Yes, I believe this is going to be the second of several home studio posts.
When I first started, I saw all of these great studio photographs that I wanted to imitate, but I really had no idea how to do it. I had to play a while before I really understood how to efficiently achieve a completely black background without underexposing. Sure, anyone can take a picture of anything and Photoshop a black completely around it, and I guess there's nothing wrong with that, but getting it right or at least MOSTLY right in camera will look MUCH better than the 'shopped version, guaranteed. So, here are a few simple steps to achieve what looks to be difficult.
Obviously, the first thing you need is space. There isn't an end all be all space requirement, but you need enough to be able to place your subject as far away from the black background as possible. Some people may need more space than others depending on what they intend to be photographing. Lets just say that putting this in a walk in closet would be a bit difficult unless your photographing watches or other small objects.
After space, the next logical step would be a black fabric to photograph. Professional grade backdrops can be quite expensive because they are made of a special material that is essentially a black hole. Black felt or muslin is probably just as good, and its cheap. Again, the amount of fabric you need depends on what you're photographing. If you're shooting small objects, then you probably only need a couple yards. If you're photographing people, then you would need a lot more fabric. Ideally, when the fabric is on the wall, it needs to be about 7.5 ft tall to accommodate for a taller individual and so that it leaves a little headroom. In addition, it needs to come out from the wall on the floor so if you want to do a full-length shot there isn't an abrupt background change at the subject's feet. Now, if you're only planning on doing headshots you don't need this much, but, again, its not expensive.
Mounting the fabric can be done in several different ways. The way that I've always done it is simply tack it to the wall. Not hard. If you don't want to do that, you can build a background stand out of PVC pipe. You can get that for cheap at your local hardware store.
When shooting, place the subject as far in front of the background as practically possible. Reason being, you want as little light as possible hitting the background. Yes its felt and yes its black but it is a physical object and it will reflect light. You can shoot the subject close to the background if you want, but that does come with some lighting limitations, so usually its just easier to move away.
You can do all this, or simply buy a simple setup like this one. This is actually a really good deal, but doing it yourself is even less expensive.
Next up... Completely white background!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
After a short hiatus I am back in business. Classes have started and I'm getting into the swing of things. This quarter I'm taking Color Technique, Shakespeare, and Survey of Computer Arts Applications.
And now, on to the post!
My Fiance has decided to try her hand at photography, and is very interested in studio lighting. Usually, when people hear the words "studio lighting" they start to shake their heads because they know that the equipment used is so expensive. Well, they're right, but it doesn't HAVE to be. I'm sure many of you have heard of Strobist. For those of you that haven't, Strobist is a blog that is dedicated to wireless off camera flash photography. The people that subscribe to this blog and utilize such equipment call themselves "Strobists". Generally, the Strobist starter kits, which can be found at a great online store called Midwest Photo Exchange are fantastic multi purpose systems, and will work with most any camera with a hotshoe. The starter kits include 1 Lumopro LP120 flash, an air cushioned light stand, umbrella, wireless radio trigger system, and a gaggle of other goodies that will help along the way. This is a GREAT way to get started using off camera lighting and is relatively inexpensive at around $200.00.
BUT, neither my Fiance nor I wanted to spend that money so early on in the game, so we decided to go a different route and use hotlights. Hotlights are so named because of the amount of heat they emit when left on for an extended period of time. These can be lamps or clip lights, or anything of that persuasion. Cliplights are great because they can be mounted almost anywhere, and are ideal for things like hairlights. Hotlights are a great alternative to flashes because they are much MUCH less expensive, they are quite versatile, and chances are there are several usable ones already in your home!
Because we didn't have many already, and we wanted to have a lot of options, Tiffany set out to Walmart to find a few utility cliplights and bulbs for those lights. The bulbs are immensely important because the temperature of the light will change dramatically depending on the bulb you buy. A standard Tungsten bulb will emit a very orange light, while an LED bulb (looks like alien technology) will emit a very cool (temperature) white light. These can be used independently from one another or in unison to create some very interesting results.
This brings me to the original purpose of this post. I am a TWIP (This Week In Photography) listener, and on one of the shows I heard mention of a homemade LED light panel. Apparently, LED based continuous light is increasing in popularity due to the amount of light emitted, and the power saving efficiency of the bulbs, which makes these systems also ideal for video use. As of right now, professional LED light systems are quite expensive, but are coming down in price quite quickly. Even so, making a homemade light panel will cost pennies compared to the real thing, and they can change your lighting in an instant. The best part is that its mind numbingly easy.
Here's what you need
-2 large, white, foam core presentation boards
-2 or more strands of LED Christmas lights
-1 roll of Duct Tape
-1 screw driver
The first step is to poke holes through one of the boards with the screwdriver. They don't have to be perfect, so long as the led bulb can be pushed through. The most efficient arrangement is in rows, but there's nothing wrong with getting creative. After all of the holes are punched, simply push the led bulbs through the holes. After that's finished, its a good idea to make sides for your panel so the light is being led in one direction instead of being lost out to the sides. This is where the duct tape comes in. Cut the other board in to long pieces and tape them to the edges of the light panel so that they are protruding in the same direction as the bulbs are facing.
The finished product should look something like this.
Putting tin foil on the sides helps to reflect light with greater efficiency.
Here is an example image taken with the panel. The panel was on a painting easel camera right with a reflector behind the pineapple camera left.
And there you have the homemade light panel. I think there will be more posts to come about home studios...
I also may upload a video in a few days to demonstrate.
And now, on to the post!
My Fiance has decided to try her hand at photography, and is very interested in studio lighting. Usually, when people hear the words "studio lighting" they start to shake their heads because they know that the equipment used is so expensive. Well, they're right, but it doesn't HAVE to be. I'm sure many of you have heard of Strobist. For those of you that haven't, Strobist is a blog that is dedicated to wireless off camera flash photography. The people that subscribe to this blog and utilize such equipment call themselves "Strobists". Generally, the Strobist starter kits, which can be found at a great online store called Midwest Photo Exchange are fantastic multi purpose systems, and will work with most any camera with a hotshoe. The starter kits include 1 Lumopro LP120 flash, an air cushioned light stand, umbrella, wireless radio trigger system, and a gaggle of other goodies that will help along the way. This is a GREAT way to get started using off camera lighting and is relatively inexpensive at around $200.00.
BUT, neither my Fiance nor I wanted to spend that money so early on in the game, so we decided to go a different route and use hotlights. Hotlights are so named because of the amount of heat they emit when left on for an extended period of time. These can be lamps or clip lights, or anything of that persuasion. Cliplights are great because they can be mounted almost anywhere, and are ideal for things like hairlights. Hotlights are a great alternative to flashes because they are much MUCH less expensive, they are quite versatile, and chances are there are several usable ones already in your home!
Because we didn't have many already, and we wanted to have a lot of options, Tiffany set out to Walmart to find a few utility cliplights and bulbs for those lights. The bulbs are immensely important because the temperature of the light will change dramatically depending on the bulb you buy. A standard Tungsten bulb will emit a very orange light, while an LED bulb (looks like alien technology) will emit a very cool (temperature) white light. These can be used independently from one another or in unison to create some very interesting results.
This brings me to the original purpose of this post. I am a TWIP (This Week In Photography) listener, and on one of the shows I heard mention of a homemade LED light panel. Apparently, LED based continuous light is increasing in popularity due to the amount of light emitted, and the power saving efficiency of the bulbs, which makes these systems also ideal for video use. As of right now, professional LED light systems are quite expensive, but are coming down in price quite quickly. Even so, making a homemade light panel will cost pennies compared to the real thing, and they can change your lighting in an instant. The best part is that its mind numbingly easy.
Here's what you need
-2 large, white, foam core presentation boards
-2 or more strands of LED Christmas lights
-1 roll of Duct Tape
-1 screw driver
The first step is to poke holes through one of the boards with the screwdriver. They don't have to be perfect, so long as the led bulb can be pushed through. The most efficient arrangement is in rows, but there's nothing wrong with getting creative. After all of the holes are punched, simply push the led bulbs through the holes. After that's finished, its a good idea to make sides for your panel so the light is being led in one direction instead of being lost out to the sides. This is where the duct tape comes in. Cut the other board in to long pieces and tape them to the edges of the light panel so that they are protruding in the same direction as the bulbs are facing.
The finished product should look something like this.
Putting tin foil on the sides helps to reflect light with greater efficiency.
Here is an example image taken with the panel. The panel was on a painting easel camera right with a reflector behind the pineapple camera left.
And there you have the homemade light panel. I think there will be more posts to come about home studios...
I also may upload a video in a few days to demonstrate.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
A little lax at the moment
Happy New Year everyone!
So I haven't posted in a while, what with the holidays and spending time with the fam. I've got a couple posts in the works, but it will be a day or two before I am able to finalize them because classes have started.
In the meantime, I have started the 365 project and am on day 4 (started Jan1). You can find them on flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nach0o/
or on the actual 365 website here http://365project.org/nacho/365
Until next time.
So I haven't posted in a while, what with the holidays and spending time with the fam. I've got a couple posts in the works, but it will be a day or two before I am able to finalize them because classes have started.
In the meantime, I have started the 365 project and am on day 4 (started Jan1). You can find them on flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nach0o/
or on the actual 365 website here http://365project.org/nacho/365
Until next time.
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