DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting

Control Your Flash Settings With a TV Remote Control

udijw — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:13:55 +0000

Controlling your strobe from a distance has always been a priority for off camera flash photographers. If TTL works for you, you can extend your TTL cable quite a bit using a simple Cat5e hack.

But what if you could do this remotely. and I mean skipping the whole walking to the flash and adjusting it bit. (Or asking your assistant to do so, assuming you have an assistant). Up until now remote controlling your strobe like this was a benefit saved for Profoto Air Remote ($325 remote only) and profoto heads, or Radio Popper Jrx owners (Strobist review here).

Now this very exciting feature is available for the oh so cheap YN460 manual flash ($69 + about $10 in remote parts) - read the howto after the jump.

DIY FlashBender

udijw — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:42:08 +0000

In this post reader Bob Jordan walks us through a DIY one-piece, strobe modifier, which is kinda like a FlashBender. Which in turn kinda remind me of the Honl system (which also has a Honl DIY version).

I am a big fan of the Honl speed strap system and have been using it along with my DIY straps and other additions for a long time. The high control along with the very light weight serve as an excellent on the go modifier system. While I have never tried the Bender, it looks like a worthy alternative. <switching to Jondan>

A DIY 9Shooter: Shooting Stills & Video Simultaneously & Audio Too!

udijw — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:06:51 +0000

The post below shows a simple way to capture video while taking still pictures. Sure, there is some added weight and yea, video will not get a dedicated person and will just "follow along", yet, this is a neat way to achieve video with just one person shooting, This is also a great instructional tool for yourself to see how you interact with your model, what things work and what makes them shrink.

There are two versions for this mod - a dueler which mounts a DSLR with a video camera and a 9Shooter that also has sound attached. From now on it is all Elliot McGucken.

A DIY Clip Gel Holder

udijw — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:16:27 +0000

We have featured some awsome gel holders on the site before. But never one with this simple approach. It is fast to mount, easy to use and leave no residue on the strobe.

It also fits any size flash and any size gel, how cool is that?

Thanks, Jerry R Hamby, for this awsome build.

Interview With Caleb Charland

udijw — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:45:48 +0000

Caleb Charland is a photographer that captures the everyday physical phenomena which we never think about in a unique and inspiring way.

DIYP was lucky enough to have Caleb for an interview.

DIYP: Can you tell us about yourself and your background?

CC: When I talk about my work I need to share the experiences that made me wonder. Those moments when I began to think about the world, to show from where the pieces fell.

I grew up in a do it yourself household and learned to appreciate the power that tools and materials hold.

Ghetto Magic Arm From An Old Golf Club

udijw — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:53:56 +0000

Photographer David Martinez thought that $110 is a bit too much for a magic arm. He came up with his own version for half the price. It's all David from here.

Over the years I have found a few broken clubs laying near tee boxes on golf courses. Graphite shafts are usually very stiff and I always thought they might be repurposed. So I have collected a few of them. Well it just happened that I was in thinking about buying a Magic Arm recently. A friend had one and it was pretty sweet but the price was kinda crazy.

Photek SoftLigher II - A Product Review

udijw — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:43:18 +0000

Lately I've been finding myself wanting more out of my all around umbrella. I've been using the Westcott double fold umbrella for a long time now as my main on location modifier. While I am generally happy with it as a softening device, I wanted to have some more options in my bag without giving up on portability.

The Softlighter II by Photek provides an interesting option for that sake. I've been using it for a few days and in general I am pretty happy.

The images on this review are from a recent shoot for Jim Ridolfo profile pic. Jim Ridolfo is an Assistant Professor of Composition and Rhetoric at The University of Cincinnati.

DIY iPhone Teleprompter

udijw — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:28:39 +0000

UPDATE: Martin Just added an explanatory image of the model along with a sketchup model for the matte box. See image and links at the bottom of the page.

DIYP don't often feature video or iPhone hack. It does, but not often. When I see a hack that is both video and iPhone, though, the little geek inside of me simply commands a post.

Reader Martin Taylor came up with a very cool teleprompter project. It requires nothing more than an iPhone, a Fresnel sheet magnifier and a sample piece of beam splitter glass. It is designed for 50mm lenses.

OK, a Teleprompter is the thing that news persons read from when they sit down. It's kinda like the scrolling opening of StarWars. (this is why it looks like newsman are watching ping-pong while broadcasting the news). The cool thing is that the camera sits right behind the teleprompter so it looks like the anchor is looking straight at the camera.

SyLights Goes Mobile And SLR Allows You To "Pre Check" Your Lighting

udijw — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:09:33 +0000

Looks like the Strobist community is taking over the iPhone apps stores.

Two new members to that community - the new Studio Rig Locator and an iPhone port of SyLights.

SLR - Studio Rig Locator is an app that not only allows you to position lighting elements in the studio, but also allows a somewhat weird preview on the newly lit model. (this app is a paid app £3.49)

The other new iPhone App is a SyLights port to the iPhone. And really, I like the mobile version even more that I like the SyLights site (which is not that shabby at all). SyLights allows to create store and manipulate diagrams with loads and loads of studio equipment. Then those can be saved to your camera roll (iPhone's lingo for image directory). Best of all it is a free application.

both apps has intro videos after the jump.

Introduction To Radio Controlled Plane Aerial Photography

udijw — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:47:20 +0000

Some time ago we introduced R/C Helicopter Arial Photography, however Helicopters are not the only thing that flies, in fact R/C planes are cheaper to get in the air.

Although they provide less control they are still a good option to get your camera up high and they are lots of fun to take pictures with.

In this tutorial -manuel- will explain how to apply a similar concept for still and RC planes which are much cheaper.

13 Photography Lighting Video Tutorials

udijw — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:20:10 +0000

The following is a collection of thirteen video lighting tutorials. The main premise is that after watching those videos you'll know to light a little bit better, or at least pick up a trick or two.

Now watching those will not make you better pictures, you'll actually have to go out and shoot some. Hopefully those videos, some only using one light, will provide lots and lots of motivation to try new things.

Heart Shaped Bokeh Appears in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

udijw — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:58:42 +0000

OK, so this is not a tutorial, more of a technique spotted. I love the shaped bokeh thing, and it appears that the makers of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World love it too. And they do once and for all prove that geeks + video + heart shaped bokeh is a match never to be broken.

Just check out the street lights in the background.

If you like it, you can learn how to make a filter that does this effect here, and here or buy a ready made kit. Thanks for the tip in the flickr threads, Andrew.

One Light Portrait Setup #1 - Butterfly Lighting (+ Optional Strobe)

udijw — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:21:33 +0000

Yuval needed a few pictures for her facebook, twitter and other social media services she consumes (or is being consumed by hehe).

As profile pics seem to be popular these days, I thought I'd put the setup and photographs here on DIYP. It is going to be a one light portrait (and optional second light for background).

A while back we had a clamshot post that showed how to use two collapsible Westcott umbrellas to create butterfly lighting. It is a great light for the ladies that really gives that glamorous look. This is why it is also called paramount lighting. We also had a ghetto studio setup post for making a "table" kinda thing for this shot using a single strobe. This one was for the PVC lovers.

In this post I am going to explain how to create the same effect with a single light. (and then show what can be done with a secont light).

A4 Sheet Fold Me Lumiquest

udijw — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:33:21 +0000

Lumiquest has a pretty nice solution for diffusing on (or off) camera strobes by dressing them with a small and light weight softbox.

Reader Julian Schüngel came up with a similar device that can be constructed from one A4 sheet of paper (and kicks the crap out of my similar design that needs 6 sheets). Oh yea, it has build in barn doors too.

Everything You wanted To Know about DIYing a Tilt Shift Lens For Less Than $10

udijw — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:38:51 +0000

Tilt Shift Lenses are cool. They are those lenses that allow you to take those miniature looking photographs.

I dare you to get a real one; Both Nikon and Canon models are so pricey that you have to give a kidney to afford them. (OK, maybe just a pinky). But we have some good news. Bhautik Joshi (the inventor of the weirdly named plunger cam) and John Swierzbin (who is a DIY lens master) came up with an extensive tutorial about building your own tilt shift lenses.

The Comprehensive Water Drop Photography Guide

udijw — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:20:12 +0000

Not a long while ago the net was exploding with Corrie White's Fun with Water set on Flickr. Her control over those drops, their color and their timing was remarkable indeed.

This is why I am very exited to share Corrie's very extensive guide for water drops photography.

The guide is for all levels going explaining the setup, lights, optional use of a drip mechanism and post.

New Book Shelf - Feed Your Brain

udijw — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:14:28 +0000

There are many great photo books out there. I love reading photo books. Both the ones that tell you how to take great photos and the ones that has great photos. And of course the ones that do both.

A while back I had a post that summed up DIYP readers recommendations about photography book, and I decided to take it a step further. There is a new section on the site called The Book Shelf (Food for Your Brain) It will be constantly linked from the main page and refer to a repository of books that I recommend. (Not surprisingly they have high correlation with the list from the post I mentioned). The list will grow bigger the more book are reviewed on DIYP.

To be completely transparent I'll note that the links on the list are marked with my tag, so when you buy a book from that list I get a small percentage of the sale, while there is no impact on the book price. Buying books from that list is a great way to support DIYP.

The Moment It Clicks / Joe McNally - A Book Review

udijw — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:47:07 +0000

I just put down Joe McNally's The Moment It clicks. It clicked. I don't really know how to catalog this book, it is not a learn-photography-techniques book, not a biography and not a Manifesto. Or maybe it is a little bit of all three.

When coming to review it I didn't really know how to break the book down, there is some structure to it created by having four different chapter and some sections, but it didn't for feel right to go part by part and review it. instead it felt right-er to review the whole thing as a whole.

The Strobist Corner: A Quadzillion Duty Light Source

udijw — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:23:03 +0000

A long while back David Hobby did a double duty assignment where he asked participants to use a single light source to perform several lighting function. A huge deal later I saw a great video from Jim Talkinton about using mirrors as a way of expanding a light source and became obsessed with it.

In this post, I will share my experience with creating a setup that only uses one very cheap work light on a stick-in-a-can and lots of mirrors from a Dollar store (or Amazon). The premise is that you can light well on the cheap. Mucho strobismo.

Here is the fun bit, lighting for this setup only costs about $10. The step by step is right after the jump.

The resulting image is on the top of this post. We'll get back to it, but first, lest see what we started with.

Poll: I Would Improve My Photography If...

udijw — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:11:37 +0000

As photographers we strive on taking good photographs. Moreover we want to take consistently good photographs. While it is true that inspiration, ideas and magic powder all help in making a good photo, the truth with photography, like so many other crafts - is that the more you "practice", the better your images are.

The premise of this poll is that if you need to do two things in order to constantly improve: 1 take lots of photographs. And 2. invest the time and effort to learn after each session. You must have both.

If you "spray around" and do not take the time to edit, review, self criticize and expose your images, you will have lots of pictures, but quality will not change.

If you shoot very little it will be hard to exercise the points learned in the previous round.

(Statistically speaking, if you do take the spray route your chances of taking one good image do increase, I mean even monkeys can write a Shakespearean play, but this is not what I am talking about here).

In this poll, I would like to hear what is stopping you from improving and refining your photography skills. What is stopping you from continuously improving and honing your skills?

I'll go first: I would improve my portraiture skills if I shot more personal projects. And I would do more personal projects if I was not so shy about asking people for participation.

How about you? Share in the comments.

(If you are reading this via RSS, you may want to click through to read/share your thoughts) [(cc) image credit Cayusa]

Stick In A Can (Poorman's Solution For 3D Lighting)

udijw — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:25:36 +0000

A long while back I got familiar with Stick In a Can method for light positioning through the (sadly retired) Pro Photo Life Blog by Jim Talkington. In this post, I'll show how to make one of those and what are some great uses for them.

A stick in a can is the poorman's solution for positioning lights in three dimensional space. Basically it combines a stick, which provides some height and a cement filled can which provides anchoring weight. It works great for positioning worklights, reflectors and just about anything you can clamp.

The Caterpillar above was shot using one of those stick in a can and some magic. (more on the magic in a future post).

DIY Camera Hard Case

udijw — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:13:36 +0000

In this post, Kevin A Crider will show you how to make a DIY Hard Camera Case the size of a suitcase. And yes, you can get a pro, feature rich version for $800, but if you walk to the closest garage sale, you can make a camera hard case for $5 and the price of the foam.

All this project requires is a suitcase that opens in the middle and a sheet of foam. You may use any suit case, but the ones that open in the middle allows us to store equipment on both sides.

Who Is This Guy

udijw — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:02:53 +0000

If you were wondering who is that weird guy behind DIYPHotography, you can grab a hot chocolate and head over to PetaPixel where Michael Zhang gave me quite an extensive interview. Extra! Extra! read all about it. + You get the bonus of enjoying my unedited superb English)

And the obligatory link.

How To Build The Smallest Intervalometer In The World

udijw — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:26:27 +0000

If you are into time lapse you must have checked the option of getting an Intervalometer. as you can see from the Canon and Nikon links an Intervalometer is not cheap. Not really expensive either, but definitely not cheap. So As usual I ask: what can you DIY about it?

Some cameras already have the time lapse feature built in, and Canon photographers can turn to CHDK for adding a time lapse feature. But there is a third, cooler version if you are into electronics (which I know lots of site readers are not afraid of).

Achim Sack - a super electronics engineer - has a project for building an intervalometer the size of a finger nail. It needs no power and learns the interval between shots as you go. If you are into embedded programming, this is a project for you, if not, "move along nothing to see..." [Image credit: tonyVC]

Introduction to Radio Controlled Helicopter Aerial Photography

udijw — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:29:32 +0000

I am very excited to introduce the following guest post on Aerial Photography Introduction by Eric - crashing is not an option - Austin.

Yea, it is that dude that rigged a Canon 7D to a custom RC Heli whom we interviewd a little while ago.

What is aerial photography?

Aerial photography originated over 100 years ago, soon after man first took flight. It is the method in which pictures or video are captured from a perspective not seen at ground level. From satellites high above the earth to an RC plane or helicopter, aerial photography can be an awesome DIY project!