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Prism

This colorful photo reveals the secrets behind the Sun’s spectrum of colors

Jun 12, 2023 by Dunja Djudjic 1 Comment
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When we draw the sun, we draw it yellow. When it shines into our eyes, it seems brilliantly white. But as you probably know, the sun’s light is not just white; it’s a real canvas of colors! Researchers at the McMath-Pierce Solar Observatory recently captured this canvas in a jaw-dropping image I couldn’t stop staring at. It shows the colors of the sun’s spectrum, revealing some details about the bright nearby star. But the image itself is as fascinating as the information it conveys, so let me tell you what it is that you’re looking at here.

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This is the Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System

Nov 5, 2019 by John Aldred 1 Comment
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Lensbaby’s OMNI Creative Filter System was announced earlier this year for pre-order and is now shipping. It’s an interesting system offering some very unique creative options for both photographers and filmmakers. We stopped by the Lensbaby stand at PhotoPlus 2019 to see it in person and find out all about it.

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If you shoot through prisms and own a 3D printer, you’ll want to make this

Jul 5, 2019 by John Aldred Add Comment
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Shooting through prisms and glass or crystals of all kinds of shapes has become quite popular over the past couple of years. Lensbaby even put out an entire new system recently based on them. But the humble triangular prism is still the most used amongst many photographers who shoot through them.

How long this particular trend will last or whether it’s here to stay, only time will tell. But for right now, for those who use them, they can be awkward to shoot with. They’re smooth and difficult to manipulate in front of your camera. So, photographer and engineer Bhautik Joshi decided to do something about it. He designed a 3D printable holder for them.

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My review of Lensbaby’s new OMNI filter system

Jun 27, 2019 by Jake Hicks 1 Comment
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Lensbaby has become a bit of a household name in recent years and for those of us searching for a more unique look to our images, Lensbaby has been there to provide a whole host of creative solutions. Their latest product is no different, but this time around they aren’t producing a new lens, but instead a ‘creative filter system’ called the Omni.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of these Omni’s prior to launch and I also had chance to test it out on a couple of portrait shoots recently so I thought I would share my thoughts on it here.

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Lensbaby’s new OMNI filter system isn’t like any kind of filter system you’ve seen before

Jun 18, 2019 by John Aldred 30 Comments
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Shooting through stuff like crystals and whatnot isn’t a new idea, but it’s not one that’s really been developed, commercially. Sure, you can go on Amazon and buy a crystal to shoot through, but it’s not easy to work with unless you want to build some kind of custom rig or just hold it yourself in front of your lens.

Lensbaby, though, has been working on this idea, and they’ve created the new OMNI Creative Filter System. At the moment, it’s essentially a ring that screws onto your lens with magnetic… divots, I suppose, into which you can mount one of several different “filters”.

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

Oct 4, 2018 by Stefan Tell Add Comment
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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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Shooting through prisms at home or in the studio

Sep 13, 2017 by Jake Hicks 3 Comments
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In this tutorial we will be going over how to create gorgeous in-camera flared effects that can add a lot of depth and interest to a simple portrait image. To do this we will be using a glass prism which can be found on any number of online retail sites. The glass prisms are generally used for school science experiments so they’re readily available and very inexpensive.

25mm x 100mm glass prism on Amazon link here

The prisms are very easy to use out on location as you simply hold them in front of the lens and shoot away. If you’re looking to use them in a studio environment though there are a few key things to bear in mind to maximise the flared effect that creates that signature look.

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How a photographer recreated The Dark Side of the Moon album cover in camera

Mar 31, 2017 by Dunja Djudjic Add Comment
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No matter if you are a fan of Pink Floyd or not, I’m sure you know the cover of their iconic album The Dark Side of the Moon. After all, as photographers, you are familiar with the phenomenon it depicts.

Young photographer Mason Maxwell turned that phenomenon into a photo that pays a tribute to one of Pink Floyd’s most famous albums. He created a surprisingly accurate replica of the cover, using sunlight, prism and cardboard. It sounds fairly simple, but it was more complicated that you would think. Mason shared some details of taking the shot with us, and it was quite a challenging process.

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Use inexpensive prisms to add some colour and interest to your photography

Jan 31, 2017 by John Aldred Add Comment
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Prisms have started to become quite a popular photography accessory in the last couple of years. Their very nature of bending and splitting light makes them ideal for getting creative with your photography. Typically, though, most photographers who’ve adopted a prism as part of their kit, use the same type. Long, triangular prisms, more commonly seen in the science classroom.

But, there are lots of types of prisms, and other glass, crystal & plastic shapes that can do similar things to light. In a new series of short videos from photographer Mathieu Stern, we see how different types affect the shot. How light interacts with them, and what it ultimately means for our images. He’s posted up the first two so far, with a new one expected each day for the next week or so.

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Use a prism, gels, and camera movement for more dramatic portraits with flash

May 30, 2016 by John Aldred Add Comment
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Getting your flash away from the camera is the obvious way to start moving from snapshots towards portraits, and there are many techniques to add drama to your images with lighting alone.

In this short behind the scenes video from our friends at SLR Lounge, we see three fantastic techniques for pushing those dramatic portraits just a little bit further.

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi 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: from diyphotography.netAlex 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

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave 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: from diyphotography.netJohn 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: from diyphotography.netDunja 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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