The Zeroplusplus Photography Blog is about creative lighting techniques for the frugal photographer. Frugal does not mean cheap lighting. Frugal means being resourceful with what you have to work with. Tim and I show you the lighting modifiers and techniques we use for our commercial projects. And we like to show lighting examples that we use everyday…modifiers and lighting not so obvious to the casual observer.
1) DIY Nylon Panel – soft and diffused lighting for $50
2) Bare Octabox – mimic the 10am or 2pm Sun
3) Grided Octabox w/ToughFrost Disc – removes the center hotspot
4) DIY Octabox Ring Light – ring light shadow without the harshness
Early on in our careers, Tim and I assisted many commercial photographers, and were very fortunate to learn a variety of lighting modifiers and lighting techniques. The “Creative Lighting for People Photography” video tutorial demonstrates the 50 most popular lighting techniques we use for our commercial photography.
Aimee - Octobox Ring-Light Modification
Melissa - Naked Octobox Modification
Aimee - Nylon Panel System
Melissa - Nylon Panel System
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6 Comments
Love the idea for the octobox and ringflash combo!
Never thought of that. One of my biggest complaints about the ring flash is it’s TOTALLY cool for about…….three shots, then it’s pretty old and not worth the money spent on it. Creating it via the octobox is pretty smart!
Now all I need is a octobox lol.
Where do you purchase the nylon for the panel?
Justin,
Ripstop nylon or also satin is widely available in the USA or Europe, I suggest using Google to search for a fabric store in your immediate city….it is easy.
I’m looking at a fabric store site now but there are so many variations on the material – could you give a more specific idea of which one to use? Thanks.
I put up a link to Seattle Fabric’s in one of the comments, might be up on another fashion or glamour article. The thicker the material the more the diffusion. I bought the heaviest for about $8 a yard. One has to go to the store in person and feel and see the material, it is not exactly something one can purchase over the internet.
Just don’t buy the cheapest material to save $5, you will have this panel for decades, buy the good stuff.
Where do you find black rubber cloth?