Tight-wads, Skinflints and the Poor !!
Ok, not being the millionaire, philanthropist playboy I like to imagine I am for 5 minutes each day, means that I can't always afford the very best in terms of photographic equipment.
In fact I quite often have to bodge/improvise a lot of things to get a desired effect.
So, any anecdotes from photographers on how they achieved certain effects using whatever comes to hand would be quite ineteresting.
Its been my experience that you don't necessarily need to always have items worth hundreds/thousands to get a good shot.
In fact I quite often have to bodge/improvise a lot of things to get a desired effect.
So, any anecdotes from photographers on how they achieved certain effects using whatever comes to hand would be quite ineteresting.
Its been my experience that you don't necessarily need to always have items worth hundreds/thousands to get a good shot.
24.05.05, 13:11
Post 2 of 8
Yes - money is always a problem when buying camera gear - it aint cheap - initially I purchased a cheap block of european whitewood for a couple of £'s and carved a crude digital slr out of it ... everything was manual and it didnt work with my pc for transferring images ... in fact I have yet to see any of the 1000's of images I took but it did attract many admiring glances from jealous Nikon users ... beat that for using whatever comes to hand. regards, Paul. ;0)
lol i have those "5 mins" of fantasy too and it's always so jarring to wake up from it.
In terms of improvisation:
I've done a lot of floral still life shots without aid of lamps, umbrellas, reflectors etc and have found that i can still produce quality images.
I always go to the local paper/stationary shop and buy those large, thick coloured papers, some blu-tack and baby oil.
At home if natural lighting isn't up to par, I have a small 40Watt clip-on lamp and a regular desklamp. I get an assortment of light-bulb colours and if need be, I make my own colour filters out of plastic foil.
A lot of flowers have this chalky covering on the leaves which really spoils the shot so that's where the baby oil comes in. I put some in a spray bottle and rub it over the green parts and the glossiness looks good afterwards.
For reflectors I basically have an old box that I cut up into an assortment of sizes and then covered with aluminium foil (the shinier side down otherwise it's TOO reflective).
I find a bare piece of wall and stick up the paper of choice and clip the light on something and voila.
:o) The paper is usually about €0.65 per sheet (A1 sizing I think) and I wind up buying one of every colour so that makes them the most expensive items. I usually don't spend more than about €12 on everything. And stuff like the foils etc you don't buy again obviously until they run out.
kind regards
..belinda
In terms of improvisation:
I've done a lot of floral still life shots without aid of lamps, umbrellas, reflectors etc and have found that i can still produce quality images.
I always go to the local paper/stationary shop and buy those large, thick coloured papers, some blu-tack and baby oil.
At home if natural lighting isn't up to par, I have a small 40Watt clip-on lamp and a regular desklamp. I get an assortment of light-bulb colours and if need be, I make my own colour filters out of plastic foil.
A lot of flowers have this chalky covering on the leaves which really spoils the shot so that's where the baby oil comes in. I put some in a spray bottle and rub it over the green parts and the glossiness looks good afterwards.
For reflectors I basically have an old box that I cut up into an assortment of sizes and then covered with aluminium foil (the shinier side down otherwise it's TOO reflective).
I find a bare piece of wall and stick up the paper of choice and clip the light on something and voila.
:o) The paper is usually about €0.65 per sheet (A1 sizing I think) and I wind up buying one of every colour so that makes them the most expensive items. I usually don't spend more than about €12 on everything. And stuff like the foils etc you don't buy again obviously until they run out.
kind regards
..belinda
24.05.05, 15:29
Post 4 of 8
come on belinda - that doesnt beat making your own dslr out of wood !!! ;0)
I bet the pictures were a bit on the grainy side !!
Oh, and by the way, I'm not at all impressed by a wooden DSLR. One fashioned from ear wax would have been a lot more impressive, but I guess you're just not that skilled *yawn*.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not at all impressed by a wooden DSLR. One fashioned from ear wax would have been a lot more impressive, but I guess you're just not that skilled *yawn*.
24.05.05, 16:28
Post 6 of 8
"I always go to the local paper/stationary shop and buy those large, thick coloured papers, some blu-tack and baby oil."
heck, I would have avoided the costs of photography altogether and got on with that baby oil.
Post Edited (16:28h)
heck, I would have avoided the costs of photography altogether and got on with that baby oil.
Post Edited (16:28h)
As Belinda said, aluminium foil is essential...
And a white plasticbag you got on your last shopping tour can make a fine diffusor for your pop-up-flash...
[fc-foto:2668883]
As a background you can use paintings (ok, not necessarily cheap, but maybe you have some)...
[fc-foto:2681442]
or your smoking-jackett...
[fc-foto:2339610]
And remember that your bathroom-mirror laid on your livingroom-table can also be helpfull...
[fc-foto:2335027]
In my opinion such improvisation can actually be more interesting than just going to your studio and just taking some more shots. It's fun...
Paul: was your wooden modell the CAN ONly-1
Post Edited (22:46h)
And a white plasticbag you got on your last shopping tour can make a fine diffusor for your pop-up-flash...
[fc-foto:2668883]
As a background you can use paintings (ok, not necessarily cheap, but maybe you have some)...
[fc-foto:2681442]
or your smoking-jackett...
[fc-foto:2339610]
And remember that your bathroom-mirror laid on your livingroom-table can also be helpfull...
[fc-foto:2335027]
In my opinion such improvisation can actually be more interesting than just going to your studio and just taking some more shots. It's fun...
Paul: was your wooden modell the CAN ONly-1
Post Edited (22:46h)
You're soooo right. There's really nothing better than 10ml of a greasy substance that only cost 0.99 (travel sized, for your convenience and budget).
oh that was in my out-loud voice again :o|
oh that was in my out-loud voice again :o|