I am a 'back-to-basics' snapper, and wonder if anyone else here is as short of equipment and studio space as I am.
For this shot I used my point-and shoot camera, hand-held, on auto focus and auto exposure, using daylight plus inbuilt flash softened with a bit of white paper, and a sheet of black card for background. It was processed with Picnik using the basic tone curve tool.
It may not match the quality of many excellent shots I have seen here, but I find it quite acceptable at the price, for personal enjoyment, and would love to hear other people's tips involving zero or minimal cost.
I use bristol board, 2 for a $, from the dollar store for my backdrops....love it and it's so cheap! Going to make a homemade lightbox at some point, easily done for under $20.
I've also used my window sill...I'm lucky enough to have a bay window! Great discussion...looking forward to hearing everyone's cheap tricks!
yes me ! haha ! i own nothing except my camera and standard kit lens :( i use a heavy black curtain for my black backdrops and a white roller blind that i picked up for a grand total of 50p ! for my white backdrops :)
I bought thick poster board in black, navy, red and shimmery gold with almost all having a white background. I find I use my front southern exposure window, my dark wood dining room table and the butter cream wall (that photographs yellow on occassion).
I just happened to move into a house with the best lighting ever and hardwood floors! that's my studio and I LOVE it. Other than that, my stuff is pretty basic and I am ok with that!
I have white upvc windowsills...and it seems to work well (see my dried fruit shots from yesterday, and tulip from the day before). The only problem is, I end up having to shoot moreorless into the sun!
@lluniau ... I just had a look, Elin. Excellent shots, but if shooting into the sun ever bothers you a sheet of crumpled kitchen foil or even a folded newspaper can easily bounce a bit of light into the shadows. (Not that you need it for any of those in your albums!)
I have nothing myself but a window sill... I cant wait to keep reading this thread for ideas as i was considering buying some *new* props next month... hey why pay more?!
Oh and @andycoleborn very interesting indeed! LOL
@wordpixman Great idea, thanks! Di you reckon some greaseproof paper over the window would help "diffuse" the sunlight aswell? Not tried it. Just thought of it now!
Except that I use a DSLR instead of the P&S (at least for this type of inside shot), I do the same: natural light, black piece of fabric, uniform wall in my house (different colours available ;-) ), sometimes a glass or mirror when required, that's it!
Absolutely! Try it ... try anything and have fun ... net curtains, bedsheets, coloured paper, bead curtains, rush table mats, and many other materials can do a good job, depending on what effect you want to achieve. There are no limits, and only two rules: if you like the result, remember it for next time, and if you don't like it, try something else! And while on the subject of diffusion, remember that a smear or vaseline or cooking oil on a piece of glass or clear plastic in front of the lens can produce effects as good as expensive filters or software. (But don't get it on the lens!)
@wordpixman my wife and I do a lot of inside the house shots using make shift light boxes, mirrors, glossy paper, you name it...this shot went popular and the backdrop is a cleaned off refrigerator door with a black light from the side and then slightly edited in picknik
p.s my wife reminded me on this shot it was not a black light but a regular florescent
on this shot I used a tea light holder that is in the shape of a lighthouse, a lit tea light inside the lighthouse, a blacklight from the side/front, and the backdrop is scrapbooking paper of a sea/shore scene at dusk
@loztsoul ... I love your fanciful creations, Trevor! the lighthouse really is 'something out of nothing' ... I wish I had such crerative imagination. Congratulations!
Great subject :o)
I simply have no money to buy things to help me, so I am constantly forced to be creative. Though on the flip side, I think this pure fact helps us grow more.
My main area of problem, is that I have no flash, so I am forced to think outside of the box.
For this photo I used my black coat as a makeshift light box (or should i say a box to cancel out as much light as possible) and the glass was lit with candles.
For this one, I utilised the window sill and natural light
And this one was done with the light from the window as well
@lluniau Great tip about the greaseproof paper :o)
@killerjackalope Adam that reminds me of using a hocket stick to press the shutter release :o)
Count me in too! I'm lucky that I live in a house with huge windows and fantastic natural light, the only flash I have is the inbuilt one on my camera. I have recently been bought by my wonderful hubby a backdrop stand but before that I used material hung from trouser hangers hung from our picture rails. I also last year did a photo shoot at someones house and used an old blind (bright red!) with a black and a white fitted sheet attached. Was great, rolled up nice and easily and sat over the back of their door. There is lots to use. Recently my FIL gave me a huge white board which I used for say shots like this:
And art stuff that the kids have make great backdrops too. Oh and clothes pegs. lol.
This shot was taken in my kitchen on the draining board, two bits of black card, one perched on top of a cereal box, the other up against the wall and a clothes peg so that flower stood up straight and just the afternoon/early evening sun.
And kitchen sinks are great for water shots. Small shots glass unpturned in the sink under running water:
@wordpixman thank you so much for your compliment my friend! I am glad you liked my photo's...the way I approach photography is the fact I have had zero training so as I am learning I tend to be an outside the box thinker...I start with a vision and half the fun is tweaking till I get my vision or at least a close approximation...the more I experiment the more photo's I have had that surpas anything I could have even dreamed of...it seams I stumble upon art from those experiment "explosions" as a novice photographer because I do not limit myself to photographers concepts of technique, rules, lighting, composition, sooc, etc...in fact I have lost a couple of followers from not being a photo purist and using a photo even a bland one as the foundation for fantasy realization via editing
@loztsoul ... I like your philosophy, Trevor; we might be described as fellow travellers. I too believe that photography - or any other art form, if we may call it that - is very much in the minds of the creator and the viewer, whose views may differ greatly, but we learn so much from each other which we may consciously or subconsciously adapt or adopt as our own. I have little faith in the theory that if we adhere rigidly to the taught rules the result must be right (even if we may not fully understand why) but every confidence that experimentation or improvisation, whether it succeeds or fails, is a valuable learning experience. Thank you for your thoughtful contribution to this discussion!
@michelleyoung ... Thank you Michelle. An excellent result from a clever idea with zero strain on the equipment budget. Just the kind of solution I had in mind when starting the discussion. So simple but oh, so good!
@wordpixman Arthur I think this discussion is wonderful, especially helping those of us who are on a budget and cannot afford to buy expensive equipment. Plus it explores everyones creativity in how they compensate for the lack of equipment. Brilliant topic.
@coolgirlsar ... apologies for my late reply, Sarah. Your wide range of subjects show what is possible if we are prepared to improvise. Thank you for sharing!
@wordpixman Thank you one and all. I just bought some plain black card , used my conservatory and hit the popular page. with my pic 24 May. Look forward to trying more of these ideas and improving my shots.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
I've also used my window sill...I'm lucky enough to have a bay window! Great discussion...looking forward to hearing everyone's cheap tricks!
Last night I used a drum stick to poke the shutter button while tied up, then dropped it for the timer to go down...
I use all kinds of random junk as diffusers, the rubber film inside keyboards works really well on a random note...
Excellent improvisation, Andy; that's what I like to see!
Oh and @andycoleborn very interesting indeed! LOL
Absolutely! Try it ... try anything and have fun ... net curtains, bedsheets, coloured paper, bead curtains, rush table mats, and many other materials can do a good job, depending on what effect you want to achieve. There are no limits, and only two rules: if you like the result, remember it for next time, and if you don't like it, try something else! And while on the subject of diffusion, remember that a smear or vaseline or cooking oil on a piece of glass or clear plastic in front of the lens can produce effects as good as expensive filters or software. (But don't get it on the lens!)
Good luck; play and enjoy!
p.s my wife reminded me on this shot it was not a black light but a regular florescent
I simply have no money to buy things to help me, so I am constantly forced to be creative. Though on the flip side, I think this pure fact helps us grow more.
My main area of problem, is that I have no flash, so I am forced to think outside of the box.
For this photo I used my black coat as a makeshift light box (or should i say a box to cancel out as much light as possible) and the glass was lit with candles.
For this one, I utilised the window sill and natural light
And this one was done with the light from the window as well
@lluniau Great tip about the greaseproof paper :o)
@killerjackalope Adam that reminds me of using a hocket stick to press the shutter release :o)
Oh the things we do :o)
And art stuff that the kids have make great backdrops too. Oh and clothes pegs. lol.
This shot was taken in my kitchen on the draining board, two bits of black card, one perched on top of a cereal box, the other up against the wall and a clothes peg so that flower stood up straight and just the afternoon/early evening sun.
And kitchen sinks are great for water shots. Small shots glass unpturned in the sink under running water:
Here is one I made earlier ;o) Needs must!! the light is generated by a candle:
Here is a zoomed out look at how its done.