups can apply equally as well to stills photography, too.

In this 4 Minute Film School video from Aputure, Ted Sim talks to DP Julia Swain about recreating several practical lighting effects. A TV screen, a projector, city lights and police lights. And they’re all done very simply with the minimum of kit.

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How to add glow to sparks in Photoshop

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Ever done a shoot, and what you saw with your eye didn’t seem to translate to the camera? It happens a lot!

You see a majestic landscape, you take a photo on your camera, but when it pops up on the screen it just doesn’t capture the beauty. The same happens with fire when you use a flash. It weakens the effect. I could always try shooting without a flash, but then I wouldn’t be able to freeze the motion.

I recently shot a commercial shoot for a family run, traditional blacksmiths in Malham. On the day, the hammer seemed to hit the steel in a beautiful crescendo of glowing sparks, like an otherworldly firework display from the heavens. But yeah, you guessed it, once I got home and looked at the photos the drama and spectacle just weren’t there. Well, don’t worry if you have come across this annoying issue because today I am going to show you how to enhance your image by adding more glow to sparks.[Read More…]

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