DIY umbrella and softbox

<This has been already posted on Critique Corner but guys in there suggested posting it here for feedback. Hope this is ok with the mods>


Hello,
I've been building this for some time now. Since I'm saving for some -real- studio lighting I decided to experiment with cheap materials and items you can usually get at the hardware shop. Just to understand light before I get into more serious stuff. What do you think of these portraits? I also add pictures of my setup

Any feedback appreciated.


1. Self-portrait with a shoot through umbrella as a main light and a little softbox on the left as an accent light. 1/125s ISO200 F3.5 28mm

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that's quite a DIY lighting set-up, not too portable but definitely sturdy looing !

watt100 wrote in post #11095396
that's quite a DIY lighting set-up, not too portable but definitely sturdy looing !

Thanks! It's quite light due to the nature of pvc pipes I can lift the whole thing in one hand no problem. But true - it is only usable inside and not really flexible at times since the 'stand' is quite big.

That's an interesting DIY set-up. You could buy a dimmer switch and wire it in and then be able to control the output.

emitecaps wrote in post #11095663
That's an interesting DIY set-up. You could buy a dimmer switch and wire it in and then be able to control the output.

Great idea! Had a simple switch laying around somewhere and wired it in. Now I have two settings 1/1 and 1/2

1. The switch

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Hey man, I give you credit for thinking through the situation. My only comment would be that you may want more light to get above 1/125th although I doubt you'll get much motion blur at 1/125. Looking forward to any other crazy ideas you come up with!

SwiftFootTim wrote in post #11097343
Hey man, I give you credit for thinking through the situation. My only comment would be that you may want more light to get above 1/125th although I doubt you'll get much motion blur at 1/125. Looking forward to any other crazy ideas you come up with!

Hey! Thanks for the encouragement
Adding more light (more power) might become problematic since those lamps are crazy hot already and they are blindingly bright. That's not good enough for freezing motion but you certainly don't want to be in front of them for half an hour or so. Anyway this is good enough to understand the way light falls on subjects from certain angles, how light diffusing works, etc.

I tried one more thing: mounted a couple of bare 150W lamps on the only cheap tripod I have

1. This is how it looked

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what light bulbs are you using?

Melikeyummyfood wrote in post #11099827
what light bulbs are you using?

Incandescent bulbs with reflectors made by Tungsram or Osram but I'm quite sure most manufacturers make them

how much did the entire setup cost?

marsaz wrote in post #11098156
Hey! Thanks for the encouragement
Adding more light (more power) might become problematic since those lamps are crazy hot already and they are blindingly bright. That's not good enough for freezing motion but you certainly don't want to be in front of them for half an hour or so. Anyway this is good enough to understand the way light falls on subjects from certain angles, how light diffusing works, etc.

I tried one more thing: mounted a couple of bare 150W lamps on the only cheap tripod I have

1. This is how it looked

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2. And what I've managed to come up with
ISO200 1/200s F3.5 28mm, camera hand held

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not bad

Thanks!

dabombdatgoboom wrote in post #11100421
how much did the entire setup cost?

That's a good question. I've been playing around with this stuff for some time now.

Things you see in the last picture:
8 incandescent light bulbs - 10$
an umbrella - 10$
wiring 3$
pvc pipes - 10$ (I've bought a lot more than I'm actually using right now and spent more than 10 bucks while 'inventing' this setup)

I also used things like a drill, some bolts, duct tape.

Actually, one could get a Yn460 for the money. More or less. Although I admit cheap strobist setup might be more reasonable choise (a bit more expensive too) with much more capabilities but there is a fun and educational part in building your own stuff from scratch.

Hey, if you designed it to look "crazy" or "industrial" enough you could even make the lights part of your photos in the future if you had some way to work them in creatively!