If you just want to “feel” the result of the ringflash and don’t have nor the budget to buy a real ringflash and don’t have the “talet” to drill and cut through the metal, here is a nice alternative for doing your own ringflash.I found this link on the web, here a guy named Chung Dha Lam explains how to create a ringflash out of carton!!!

Looks a very easy and affordable project,here is the carton diagram

Get to his website to read more about this project.

PEACE

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I think that I visited Zack’s blog after watching a one light workshop promotion video on youtube (something funny about bumping into a cop while shooting the video), then I got really “in love” with him (although he is not my type ).

While strobist.com got much to commercial and diyphotography.net does it too , Zack’s blog remained untouched and keeps his goals with one off camera normal flash  (the strobist way 3 years ago).

If  you haven’t visited the site yet go on and do it now as its probably the best information source for beginners and pros as well!

This the best starting point to visit Zack’s site (my opinion),  its a  six part great tutorial about white seamless photography and how to use and do this very common technique, and master this quickly. Read it, even if its a little long one (take some coffee breaks ). There is lighting basics, setup basics and some easy photoshop in it, so you get almost all the info you need!

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 2b
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

The only downside that I find here is that Zack mainly uses the big flash Westcott Apollo 28″ Light Modifier softbox
which my be a little expensive for beginners.

Visit this site and bookmark it, You’ll never regret it!!!

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Hey, I’ve been asked by a good friend of mine (Zehavit) to come and shoot some images of their fun science learning packages for children. There are many easy science experiments that the children learn while doing fun things. Those kits are a very useful thing and the childrens love it!!! The photographs I’ll take will be used for the package back to show some of the ingredients each kit includes.

For this product setup I used 2 Canon speedlight flashes, on the tripod a Canon 580EXII and on the other side (on the table) a Canon 430EX, both flashes triggered by another Canon flash (550EX).Flashes set to manual power, the main light – Canon 580EXII set to 1/4 of maximum power and the small 430EX used as a fill light on the right side bounced by the wall set to 1/16 of full power. Camera also set to manual mode Iso 500, f/10, 1/200th sec white balance – manual (taken with a gray card).

Here are some results that came out of that simple product photography setup, feel free to comment and share your product photography photographs!!!

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Martin Prihoda is an advertising and fashion photographer living and working in Mumbai.

I think I bumped his name on flickr and visited his blog. In his blog he writes about some of his recent works, some very high quality fashion shootouts. Some of his posts also has a “behind the scenes” images, which you can easily learn about lighting for models and fashion photographs. Take a minute and visit his blog, browse the posts and learn how the big ones do it.

A post that I really like on Martin’s blog is this one link . It covers some behind the scenes from on of Martin Fashion photogarphy sessions for May’s 2010 issue of Verve. Very  nice and clean work and a good use of beauty dishes.

http://atomicsafari.blogspot.com/

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Well I found David’s site as I was looking for some DIY softbox ideas.I first read this post, about a way to attach small camera flash to a normal softbox (not those plastic softboxes, but a real one ). He used a sponge to hold the flash to the softbox ring, easy and simple. If you’re a DIY fun you should read that post, here is a link to that. David actually put the flash into the soft box but connects the flash to the tripod, while it holds the softbox. He experienced this with 50cm softboxes and claims to be able to hold the softbox weight. I would try to work with, or get a softbox that as a speed ring that attaches to a tripod and then add the flash sponge holder  to the softbox, so the softboxes weight won’t be on the flash.

flash sponge holder

After reading that opening post I started wondering through David’s blog and found many other posts that has great value for as photographers. You must read the Photography Tutorials section (in the categories menu), where David shares his studio photography knowledge with his reader.

It will be a good idea to subscribe to Davids blog via RSS for more useful information.

PS

David, Great site!!!

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Somehow you don’t have to own an online ebay shop in order to be interested in product photography.It simply a common task to do when you start to explore your photography.You don’t have to ask a model to participate in a shootout, you can do it in your bedroom or living room, you can use studio strobes or a simple reading lamp.

So I can’t put the finger why, but every one will do that in one way or an other.

Surfing over flicker.com (which is a great site for photography inspiration) I found this simple setup which I thinks beats my simple product photography tutorial. All this guy uses is a couple of papers arranged in a simple “box” setup for white background and reflector. The only downside for this is that it will suit only small product as this setup is small. Shooting this lens that he did is already to big. So check it out and start learning and experimenting!

Credit for Josh Liba.

Here is a link to Josh’s Flickr gallery: Josh Liba

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Panning is a very nice and simple photographic effect, that is very simple to implement.I’m pretty sure had some panning in your photography even if you didn’t want to.For getting the panning effect right you have to follow the basic steps that I’ll talk about in the following post, the base for a prefect panning is slow shutter speed,not to slow and not to fast.

Get in to read more:

So what should you do to get a great panning? simple:

1. Set your camera to Tv (Time variant) control, so you’ll the control for the time the shutter will be open.
2. Do some tests to get the idea about the perfect time.The picture of the motor cycles in this post where taken about 1/8th sec – 1/15th sec.Those object where moving about 30km/hour and about 20m away from me, so if you are about to photograph faster moving vehicles or taking the panning pictures closer you should make the exposure for about 1/60th-1/30th sec.
3. Test and improve- Change your shutter speed and compostion for better panning photographs.
4. How to take the picture? set the focus on the moving object,drag the shutter and while dragging the shutter, pan with the moving object.
5. Follow the object – start following the object some period before  you drag the shutter and continue your movement a brief moment after the shutter has dropped. This will prevent surprises and will make you movement more smooth as you take the picture.
6. You a tripod – To get sharp it will be a nice idea to use a tripod or monopod for extra sharpness.
7. Test and improve- Change your shutter speed and compostion for better panning photographs.

Here are some examples of pannings that I took while we where traveling in Italy, only there you’ll find so “sexy” scooters for your panning photographs.Share your tips and pictures with as!!!

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Small swivel flash  holder- you probably already have one and if not you must have one.

The camera tripod thing that holds the camera to the tripod.

The item you probably don’t have and that’s the time to get it is the 1/4″ and 3/8″ Female Threaded screw Adapter , so go on and get one, you’ll see that you might need it. Search on ebay or go to your local studio camera store.

There are two easy steps and I guess you already know what to do after you have those items, but what the heck here is what you need to do in some simple steps!

At the bottom of the swivel head flash holder you should place the screw adaptor.Make sure you leave the smaller diameter at the bottom side.Close tight the adaptor.

Now screw the quick release panel to the bottom side of the swivel head. and thats what you get.

All you have left to do is to attach the quick release panel to the tripod as if you connect a camera.Put the flash on the top of the swivel head and ad in the umbrella.

Start taking your photographs!

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One of the photography magazines that I read regularly is Popular Photography.I actually don’t remember when I first read this magazine, as my father was the one who started with it way back in the 80’s and I bealive that I can read English since I was 10, so that makes it the middle 80’s. But lets talk about the last issue of PopPhoto.

In the last issue, there is an article about “Lighting Like a Pro”, Covering some very common topics we photographers are interested and spending lot of online time reading about:

• Using natural light-there is an example of beach model shoot, using the sun light and a reflector.You can use the DIY reflector we “designed” here.
• Mimicing the sunlight using strobes- a very good piece on using the strobes as main lights , that allows us to get the over exposed sky if we havn’t used them. A very nice setup.
• Mixing Daylight and strobes.
• Jewelery shoot setup- explaining the basics of jewelery photography and how to pose your light in such a setup.
• Advanced setup using more than 10 lights in a multi-exposure shoot. This is really advanced stuff.

This great stuff is wrapped with an article that covers the 10 things you don’t know about light.

This is a must read issue!!!

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Lately I find it very fun to shoot some films with old and not automatic film cameras. I find it a joy to use those metallic old age cameras, and the look of the developed photographs is something different from the digital cameras too. There is something about the film you use instead of the digital sensor, and I think much of the difference in the outcome is about the optics. They definitely used different glass back then, no L DG or any other marks on the lens, but simple 50mm f/1.4 manual and thats all!!!.

Some of the cameras that I own has built in light meters, in my Russian Zenith ET the light meter doesn’t work any more and in my Pentax the light meter works, but only with a battery the is very hard to find in Israel.

So I got my self the light meter my father used some 20 years ago, when there where no alternatives or built in light meters. The only thing was that he didn’t really remember how to operate it. After some research here is my “crash manual” on how to use your old light meter.

For starters, this is my light meter, an old Weimar Lux nova.

How to operate your old light meter:

1. first of all,set your film ISO speed (figure 1).Move the brown circle to match the film speed.In the image it is set to 200ISO or 24DIN (probably the eastern European method).
2. Point the light meter front panel to the direction you want to take the light meter from.
3. In the bottom of the light meter the is a needle that will move when you direct the meter to different light scenes.The number the needle will point to is the exposure number the meter took.In figure 2 you’ll that the needle is pointing on something between 4-5 (4.6+-).
4. Move the big white circle, so the small arrow in the little gray window will point on the number the needle shows.
5. Now you got the camera settings you need on the top of the light meter. You could choose on of the suggested settings .Figure 3 shows that if you set the camera on aperture f/1.4 then you’ll have to set the shutter speed to 1/500th sec.

Thats all!!!

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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