DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting

Speed Links for 07-10-2009

udijw — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:04:32 +0000

In this edition of DIYP speedlinks: scanner cameras, setting up and tearing down, food photography and bedsheets.

We also have some classic DOF tutorial. Just to keep it linked with some good ol' photography.

Oh yea, and a flower pot.

One. Two. Three. White Background

udijw — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:06:51 +0000

How do you take a lovely portrait like this, on a perfect white background? Of course you'll need a beautiful model. But how would you handle the lighting? Just throw about 10000 Watts/Seconds on your seamless white and you're good.

Or use a single strobe and 5$ worth of white Coroplast. Read on for the full details.

Studio @ Home - 1st Assignment

udijw — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:57:48 +0000

Welcome to the first assignment of Studio @ Home.

As I promised in the first post of the series, Studio @ Home will be accompanied with a series of assignment (or exercises if you will) that will put some structure on the evolution of your home studio. Those assignments can also be used a motivation leverage - and provide some great opportunities to win great prizes. Read on for the full details.

Studio @ Home - Easy Lighting

udijw — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:11:29 +0000

Once we have explored location and a few basic backdrops options we are going to hit lighting. The backdrop assignment will be up next. However, I thought it would not be fair to do the first assignment without even a little bit of home lighting discussion.

After all, light is the substance from which your photograph is made of.

There are several lighting options if you are building up your home studio: Tungsten, Halogen, Florescent, small speedlites and the big canons - studio flashes. Each with its vices and merits. I will dedicate a full post to explore the several options. But just to get things started, I wanted to discuss the most available light of all: Available Light.

Let's Make A Pinhole Polaroid Camera

udijw — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:32:54 +0000

Stefan Powell made one of the coolest pinhole camera's I've seen. (He does that when he doesn't make his head spin)

It is not accurate. It does not use regular film. And it is a close relative of Just Fab's Turkey Pan Beauty Dish.

The Strobist Corner: Protect Your Strobe With A Frisbee

udijw — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:42:26 +0000

Ever had your light stand taken down along with your precious 5000$ Profoto? Not a fun experience.

Next runner up on the not-so-fun light stands falls is a knocked-down speedlite. While the cost of speedlites is considerably less than the cost of a Profoto, if this is all you have it can still be pretty annoying. Especially if you're on the beach where it's sandy.

Keep reading for a cheap and ingenious solution.

Magic Lantern - Photographers Take Control

udijw — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:33:19 +0000

Just a quick news flash, if you're not up to date yet with the Magic Lantern.

Similar to CHDK, a firmware hack that allows you to take control over all the hidden features in your Point & Shoot, Magic Lantern unlocks some very nifty features on your New and shiny Canon 5D Mark 2.

Magic Lantern Firmware is mainly focused on video, but hey - if you're techie enough, feel free to jump in and download the source code and add whatever feature you'd like. (A movie, feature list and some thoughts after the jump).

49 Awesome Photography Hacks, Mods And DIY Projects

udijw — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:50:32 +0000

Following the great demand, here are 49 Awesome Photography Hacks, Mods And DIY Projects.

Tripods Photography Projects

In this section tripod for macro photography, tripods for food photography, tripod for your bicycles. Did I say tripods?

- The DIY Gorilla Pod
- The DIY Macro Rail
- DIY L-Plate / L-Bracket
- How to Make a DIY Camera Stand
- DIY Studio Camera Stand
- Building a Bicycle Camera Mount

The DIY Super-Robotic Panohead

udijw — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:11:09 +0000

What's better than Obama? An Obama Panorama, of course.

If you clicked the link above, you will find a 1,474 Megapixel image of president Obama inauguration. Yap you heard right. 1,474 MP.

This image was made possible with a cool robotic device called the GigaPan. The GigaPan is an automated robotic cradle that tilts and pans in small steps to complete huge panoramic views. It even has a little robotic arm to press the shutter release button for you. And now it is going DIY.

Three Great iPhone Apps For Photographers

udijw — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:30:24 +0000

UPDATE: coolest app added at the end of post.

The iPhone (or THE iPhone) is gaining popularity fast with photographers. Well, it has an in-phone camera. That kinda means that you carry a camera whenever you go (admit it!! you carry your cell anywhere!!). See Chase Jarivs's Twitpic iPhone pic stream for example. Just another argument to show that it is not the gear that makes you a good photographer.

Another evidence is the ever increasing number of "how to take good pictures with your iPhone" tutorials. Here are a few that I like: Wired, Goodtree & company, Chase, Neutralday, but really, the net is loaded with tons of tips, guides and creativity enhancers for iPhone images.

So iPhone is popular. OK; no news here. The news (at least for me who still wears black headphones) is that iPhone also packs great applications for photographers. The round up below, courtesy of Ladislav Soukup, is probably just the first mushrooms in the post forest rain of iPhone apps for photogs. I'd love to hear (on the comments) what's your favorite iPhone app.

Studio @ Home - Full Scale Backdrops & Backgrounds

udijw — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:45:29 +0000

On the last post we saw how easy it is to set a "backdrop" for any small object.

In this post, we will continue to explore backdrop solutions, only this time the focus is going to be on full scale backdrops. The type that goes better with taking portraits.

The underlying principles remain the same: once you have a space to shoot at, you will want to remove distractions from the background. Again, you'll want to use a seamless backdrop removing seams in Photoshop is a painful and time consuming process. The standard width for most backdrop, muslin or paper is about 108" (although 53" is a common size as well). This width allows for some freedom in terms of subject placement and subject movement.

As with most simple things in life backdrop creation can be divided into two parts: creating the backdrop and mounting it.

The DIY Light Table - A Weekend Project

udijw — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:12:02 +0000

Here's a great project for a weekend. The DIY Light Table, courtesy of Félix Ménard (Flickr).

The idea behind the light table is simple. Things look really great if the light is passing through them. As opposed to light being reflected off them. This is why slides look so good, this is why we love vitrage windows in churches.

A light table is the perfect way to inspect slides, negs and to do some really interesting art.

This project by Felix uses an old desktop (from when desktops were actually made from wood and did not have any chips in them), however, a similar project can be made with more temporary means which are great for a weekend project. I'll discuss this towards the end.

The Portable Flash Pack

udijw — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:02:07 +0000

If you've read the small backdrops post on Studio @ home, you know I am now on some R&R with wify. Of course I am packed for the ride with my photography gear. Aside from a camera I wanted to share how I pack my flash things. I got this tip from a long while ago at Strobist and here is my adaptation: The Portable Flash Pack.

Doing More With Less - A Mannequin Case Study

udijw — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:12:35 +0000

When I was a young manager, I went to my boss once, and bitched about a resource cut down and the fact the marketing was imposing a hell of a schedule on us poor R&D guys.

I really liked his response and even though it did not get me more resources it gave me good directions on how to make a plan. He looked straight into my eyes, patted me on the shoulder and fiercely said "Any manager can do more work with more resources; only good managers can do more with less". Okay, strike the shoulder and fierce thing, this is just my father complex kicking in.

However, the same idea also applies to photography, and especially starting photographers where big dollars equipment is rare.

In the story below Martin Kimeldorf (Flickr) shares a lesson on making more with less. Actually, Martin managed to double the amount of light sources he has with just a bit of imagination.

Studio @ Home - Small Backdrops & Backgrounds

udijw — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:38:07 +0000

OK, so you have your space, and ready to take your first shot on your new studio.

One of the first things that you'll need is background. Whether you're doing a product shot or a full portrait, backgrounds play essential role in the final outcome.

A good background will not create distractions from the subject, and will help draw attention to its features.A bad background, on the other hand, can spoil a perfectly good subject and create a cluttered feel that will distract from the subject.

In this post I'll cover backgrounds for small objects and product shots.

Speed Links for 06-02-2009

udijw — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:30:18 +0000

In this edition: sending your camera to space, your flash to more than two and half meters upwards. And also keeping your gear protected, attaching lenses to lenses and to TLRs.

Macro On A Budget Or Back To Back Couplers

udijw — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:40:35 +0000

The following guest post by Brian Carey will show you how to make a powerful macro glass using some old filters (and really good and cheap glass)

One method of delving into macro photography is to use adapter rings.

These rings have threads on both sides, one end is screwed onto your present camera lens like any filter and a second lens is attached in reverse onto the other end of the ring. So two lenses can be attached front to front using the adapter rings filter threads. You can buy these adapters or you can make them yourself by taking filters matching the thread sizes of the lenses being used and removing the glass and epoxying the rings together with the threads sticking out on both ends.

Studio @ Home - Show Us Your Space

udijw — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:52:58 +0000

On the last post we discussed the space that a home studio requires.

So, to help get some ideas flowing, and to spite all this No-Way-You-Can-Shoot-That-At-Home attitude I've seen around, I thought it would be nice to share some of your home setups and spaces. Share an image of your place: be it the leaving room / basement / garage or bedroom doubling as a studio. Post it on this Flickr thread for the world to see. Let them know their house is no longer safe.

108 Seconds Of Studio Transformation Explained

udijw — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:18:46 +0000

About a week ago, James Burger shared a fantastic video where he showed his bedroom transformed into a 100% class A photography studio. In no more than 108 seconds the transformation was completed shots were taken and the studio collapsed into nothing leaving the bedroom completely intact.

Connecting to the theme of Studio @ Home, James explains how (and why) he did it:

Studio @ Home - Space

udijw — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:34:31 +0000

In this installment of Studio @ Home we will deal with the most fundamental aspect of having a home based studio - space.

When dealing with studio space can be easily overlooked while taking care of all the musts: camera, lighting, backdrops, props and more. But the fact of the thing is, you cannot have a studio if there is no studio space. So, how much space do you need?

A.I.R - The Portable Affordable Reflector

udijw — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:45:23 +0000

The “A.I.R” = Affordable Inflatable Reflector

There are already a lot of DIY reflector designs out there, which are built of PVC tubes and are definitely great: cheap, easy to build, effective and often collapsible. But there is a drawback: the length of the tubes limits the minimal size of the disassembled reflector.

Tobi Troendle created the A.I.R reflector. Aside from having a cool name it also folds to nothing.

Studio @ Home - What Does It Take?

udijw — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:28:49 +0000

So, you are here reading the second part of the Studio @ Home series. This is good; it means that you want to take better pictures. But have you stopped a minute to think why do I even need a studio? At Home? While most of us have a good intuition about it, and we feel that a studio will help us take better pictures (at least of some specific kinds), I would like to suggest several reasons to move from ~~sporadic~~ art driven shooting to studio environment. Still no DIY on this post, but I will lay the grounds for most ideas that will follow up on this series of articles.

Going From Bedroom To Studio To Bedroom In 108 Seconds

udijw — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:02:22 +0000

Photographer James Burger walks us through a 108 seconds journey of converting his bedroom into a studio and back. And he does that stop motion, no less. (If you are reading this via RSS, you may want to click the post to see the full vid).

More after the jump.

Studio @ Home - Intro

udijw — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:00:52 +0000

Welcome to Studio @ Home.

After three years and some change that this site is running I am getting a lot of feedback that makes me think that some order is needed.

True, over the last few years we've covered almost any aspect of home photography on a budget going through backdrops, light modifiers, and camera tweaks that will make your life easier when going on this long journey of getting a home studio. However, all the info was ~~scattered all over~~ wisely spread across the time line.

Attach Your Camera To.... Anything

udijw — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:06:04 +0000

It is not a secret that I am a big fan of using 1/4" bolts on just about anything to create ad-hoc tripods.

However, this one by Brian Green tops them all.

Brian is the type of guy that hikes, bikes and generally enjoys the good life (I mean the really good life, not the ones that you enjoy on the couch watching Lost).