DIY studio

mastertrinity

mastertrinity

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hello all

im getting a new bed with underneath storage which means i can put my computer and shelf under there which means i will have some free space. i wanted to create a mini photo studio i am highly enthusiastic about this project because i have recently got my first SLR and i want to use it to the best of its ability. i am only 15 so i can't afford these fancy "buy me, i'll make you look proffessional" light sets (no offence lol:cuckoo:) and i tend to make my equipment when it comes to lighting etc. so if you have any ideas of what i need for my studio and how to make it please post thank you.

P.S. i am experimenting with still life and baby photography.
 
Photography can be a great DIY haven when required to be. I've got some nice kit and I've also got a fair amount of stuff that cost next to nothing that does the job nicely.

I've got a softbox which is actually a laundry basket from Ikea and it cost me £6. I stick my flash in it and drape a black cloth over the back and it works a treat.

My other big 'find' was 'stick in a can' which is EXACTLY what it sounds like and I pinched the idea from a utube video from one of the pro studios. I get a tin can and put a stick in it up the edge of the can (I found three sticks from rockets from bonfire night in my garden so freebies) and then mix up some fencepost cement and fill the can with it. I can then use the can for supporting props, flags etc. for tabletop photography-just be careful if you are doing baby stuff *** eh.

The studio in the Youtube vid was using paintcans with sticks in, filled with cement as stands for lightweight lights alongside proper stands. I'd go have a search in there, its a treasure trove sometimes for DIY ideas.
 
Barlines said:
Photography can be a great DIY haven when required to be. I've got some nice kit and I've also got a fair amount of stuff that cost next to nothing that does the job nicely.

I've got a softbox which is actually a laundry basket from Ikea and it cost me £6. I stick my flash in it and drape a black cloth over the back and it works a treat.

My other big 'find' was 'stick in a can' which is EXACTLY what it sounds like and I pinched the idea from a utube video from one of the pro studios. I get a tin can and put a stick in it (I found three from rockets from bonfire night in my garden so freebies) and then mix up some fencepost cement and fill the can with it. I can then use the can for supporting props, flags etc. for tabletop photography-just be careful if you are doing baby stuff *** eh.

The studio in the Youtube vid was using paintcans with sticks in, filled with cement as stands for lightweight lights alongside proper stands. I'd go have a search in there, its a treasure trove sometimes for DIY ideas.
Click to expand...

theres a few nice ideas for you, to be honnest im not quite sure for your budget but that sounds like a good idea
 
Have a look at the strobist blog site.
Stay versatile

You probably dont need to buy all the expensive stuff. Search ebay for bargins, but be aware that P&P can add up.
For example you could buy several Cobra D400 flash guns, and optical slaves. Use ND filters to change the power output. Clamps instead of stands - Fotobyte does small g cramps with legs for £5 that cn be attached to furniture etc.

If for example you get 3 Cobras, Guide Number 30, you can use them independantly, 2 together GN 42, or 3 together GN 51.

The downside is they woul be on full power, so you mat be wasting batteries, and facing longer waits between flash recharges.
 
just to update i have got my new bed and yesterday i made a quick set-up to see how much wall coverage i have. its approximately 6ft wide and 6ft heigh. i am going to my local wickes (diy shop if you've never heard of it) and seeing if theres anything that might give me inspiration for lights and set-up. im also going to make a mini lightbox.
 
Yep, Cobras good, not as good asa vivitar 285.
$x Cobra D400, use a cheap radio trigger (I couldnt get them to work) or optical trigger (Jacobs, web etc £15). If you get them with a PC Sync, 3 hot shoe to PC converters (Hama 6952 Flash Adapter Contact Cable cheapest £4.99 each) and a 3 way PC connecto (£5-10).
Gives you a flash "unit" with GN 30, 42, 51, 60. I think a GN of 53 is approximately equal to a 300w "proper studio unit".

You just need umbrella and bracket.

You can also find Jessops 150S flash units on ebay from time to time. A nice little low power flash, GN 14 I think, with a built in optical slave, I got two seperately for a total of £5.79 inc p&p.

You can stick silver foil to carboard to create a reflector, black paper the other side to create an absorber.


Read a lot, think alot, buy as little as possible.
 
Might be worth picking up Feb's PracticalPhotogrphy, where there's a good article on this.
 
I've been playing around with a bedroom setup for the last couple of weeks. On your budget, personally I think I'd start off with a single softbox, flash + lightstand and 5 in 1 reflector disc.

Buy a £15 lightstand from ebay (unless you already have a tripod)
Buy a £15 reflector from ebay

Buy a 2nd hand SB24/25/26 or a vivitar 285HV for £70.

Get a PC Sync Cord.

Make a DIY softbox with something like a shower curtain from asda, and an omnibounce from a plastic container and go from there.

Further down the line you could always buy a softbox for £30 or umbrella + umbrella stand adapter for £30.

Make a background with some cardboard and old wallpaper or something, or personally my wall is clean enough to use as a background.

I think that would be plenty enough to play around with for the moment :)
 
All depends on the kind of photography you want to do really. Still life and macro, then yeah, go for it

Much else, not such a necessity


Try and pick up the March 09 issue of Practical Photography, I grabbed it yesterday, has quite a few articles pertaining to DIY home studio-like photography, including one article that sounds exactly like the kinda questions you're asking with regards to making your own home studio (although looking at it seems a tad more beyond your means for now)


With regards to backdrops and the like, since you're 15 you can easily go and check out your school/college printing room for any scrapped/messed up pieces of paper, netted me two nice big sheets of A1 for free when I was doing some stop motion work
 
I tried similar floodlights from B&Q for my first ever shoot. They did cast a weird light so you'll need to work on white balance and the one I had got REALLY hot, which as I was working with kids was a problem.

Thankfully, I made some money from the shoot, took them back to B&Q and bought something more suited to kids.

My first backdrop was a white (not cream) dust sheet from B&Q, attached to a really long carboard tube (the ones carpet comes on, not kitchen roll lol), which rested on anything I could find and fell off a lot!
 
keep an eye out for survival blankets, they are usually gold on one side and silver on the other.Makes a great budget reflector.
 
If you use the outside floodlights, at worse you can balance out the orangeness using a blue photo filter on PS :)
 
never needs to be expensive :)

Take the following 2 shots -

#1 -Brightfield still life

3432230450_84f6c75b3e.jpg


shot using white paper on the wall as a background, table was set with white paper under a sheet of glass, the glasses were placed at the edge of the table which was around a foot from the wall, flashgun fired full strength from under the table onto the wall, the light from each side was reflected back into the scene using black foam board left, right and above the objects.

The Glass i got from an old photo frame and the black card you could easily use any dark card etc you have kicking about -

#2 - Still life car with diarama

3435126864_49018b69d5.jpg


Background was shot seperately and printed on A3 Ilford Gallerie Matt paper.

Car sat on glass on top of black card.

Lit using a single off camera flashgun through a home made sotbox hand held about 3 or 4 foot above the car.

The softbox was made from some old card boxes and an old white sheet

use what's in the house and around you before looking to spend a lot of cash :)
 
Holy crap man, that is the EXACT same problem i have i mean exactly!
im 15 just got my first dlsr and i now have got free space, aswell as needing help with lightings, and i take still life and portraits
 
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