DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting

It Only Takes 1 Reflector To Create Beautiful Portraits

udijw — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:43:33 +0000

I know that usually this site is about more gear, but this post is about less gear. Michael Sasser of Sasser Stills uses nothing but good directing an assistant and one 5-in-1 reflector to produce gorgeous results in a senior portrait session.

I know that I am totally stealing his cat walk move from 0:30

[via SLR Lounge | Fstoppers]

Scanning Film Negatives With A DSLR - A Maker's Guide

udijw — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:44:30 +0000

Well, lets just say I've gotten better at this over the last couple of years. The left image was one of the first I've "scanned" with my DSLR, and the one on the right I've just rescanned using the techniques described below (higher resolution available here). Right now I can get higher resolution and better image quality that what street labs give you on CD.

I've seen many articles on the web explaining the basics of digitising film negative or transparencies online. The basics are quite simple: you take a photo of a negative into a light source and invert. That's it. But that alone led me to scan negatives that looked like the one on the left, above. Because I've never seen one tutorial that told me "the whole story" of how to do it properly, I've decided to put together what I've learnt during the last two or three of years of scanning film with my DSLR.

Build A 1 Dollar Camera

udijw — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:07:43 +0000

If you are upset with the money it takes to buy new gear, the next 3 parts tutorial shows how to make a 1 Dollar camera.

It is a 3 part video tutorial and there are written instructions on Money Origami Things here.

Is it easy? heck no! rewarding? I guess. At least it only costs one dollar.

Bokeh Aliens Take Over The City

udijw — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:51:45 +0000

I am not really sure what's going on in this video by Gramatik, but it seems that their bokeh experiment went out of control.

Director Brad Hasse & cinematographer Andrew David Watson teamed up with artist Gramatik and built a story about an old guy seeing goblins in cityscape light. Those goblins eventually take over the city.

Here is the nice part, Gramatik releases his music for free, which makes this project even cooler.

I could not figure out which city this tale is taking place. If you know, please share.

If you wanna know how it was made, check our Everything You Wanted To Know About The Magical Shaped Bokeh page.

Control Your Camera From 150ft Using A Garage Door Opener

udijw — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:42:23 +0000

If you are doing any extensive light painting work, especially if you are doing it alone, you know that one of the more annoying things about it is triggering your camera.

You could always use the timer, or the intervalometer, but for more complex stuff timing of both the camera and starting the tools becomes harder and harder.

Some cameras have an infra red remote, but the distance is pretty limited.

Sawo of Enlightpaintment came up with a pretty neat solution, they use a garage door opener remote from eBay with Canon's 2.5 mm trigger jack to create a 150ft camera remote that is capable of both focusing and triggering. See the tutorial after the jump.

Photographing a Solar Eclipse - Random Tips

udijw — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:28:15 +0000

For the folks who don't have NASA on their RSS stream, this is a short announcement to remind about the upcoming Solar Eclipse on May 20.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some tips about solar eclipse photography.

Pixel Peeping Octodomes

udijw — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:34:01 +0000

I know the title says something about lighting modifiers, but after seeing the last installment of the slanted lens I figured I'd mess around with their timing and start the show where they make camera cookies. (did someone say mother's day?)

Of course, they also pixel peep the heck out of photoflex Octadomes, and showing how to build several simple lighting setups using them. I guess you are here for the lighting, right? so go the beginning of the vid for the octa lessons.

Blasting Stuff With A High Speed Air Canon

udijw — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:23:40 +0000

Alan Sailer likes to blow stuff up. And when I say blow stuff I mean the good old fashion way. With a canon, custom made air gap strobes and a dedicated controller. After spending a great deal of time on his flickr stream, I asked him a few questions.

(kinda) Crowdsourcing Bullet Time Dancers

udijw — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:30:26 +0000

It is amazing what you can do with a little vision, even if you are pretty tied by budgetary constraints. Nate Powers and his team of students pushed their budget, and skills to the edge to create a low end (though high value) dancers bullet time shots. The challenges and work frame on this project were quite different from the ones described on a previous crowdfunded bullet time shoot, so I asked Nate to share a bit about the project.

Print Your Own Tilt-Shift Lens

udijw — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:04:39 +0000

A few weeks back I wrote about what rapid prototyping is doing to the traditional photography industry (well, any industry for that matter).

So it was a nice surprise to see this printable micro 4/3 tilt shift lens project from Joe Murphy. It is based upon the popular plunger lenses from Bhautik Joshi but is more rigid and does not use a toilet accessory.

That specific lens fits the MTF system, but the tutorial explains how to make lenses for other types of mounts.

The only think lacking in this system is a good name, "Tilt-Shift Micro Four Thirds Lens Adapter" is not very catchy. I suggest "The Bender".

Below is a short tutorial on how to make this lens (or order one using its thingiverse object), and tweak it for others systems, followed by some sample shots.

The Lightplot Is A Lighting Painting Robot Evolving From Lego NXT

udijw — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:40:14 +0000

One of the more interesting things to see in this era (aside a healthy big mac) is an ongoing synergy between light painting and rapid prototyping platforms like arduino and NXT Lego sets.

The Lightplot, created by Ben Cowell-Thomas, is a light painting robot that started as an NXT experiment and evolved into a huge project involving a massive robotic arm, a animation to movement software and a tiny LED.

The software is cool enough to control both the camera shutter and the robotic arm to create wonderful light painting animations. (Kinda like sticking an LED strip on a telescope mount on steroids)

Here is a quick demo of its capabilities followed by a short behind the scenes video

Fridgetip - Use Your House Keys For Better Audio And Fresh Food

udijw — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:08:03 +0000

Today's 60 seconds video is short and sweet. We share a tip on how you can use your house keys to help you rid of annoying ambient sound when you record video at home.

For our video, we used the Zoom H1, which is an entry level decent recorder, but this tip will apply for any recorder used.

How Lee Filters Are Made

udijw — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:32:12 +0000

I always thought that the process of ND filter making is a pretty mechanical thing. That you would place a sheet of glass on one end of the machine, press a button and then a constant stream of ND filters would fall onto a conveyer belt.

It turns out it is not so, that the process of filter making, at least at Lee filters is almost entirely manual.

In the movie blow, Mike Browne take the grand tour at Lee Filter's factory going through the different stations from making the resin, through various inspections, coating it with dye and shipping it off. I was really surprised to see how much manual labor goes into the process.

Over The Top Orb With A Telescope Mount & A Drill

udijw — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:26:05 +0000

If you've done any light painting, you must know the Orb. Usually you create an orb by rotating a string with a light at the end while doing a little spin. Round? yes! Perfect? No! What if you wanted perfect?

Hugo Baptista Took this to a whole new level by making his orbs with a drill attached to a Telescope mount. Here is his story about creating the tool. Isn't it perfect?

The Genie Is A Portable Motion Timelapse Controller

udijw — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:39:30 +0000

Getting your camera to move while doing time-lapse movies is not a trivial thing. First you need to set a path for the camera to move in (like a slider, a dolly or a skateboard), then you need to make the camera move slowly, and lastly you need to get the camera to shoot at the right intervals (using an intervalometer).

While there are plenty DIY solutions out there (especially for the slider and intervalometer parts), building a controlled time-lapse dolly is not trivial.

The Genie is a New Zealand based project set to change that. The Genie' claim to fame is to be A simple, affordable and extremely easy to use device used for motion control and image capture for Time Lapse Photography + more.

How To Organize A Mass Photoshoot (In Under 2 Weeks)

udijw — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:04:22 +0000

Hey guys,

Benjamin "Von Wong" Montreal Based photographer here to write a quick article on what it's like to put together a Mass Photoshoot with two week deadline.

[udi: Ben is leaving for a super awesome photography collaboration trip funded via indiegogo, if you like stuff like this, go and check it out]

First off, what is a mass photoshoot? Well I consider it a photoshoot that involves more than 10 people. In this instance, I successfully organized a massive medieval photoshoot with over 40 models, in a medieval village over one hour thirty minutes away from the city. Despite rain and a forecast of -3 degrees we still had a 90% turn-out rate. Quite amazing for a photoshoot in which nobody was paid!

Triggertrap Mobile Is Really A Computerized Remote

udijw — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:11:57 +0000

The Triggertrap mobile (and Triggertrap free) do something really simple and yet really clever. They connect your iPhone to your camera amd act as remote release devices.

It's simple because cable releases are simple devices - they usually have two contacts: a focus contact and a release contact. Closing one contact will trigger the internal focus mechanism and closing the other contact will release the shutter. In fact, its so simple that you can make one from a dead mouse.

What release cables usually lack is brains. I mean they will trigger a camera when you tell them, and some o the mode advanced models even have HDR, BULB and timelapse modes, but they cant act upon external events.

Should You Shoot RAW Or JPG?

udijw — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:26:37 +0000

Should you shoot RAW or JPG? Every photographer asks this at a certain point.

The fine guys at SLR Lounge did something I love to do. the pixel peeped the hell out of a RAW and a JPG shot under the same conditions giving an in depth analisys on how jpg and raw files behave under every day use scenarios.

The comparison takes images shot with a Canon 5D mkII and a 50mm/1.4 lens and compares various frames: both "correct" images and "badly" exposed images. looking at both the "out of camera" versions and the lightroom "fixed" versions of the files.

If you are a photographer or a computer fanatic (or a fanatic photographer) this is a very interesting read.

RAW vs JPEG (JPG) - The Visual Guide

A Mesmerizing Panolapse Of Brussels Taken Using A Rotating Telescope Mount

udijw — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:44:10 +0000

Taking a 360 degrees panorama is a cool thing on its own, but taking a video-lapse takes it to a new level.

Hugo Baptista created an interesting clip they call a panolapse. It is a combination between a timelapse and a panorama done by mounting a camera on a motorized Meade controller and taking a host every 5 minutes as the mount rotates for 90 minutes.

Here is how Hugo describes it:

"A 360+ degree panoramic time-lapse. The camera shot one picture every 5 seconds while the motorized mount slowly rotated. I then I assembled the images into this panoramic movie, in which each "pane" is actually the same movie, slightly offset in time" #

[Panolapse Brussels]

How To Build A Sweet And Simple CFL Strip Light

udijw — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:56:42 +0000

A little while back we shared a video about creating CFL light fixures for video lights. It involved driling and sawing. Flaviu Leordeanu sent me this cool oncept that uses almost zero toolsd to get a similar effect.

The following tutorial shows how to build a powerful “LightStrip” using CFLs. As seen in the picture below, the strip has 10 outlets in which I plugged 10 CFL bulbs.

This project started out a bit differntly. I initially thought of using 8 lights, on two 4-socketa power strips. I was going to affix the two power strips onto a wooden bar, painting it all black to make it look more “solid” and less obtrusive, and to use it as a "light-bar", just like that.

So I bought eight 2700K-1640Lumen CFLs from Wal-Mart.

Then, it just happened while shopping at Lowes that I saw a one-piece power strip, all metal, and realized that one long strip would work better than two individual power strips. It would be more solid, neater and can hold 10 light bulbs. The more, the merrier, right?I got it (and two extra bubls - 5500K-1400lumen CFLs this time, to see the difference, Although the final configuration will only use one type of bulb, depending on the project). Click the image to enlarge.

Quick Tip - Attaching A Vagabond Mini To A Light Stand

udijw — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:30:10 +0000

Just got this quick tip from photographer Andy Manis. It may seem trivial, but I love it nontheless.

If any of you use the Paul C. Buff Vagabond Mini battery pack (definitely worth the money), here is an easy way to attach the pack to a light stand by using the strap that comes with the pack and some simple modifications.

The pack comes with a spring loaded piece that did not work for me. So my answer was use the strap, some pipe insulation or polyethylene (flat) foam and Velcro (which I always have around).

We're Giving Away A Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD

udijw — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:02:28 +0000

Tamron, our awesome sponsor is giving DIYP readers a Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD lens (value $649) .

UPDATE: The giveaway is now over, scroll down to see who won te lens.

It is a great all around lens with for both the wide end and the end the tele end. One of those lenses you would consider if you had to take only one lens to an unknown location.

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

Use A Telescopic Snoot For Film Noir Effects

udijw — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:40:25 +0000

If you're tired from your "regular" snoot that does the job of aiming flagging light pretty well, but not really much more, photographer Peter Miesch has an interesting take on a non regular snoot.

the Film Noir snoot is a telescopic snoot that has a built-in slot for GOBOs which create film noir effects. I suspect that its prime material is cereal box cardboard fitted with black straws for slides and stoppers.

Sometimes It's Just Easier To Flag Your Camera

udijw — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:11:46 +0000

One of my favorite ways to shoot is with accented rim lights. And while I love the look this kind of light produces there is a bit of a trickery to setting those lights up.

The reason is that back lights create flare.

David Hobby came up with a pretty clever way to block flare generating lights using a frame made from coroplast (the same material used for DIY flags, and grids).

Shooting High Speed Spirit Photographs

udijw — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:22:47 +0000

This story tells the tale of how Jolene Lupo shot her high speed spirit photograph. While some of the stuff is pretty specific, I love her holistic approach and the way both the concept and final image were built. this is how she describes it: