DIY Lighting

[greenmonkey51]

I've realized how important lighting is when taking pics, but I don't have $400+ to spend on a professional setup. Has anyone made a lighting setup from stuff you can find at hardware stores and Walmarts.

[NYCrestie]

this is a great post!
im in the same boat as you are. wonder if well get any good answers

[Cicada Hollow]

Ditto! Right now I'm using plexiglass, which catches reflection and also glare. Sometimes I do pretty good, but other times my photography sucks!

[greenmonkey51]

http://www.shuttertalk.com/articles/diylighting/index.php

Someone else on another site found this for me. Im wondering where you would setup the reflectors.

[garweft]

This is my first post and I am glad it can be on the subject of photography

I have been into photography for years and am an avid DIY'er. Lighting does not have to be an expensive part of photography as long as it is done right. The most important things are the quality of light, the positioning, and the intensity of the lights used. Flashes are nice but not needed, and continuous lights let you keep a better eye on your subject, no escapes.

One of the best cheap methods would be to get 3 clamp lights from your local Walmart. These could work as your main light, fill light , and a back light. Next add 3 light bulbs that mimick natural light. Regular light bulbs add to much yellow to your work and should be avoided. Next I would add 3 lamp dimmers to the set up to control the intensity. You could always just move the lights back but I prefer dimmers better than moving the lights.

Also I would get a cheap book on basic photo lighting to understand how to postioning your lights. Some websites also have good basic info. I usually just set one light low in the back pointed up at the background to seperate the subject from the background. Then I place my brightest light, the main light, off to my right at about a 45 degree angle pointed at the subject. Finally I add my fill light to the left side at a 60-90 degree angle pointed at the subject. A diagram would be good here but I'm to lazy to do that right now

[CarpetShark]

I just use the flash on my camera.. It turns out surprisingly well, provided I have adequate background lightin (just the terrarium light).

[Sarra]

White construction paper. Tape/glue it to sheets of balsa wood if you need more stability. Or, you could get some off-white paper if you would perfer that.

[Geckogal]

I use construction paper w/ bright lights coming from the left, the right and the side, rotated at a 55 degree angle.

[jhawkk2004]

Does anyone know how to build a cheap light (soft) box? I'm not necessarilly concerned with the construction (pretty sure I could handle that), rather the material used around the frame. I see some that have a stretchy white fabric (not sure what it is), and I've seen some that seem to use something like a bed sheet, lol. I just need to know if anyone knows what works best as a fabric around the box frame.