Here are some ways to use foam board and improve your photography on the cheap

There are some non-photographic things photographers always have around. It’s not only gaff tape, but Foamcore or foam board can be your best friend in many photo and video projects. Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter shows you five ways you can use it for photography and video and improve your work on the cheap.

You can find foam board online or even in dollar stores. It comes in different sizes and colors, but Caleb particularly talks about black and white and how you can use it for photography and video shooting. So, here are some ideas.

Fill light

You can use a sheet of white foam board as a fill light for both photography and video. It bounces the light nicely and creates great fill for different situations. If you have some scraps, you can use them as a fill light for product shots, while you can use larger pieces for portraits.

Bounce source

Again, you’ll need white foam board. You can use it to point the light to it and bounce it off the white surface. It softens the light, and you can even use it for key light if you use a large piece of the board.

Flag

You can use black foam board to create a flag. It helps you control the spill of the light source and block the light when necessary.

Background

Here you can use foam board of any color and make a great background for product shots. What you can also do is put your subject onto a piece of foam board if you’re shooting it from above.

Cookies

Finally, you can use foam core to create cookies. Experiment by cutting various shapes in the Foamcore, point the light at it and get interesting lighting effects.

The uses Caleb mentions are mostly situations when you can just grab a piece of foam board and use it as is (except the last one that involves some cutting). But you can also build stuff for photography and video from it, like this softbox or light box. It’s quite a versatile material you can use in plenty of ways for your projects and improve the lighting or background for just a couple of bucks.

I usually use foam board as a bounce or a fill. What about you? What’s your most common use? Is it one of these from Caleb’s list, or you have some more suggestions to add? I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments.

[5 Video and Photo Uses for Foam Board | DSLR Video Shooter]

Doug Sundseth

For transparent objects, I often use black foam core on both sides as negative fill to get better definition of the sides.
- KC
  
  That’s true. I also use a black board with a lens opening so I don’t capture the camera in the reflections.
  
  These obtuse tricks goes way back: for clear glass or other ridiculously reflective objects, a can of powder antiperspirant can dull a surface “just enough” to not be noticeable. It also brushes off easily. A white grease pencil can also define an edge, like a highlight.
  
  Sometimes you have to be clever when you have to crank out catalog shots fast. I learned a lot of “you’re kidding, right?” tricks from some old photographers when I started out way back.
KC

Similar “tricks”: those pop out or fold up silver sun deflectors for your car also make handy reflectors in a pinch. So will a mylar “space blanket”.