Diy led light photography

Build A Pro Quality Light Source With This Awesome DIY LED Light Panel Tutorial

LED light panels are great tools to have in your studio regardless of whether your a working with video or still photography. The continuous light sources come in a variety of sizes, but the nice ones also come at a price that may not agree with everyone’s budget. In this exceptionally well made video tutorial from the nice folks over at DIY Perks, you can learn how to make your own $500 dollar panel for under $70.

Before we get started, we should probably let you know this isn’t exactly the easiest or fastest project we’ve featured. It’s also not the most difficult, but you’ll need to be comfortable with power tools and know how to (or learn how to) work a soldering iron. If you’re willing to put in the time, the end product could save you some serious dough and also boost your DIY cred to all new heights.
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Why This Panel Rocks

As far as LED light panels are concerned, this one is a pretty legit DIY project. It has a lot of features to it that make it a highly usable and reliable light source that will help you create some great images. Let’s take a closer look at a few key points:

It’s bright. Combined, the 900 individual LED lights put off an amount of light that is equivalent to that of a 1000w incandescent light bulb or 22 45-watt CFLs. In most cases, that’s brighter than you will need from a single continuous light source. That’s not to say you should worry about it being too bright…
This light panel is dimmable, too, so you can adjust it up or down to dial in on how much light it emits. The schematics used in the video tutorial also plan out an access slot so you can easily add gel filters to help stop down the light or alter the color balance.
The voltage based dimming system (as opposed to a PWM dimming system that is sometimes used on LED lights) is especially beneficial when you realize that it virtually eliminates flickering in the lights, which create unsightly strobing lines in video footage. Voltage based dimming also opens up the door as to what kind of power sources you can use to run the light panel. Have an old computer laying around? You could harvest its power supply and use it.
And, there’s also this:

What You’ll Need

(1) Sheet of 6mm Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
(1) Sheet of 18mm MDF
(1) Camera shoe adapter
(1) 47cm long aluminium tube or wooden dowel
(2) 27cm long aluminum tubes or wooden dowels
(1) 22k potentiometer and knob
(1) Power switch
Spool of magnet wire
(1) 6.8k resistor
Set of XT60 connectors
Small & medium wood screws
Plexiglass
100W Step-down voltage regulator (available on eBay)
12 awg wire
Small fan
15-meters neutral white LED strips

So, without further ado…

Here’s how it’s done:

[ via FilmmakerIQ ]

13 Easy (But Impressive) DIY Photography Lighting Ideas

The best way to start with DIY photography lighting is to get down to the basics. This means using a simple flashlight as your primary light source.

Trying to control its output with modifiers is a great learning process. This article will take you through some easy and inexpensive DIY photography lighting projects. Some of them are helpful for off-camera flashes, and some improve the light of your camera flash.

You can try these DIY photography lighting projects at home, with a flashlight and a light modifier made out of repurposed items. You’ll have most of these at home, but some will require a trip to the hardware store.

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13. DIY Diffuser

If you are using a big light source and want softer light, you can create your own diffuser. It really isn’t complicated or difficult.

Take a large picture frame and remove the canvas or the cardboard from the back so that only the frame remains. You can also create a rectangular frame using plastic pipes. Then stretch a white curtain/fabric across the frame, and nail or staple it.

This creates a sort of softbox, but one where you can control the light. If you take the flash or lamp closer to the diffuser, the light will be harsher. If you go further, then it will be smoother.

12. Use Poster Boards as Reflectors and Flags

One of the most basic pieces of lighting equipment are reflectors and flags. Reflectors bounce off light from the light source back onto the subject. This helps smoothen out harsh shadows.

Flags, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. They block out light to darken specific areas of your subject. This helps give moody shadows to your photos.

The simplest and cheapest reflectors and flags are white and black poster boards, respectively.

Since a black poster board is non-reflective, it won’t bounce back any light, making it a perfect flag.

Fairy lights make a great DIY photography lighting source that is really easy and versatile. Incorporating fairy lights into your photographs lets you light up your subject in a very creative way. Because fairy lights come in different colors and temperatures, you can choose what effect you want.

The model can hold the fairy lights, or you can string them behind her. Placing fairy lights in front of the lens can create a dreamy foreground.

By blurring the image, you can create a beautiful bokeh effect.

Fairy lights are great for photography because unlike other light sources, they can be visible in the image without looking odd.

Wondering how to get soft light with the flash on your camera? The answer is a flash diffuser. This makes the light from your flash much smoother and balanced. The best part is, you can make one on your own for very easily and for almost no cost! All you need is some white paper, white adhesive tape, a hollow tube (like an empty chips can), and scissors.

Just follow this super quick and easy DIY flash diffuser tutorial to create this amazing piece of equipment which will help you take beautiful photographs.

Right flashes produce some really good lighting, but boy can they be expensive. Not if you do it the DIY way though. You just need some materials from your home and a little bit of time.

This is a really detailed tutorial, although it does require you to use your flash off camera. That’s not hard, though.

Find it here the tutorial here – DIY Ring Flash

I’ve seen a number of DIY softboxes. Most are made from cardboard, wire, and fabric or other random items. None of these look very good or are very strong.

Andrew (the writer of this guide) wanted something that would hold up to some abuse, and that didn’t look like it was assembled from old boxes.

If you want to create one of these, you should check out our DIY Softbox guide.

The beauty dish is probably my favorite lighting modifier because I love how the light falls off the subject, in a really soft way.

I recommend them to everyone, but they’re not always the cheapest thing to buy. That’s where Todd Owyoung comes in from IShootShows. He’s written a hugely detailed guide to building your own.

Check it out here – DIY Beauty Dish

6. Piping Bag Tips for DIY Photography Lighting

Piping bags are great tiny light sources. When placed in front of a flashlight, they give you greater control of light direction.

Their tips have different shapes, which will offer you different lighting effects.

You’ll be able to point your light with great accuracy, as you can see in the following product photography lighting shots.

I used a flashlight with a narrow oval piping bag tip for the light ray. This photo was taken in a simple studio setup. I didn’t use the typical white background of product photography. The textured background adds interest to the image.

I used a white fill card with a hole for the lens to cast the light on the ring.

It makes for a fantastic DIY flash diffuser. And it’s great for close-ups.

5. Table Tennis Balls

Table tennis balls are one of the cheapest DIY photography lighting solutions for better shots.

They’ll soften the harsh light that comes out of your flash and help you avoid harsh shadows.

Cut an X shape with a knife on the ball and slide the flash through the opening.

The white plastic is semi-translucent. This allows light to pass through but scatters it in the process.

It creates uniform DIY photography lighting with soft shadows, like in this image below.

I created the overall light with a flashlight and a table tennis ball diffuser in my photo studio.

Moving the DIY diffuser from the back to the front of the image created a backlight effect. And it cast soft shadows on the front of the picture.

4. Balloons

Balloons are an excellent option for creating a DIY lightbox effect.

You can control the size of the light effect by controlling the size of your balloon.

This transforms the small light beam produced by your DIY photo lighting. It becomes a big and soft lighting source.

You’ll need a long exposure due to the low light output of a flashlight.

It can cover a bigger area and even a portrait image. If the model is able to stand still like in this following image.

I created the lighting effect using a flash and a big inflated white balloon during this photo shoot.

Placing the balloon on the top left side of the model created soft shadows on the side of the nose and under the chin. This was a simple and easy lighting setup.

It’s great for portrait photography, and upon closer look you can see the catchlights in the model’s eyes.

3. Fiber Optics

In DIY photo lighting, you can use this type of materials to create a “light brush”. You can use this as a light painting tool.

To create a simple light brush, take the top part of a cheap fiber optic table lamp. Attach it to a flashlight with some black tape.

You now have a light brush, and you can achieve many different light effects with it. My personal favourite effects are the ones done with long exposures in a dark room.

This creates light paintings like the ones Man Ray did in the 1930s. I tried to recreate this style in the following image.

I created the DIY photo lighting effect by slowly moving the flash with the fiber optics. This was a 10-second exposure. The white balance on the camera was set to tungsten, hence the blue light effect.

2. Star Wars Toy Lightsaber

This kids’ toy is actually the base for a great DIY photography lighting tool.

It only had a small red light, and some bad Darth Vader sounds. After dismantling it, I glued the plastic rod to a flashlight. This created a lightsaber worthy of a true Jedi.

And a fantastic DIY studio light.

The plastic rod contains the DIY photography lighting. This allows it to sweep through a wide area during long exposures.

It works great on reflective subjects like the metal chain in this next image.

To create the light effect, I swept the DIY lightsaber from the front to the back of the image. This created soft reflections on the metal without shiny hot spots.

I also placed a vertical white card on the left side of the image.

This helped create a uniform reflection on the image. It also emphasized the background stone and water droplets‘ texture.

1. Coloured Cellophane and Plastic Bottles

For DIY photography lighting, you can use color gels. Place them in front of the light source to get colored effects.

You can’t compare cellophane to genuine color gels when it comes to color rendition. But it is a great cheap option to use with flashlights.

Place these colorful pieces of cellophane inside a plastic bottle. This creates a color mix lighting source. It will create ambience and depth, as you can see in this next image.

To create the colored light effect, I placed a plastic bottle with two cellophane sheets inside over the scene.

Then I moved it slightly to the back to create a shadow effect.

It is fun to experiment with lighting while shooting, but you aren’t limited to just that. If you want some really cool lighting effects, like sun rays, light trails, lightpaths, and more, you can always explore in Photoshop.

There are some things you can do on Photoshop that you might not be able to do in real life.

For example, if you don’t have a tripod to take a very long exposure but want bold light trails, you can stack various images together and merge them into one image.

Or, you can add in light paths as if you were light painting.

If the lighting in your photos wasn’t good enough, you can always add a luminosity mask or a gradient tool to even out the lighting or brighten the image.

Conclusion

That’s it! Good photos need good lighting. If you want to experiment with lighting in your photos but don’t want to splurge, this is your opportunity. There are plenty of DIY photography lighting accessories that you can create in a low budget. Try them out, and you can drastically improve your images.

I’m sure you will get great results and learn a lot along the way.

To get the most out of your photos, take a look at our Wow Factor Photography course!

If you want even more DIY photography ideas, check out our Fun With Photoelasticity post or our DIY Cake Smash Photography article.

DIY Photography LED Light

New Neon Night Lights

We have worked hard and made a new line of handmade neon night lights. If you don't know what to give as a present - give such a night light. It will be unusual and in the truest sense of the word - bright!

Our neon lights up in the video!

It's always nice to see the results of your work in life. At such moments, you realize that this is all "not just trade." You help, advise, find new ways to use products, and thanks to them, shop guests can realize their fantasies.

Drawing in a black notebook!

Drawing in a notebook with black pages looks completely different, and sometimes even the simplest sketch is perceived as a small masterpiece.

Notebooks made of felt, wood, with black pages and other novelties

We have received a new shipment of notebooks. Models made of felt (to the touch, like felt boots), notebooks with black pages, in a wooden cover and other interesting things. We meet!

Candle lanterns Part 2

The second part of the video presentation of the new delivery of candle lanterns. Models made of wood, metal, glass and stained glass.

Candle lanterns Part 1

Candle lanterns have arrived! The variety of designs is dizzying, so we've split the video presentation into two parts. We present to you the first part.

Another composition in the florarium

Another composition in the Florarium

The Internet does not yet allow you to feel the product, but we try to shoot so that every detail is visible. Here are several models of florariums for flowers and a small example of use.

Rechargeable candle from our workshop

A candle that does not need to be changed batteries, that does not spoil the interior with its Chinese look, was developed in our workshop. More in this video.

The history of one backpack

Once upon a time there was a backpack. He loved his master very much. And one day they decided together to enjoy the beautiful view and drink a cup of tea in pleasant solitude.

Master class on florariums from Tanya Verba

As promised, we are posting a full master class on florariums from Tanya Verba. In it, we will tell you how to make a beautiful composition of plants, as well as how to use the florarium as a box for rings.

Florariums for rings and plants

Charming florariums for rings and plants have arrived. We immediately tried to make something interesting out of them. We present to you what we have achieved! p.s. Very soon a full-fledged video lesson on florariums will be released on our channel.

Genuine leather notebooks

Collection of cool notebooks made of genuine leather, wood, craft paper.

Do-it-yourself glowing letter from a garland

Today we will tell you how to make a beautiful glowing letter based on a garland with your own hands. This method is ideal when you want to make a luminous three-dimensional structure at minimal cost.

Wine coaster collection

Several handmade wine coasters. In the near future we promise to expand the range :)

Polygonal paper models

A new release of lights-market.TV is dedicated to polygonal cardboard models that you can assemble yourself. An important feature of these sets is that the result is not a craft, but a real masterpiece - stylish and modern.

Glowing stones! We welcome the new product)

Luminous stones! Welcome new)

Beautiful luminous stones that can be used for landscaping, aquariums, flower pots, etc.

Handmade neon signs

Cool handmade neon signs made by our friends. Hello)

New signs from our workshop

Several new projects have been picked up in a month. We are glad to present them) It is made using ordinary neon, which can be purchased on our website.

Our workshop produced new boxes

Urrra) We present to your attention a new collection of craft wooden boxes for flowers, bottles, nuts - anything! Made in Russia!

Cafe marker boards

A new type of cafe boards - marker pavement boards - has arrived at the warehouse. For drawing on them, special markers are used, the same as for LED boards. The image is very bright and saturated.

How to take amazing photos with backlight

Most people do not notice the light. But this does not apply to photo artists, because, as you know, light is one of the most important components for photography. Until you understand the camera settings, light will be difficult to deal with. But once you learn your camera, it can be played with success. It is especially interesting to use the backlight. She is able to bring expressiveness and beauty to photographs. We will show this with examples of photographing food, landscape, studio and street portraits.

To create a backlight effect, the main light source must be placed behind the subject. The light should shine towards the camera. In this photo, you see the warm setting sun as a source of illumination

For what occasions is illumination good?

Backlight adds depth and drama to flat 2D images.

Backlighting helps bring out the texture of the subjects being photographed. By the way, side lighting is also suitable for this. Texture is created using a combination of highlights and shadows. Because photos are two-dimensional, texture adds depth to the image. Warm or cool backlight temperature, bright flashes of light (for example, at rock concerts) will add drama.

The light source may be present in the frame along with the subject, such as in a photograph of a sunset. Or the light source may be outside the frame and simply illuminate the subject.

Any light source can be used creatively, but some of the most popular sources are sunlight, windows, and on-camera or studio flashes. The principles of backlighting are the same no matter what camera you use, even if you're taking photos with your smartphone.

An ice-covered tree is illuminated by the sun. Without the sunlight coming through the branches, the tree wouldn't stand out so much. Backlighting in food photography can be used to illuminate steam and bring out the texture of food.

Any light source can be used, but many food photographers prefer natural light.

The light source is not visible in this picture, but there is a window behind the frame, the light from which illuminates the food and makes the steam visible

This food was photographed while still on the stove. Warm light comes from oven lamp

An example of soft light from a large window. You can see the texture of the cookie. An IPhone 4s was used to capture the image, and Lightroom was used to process it

Your food photos will be more three-dimensional if you use back (or side) light. Just look at a window or any other light source, get creative and use light from refrigerators, stoves and lamps.

The advantage of using backlight in food photography is that even if you can't change the position of the light source, you can easily change your position and the position of your subject.

Landscape and nature

Once you get used to using light in food photography, try using backlighting to add expression to landscape photography, for example. In most cases, you won't be able to change the position of the backlight, as it will most likely be the sun. However, you can always turn and change your position in relation to the sun and the subject.

The setting sun is the light source for this scene. You can't see it in the frame, the sun is behind the trees on the left. Notice how the electrical wires shine and stand out against the dark trees.

The combination of backlight and water droplets on the lens created a special effect. Of course, it is not recommended to specially wet the lens, but in some cases it is worth taking advantage of the current situation. Get beautiful and bright shots.

Studio portrait

The best part about using backlight in studio photography is that you can position the light source however you like.

Natural light

When using natural light, you can position yourself and your subject according to the light source.

This little boy is illuminated from behind by the setting sun, while the large open sky in front illuminates his face

Troubleshooting

One of the biggest problems with backlighting is often that the subject can look like a silhouette even when you don't want it to.

In these situations, it is likely that the photographer is using a semi-automatic setting such as aperture priority or shutter speed priority. The camera sees the bright backlight and adjusts itself accordingly. To avoid unwanted silhouettes, you can use exposure compensation. Try setting the exposure compensation to +1 or +2. Here you will need to experiment in accordance with specific lighting conditions.

The best way to take pictures is in manual mode.

The main light source is the sky in the background. The sun has not yet risen over the horizon

The practice of backlighting

Once you master the theory, you can use the backlight in a variety of situations.