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How to create a stylized art shoot on a shoestring budget

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What do you do when you have to produce a stylized shoot on a shoestring budget? Use colors and paper, of course. I was hired by designer Ofek Bergman to shoot her new clothing collection. Well, hired is not really the term here, as it was more of a pro bono for a starving art student. As usual with this kind of production, almost everyone chipped in and donated their time in exchange for portfolio images, a learning experience, and a great day with great creatives.

With a very limited budget for art, we decided on a pop theme with strong colors and shapes. This would bring the costs down while creating coherency that ties Ofek’s collection together.

How I shot Sigma’s promotional photos for the Sigma fp

One of the things I enjoy about photography is creating product images, my good friends at Sigma Imaging UK recently asked me to create some images for a new promotion.  I wanted to take some time to go over how I created these images in the hope to inspire others.

The first step was to visualize a way to display the promotion creatively since it was two different options of free accessories you could claim when buying the camera I decided to create two images of each option with the Sigma fp in the frame.  This way people can see exactly what was on offer.

Here are DIYPhotography’s top 19 posts of 2019

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With the year coming to an end, IO thought it would be interesting to look back on DIYP’s top posts of 2019. I gotta say, its an interesting mix. We have some phot breakdowns like this Stranger Things themed photo and a killer light painting photo. But we also have a few news stories, some of which are showing the controversy and dilemma in the photography industry. We also have a few gear posts representing Canon, Nikon, and DJI. Lastly, there are a few posts that brought a smile to my face, like this hipster who mistakingly claimed that his image was used to tell that all hipsters look the same. Only to realize it was a different hipster in the photo, proving his point.

Enjoy this compilation and let us know what you would like to see here in 2020.

How I shot a nightmarish mirrored cat using strobes, constant light and gels

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A few days ago I submitted a photo to the new DIYPhotography facebook group, I am very happy to share how it was taken. Feel free to join our community and submit your best shots.

Lately, I have been playing with color gels quite a bit. While this is something I enjoy, I felt I was falling into a repetitive pattern. I started looking for a way to grow above the technique and use colors to tell a story.

Like many good things, my chance arrived part via collaborating and part via accident. My partner in crime was Yael.di . She is an amazing cosplayer. She is also a kick-ass hula hoop dancer, but I digress. One of her customs caught my attention. It is a one-of-a-kind full-body mirror outfit (check it out here).  I thought that this outfit, combined with smoke and colors would tell a good mystery story. Smoke and mirrors, you know. Here is how we did it, or actually did not.

How I shot my kids strapped to a rocket

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A few days ago I submitted a photo to the new DIYPhotography facebook group, it was picked to be featured on DIYP. I am excited!

Do you remember the things you used to fantasize about when you were a child? Those fun conversations you used to have with your friends or sibling about the adventures you would want to have? I remember clearly mine, and to be honest, I had a great childhood filled with adventures and fun.

I grew up in a big family, and my cousins and I were always playing outdoors and having way too much fun. We had a big house on a tree, we jumped down roofs with umbrellas pretending we were Mary Poppins, we used to spend lots of time on a creek throwing rocks, our family had a big construction company and my cousins, and I used to go around driving bulldozers, we had so much freedom! There’s even a story about “some kids” spraying bug repellent in their mouth because somehow they believed that that way, they would become superheroes. That story ended up with those kids in the hospital, and no, they didn’t become superheroes, but thankfully, everybody was fine after a couple of days…

This is how I suspended a model ten feet in the air for a magical shot

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For this production with Or Samson we wanted to do something that we did not see before, but we also wanted to raise the technical bar so the photos will not be easy to reproduce.

I was chatting with Adi Kropik (my go-to MUA), and we thought that levitating a female magical goth would both pose a good challenge, but also create some great photos. The art side was “easy”, we are not strange to magic. The technical side, however, was not trivial. We needed to suspend a model high up in the air, while she feels comfy enough to look good.

We did a quick goth in the forest search in google images, just to make sure we are not repeating anything familiar theme, and BOOM! no one has done it before. Getting inspired by Lord of The Rings we went for two looks, a black Goth and a white princess.

A team was assembled (see bottom for full credits) and the production went underway.

DEADPOOL: the making of a superhero

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Ever since the release of the first Deadpool trailer I knew I wanted to do a photo-shoot based on this character. The personality of this character leaves me with endless possibilities, from badass attitude to total irreverent behavior.

First step was to source a cosplayer with a badass costume. I’ve been searching for a while and finally came across DaddyDeadpool.UK Cosplay. As soon as I saw pictures of him on Facebook I messaged him. Very quickly he messaged me back and agreed to organize a photo-shoot. YES! We created a mood board (Collection of example images) prior to the shoot. Surfing the net, looking for Deadpool images, I noticed a lot of Deadpool & Harley Quinn fan art. This gave me a few more options to add to this epic photo-shoot. I came across Olivia Ward  who cosplays a pretty awesome Suicide Squad Harley Quinn. I messaged her asking if she would like to tag along and she agreed. 2 x YES!

Photographers create fantasy image in ancient fairy woods

Recently me and Joseph Parry got to collaborate with lighting equipment company Pixapro, on a promotional shoot to showcase how their equipment can be used on location, and in various environments. The Maiden is the first of these shoots. Shoots can be born in many ways, The Maiden was birthed from an idea I had a while back walking through the infamous Cottingley woods, which is not too far from where I live.

Passion, patience and process. How I shot my personal project “The Big Bow”

I think one of the most important aspects of a successful photo is what happens before you ever click the shutter. Pre-visualization of what you want the photo to look like can happen quickly where you immediately envision the final photo, or it can develop over time where you build on your original concept, adding or subtracting elements, re-thinking your take on it before finally deciding on exactly what to shoot. Then after you’ve ironed out what that photo should look like, you actually then go backwards, by reverse engineering the elements of what you’ll need to pull it off.

How I created a Super Mario world inspired image

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Mike Roshuk is a professional Photographic Artist, Illustrator, and Graphics Specialist based in Edmonton Alberta. He specializes in merging the worlds of photography and illustration, creating beautifully rendered artwork ranging from scenes of fantasy to pop-culture inspired images. I asked Mike to walk us through his mario world inspired composite

Whenever I’m trying to think of an idea for an image to create, I draw inspiration from aspects of pop culture that I have a strong connection with. This whole Pokemon Go craze these days has had me thinking about my favorite games from when I was growing up. Super Mario Brothers 1, 2, 3, and Super Mario World on the SNES were a huge part of my childhood. I thought it would be great to put a spin on some tribute pieces to these games.

Like with most of the images I create, I begin with a series of sketches. I took a look at a bunch of game screenshots for reference (although much of it was already burned into my subconscious anyway), and sketched out a few rough ideas based on the 3rd installment of the Mario series. Of course, I wanted to have a female version of Mario, and wanted to focus on creating some scenes with a lot of energy to them, rather than the typical pin-up style I’ve normally done in the past.

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