DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

How did I manage not to burn the house down??

Well, first, my wife was not at home, LOL... and second, with the remote trigger in one hand, and an extinguisher in the other... just in case!! ;O))

This is what Filipe Batista had to say when I wondered how he took that shot. The extinguisher bit is enough to hint that no Photoshop was used to create the fire and as they say it the magic industry. Don't worry, that fire is harmless. Unless you touch it.

Filipe was kind enough to share the secretes behind this fire spectacle with DIYP readers:

In this post you will find a collection of really (and I mean really) cheap alternatives to pro lighting.

Will you get the same crisp results that you get with pro gear? Probably just an approximation. On the other hand none of those mods cost more than a nickel and a dime, so it is well worth the try.

So you hacked yourself a gadget infinity flash radio slave and you are happy. You are shooting off camera flash and things work splendid. Actually, you really wanted a pair of pocketwizards, but it was 26 big ones Vs. 360, so it's GI. Actually they work quite well. They worked quite well for a long while now. Then a crisis. Flash wont fire. 

Camera clicks, but flash won't fire. Darn! It was working just a second ago. What could have gone wrong? (Or in the words that the guys from the internet service hear 1000 times a day - I did not touch it.)

Here are three things to check before giving up on your cactus remotes.

I love it when a bunch of DIYed hacks make into a compete lighting solution. We've had our share of Walmart hacks, PVC pipes, Clamplights and fluorescents all came into use one way or another. Nick Koch brings it all together in a home made video.

Also don't be alarmed if you see cloth hangers, car shades and (a personal fav) some Velcro. Movie right after the jump. (Volume is a bit bouncy, but definitely worth the watch, even on mute).

Until today there was only one way I knew of to put starts in my eyes - to get a hefty blow to the jaw from the guy you just shot candid.

Until today, that is. Until I saw Laya Gerlock's amazing Stars Ring Light.  Fortunately for us DIYers, when Laya heard what we need to get through to see stars, he agreed to share the making of this beautiful modifier.

While I've done some considerable efforts to disconnect the Gordian knot between bodily functions and lighting, my efforts are futile once and again.

Visit Tony's excellent picture tutorial for the quickest toilet gridspot ever.

Click image for larger version on flickr

Of course, you can always make your snoot in a more conventional way - with a cooling grid or coroplast (or heavens forbid, buy one).

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On the last installment of S@H lighting we covered the usage of LEDs as a light source. While LEDs give you great control over your light, there was something missing. Power. The next step up with lighting can be using work-lights.

How about creating a thingy that is a bounce card, a softbox and a super bounce card. Nice isn't it?

Martin Kimeldorf is a regular inventor here on DIYP (with inventions like Portable Backdrop Mount System, the Kimel Bouncer and the dual vertex gel system he is one of the more prolific mind I know). I was not surprised when he came up with a design to the problem presented above. It is a bit rugged and DIY looking, but it does the job. It's also a great project to get inspiration from, both on what you can do with a flash and how you can do it.

Its all Martin from after the jump.

The following article is a guest post by Ilya Titov, a photographer and web designer, who also runs a great blog at blog.webboggles.com.

Are you a photographer who needs to take dozens of high quality photographs every day?

Are you a designer who has to process the above? - I am both, and I cheated.

Well, not really, I just optimized the way I go about achieving the target outcome. I dothis by using a home grown illuminated light table (or slope). Read on for full details.

About a week ago, I asked DIYP readers where do they take most of their studio pictures. The matter of setting up a home studio is strongly related to having a place to set the studio at. 

We've all seen how a studio can be set up in under three minutes (ok, timelapse cheating, but still), so it was interesting to learn how DIYP readers coped with this issue. Full results and some thoughts after the jump.