DSLR Shots and Discussions

Cmike2780

If you want to create a diffuser, a cheap solution is to head out to home depot and buy a piece of thin plexiglass. It's about $5 a sheet depending on the size and thickness. Then get some sandpaper and a sanding block. Remove the protective film and lightly & evenly sand one side and leave the other side shiny. This works better if you can get the flash off the camera. It's ghetto & a bit cumbersome, but it works if you just want to experiment.

Portraits are subjective. You can create some great shots with single strobe or go all out with 3 or more. If you're on a tight budget, there are a few options:

-Try a mini softbox for your speedlight. It's around $8-$25. My Westcott 8x12" was about $20 at B&H. I recommend investing on a TTL Remote Cord for your speedlight to really get it off the camera. The flash straight on is very unflattering in most cases. A diffusion dome still creates a hot spot if you aim straight on. You're still bouncing light, although it's a bit more, well.....diffused.

-Skip speedlights and use natural lighting. You can achieve great results with an indoor portrait next to a window on a sunny day. Outdoors, a collapsible reflector and/or diffuser can get you great result. You'll just have to work on how to position them properly and may require an assistant. You can also use them indoors with your speedlight with some experimenting. The Lastolite Trigrips are my favorite, but they're a bit more expensive. Westcott makes some reasonably priced circular ones.

-Rent out a studio. Look around and see if there are places near you. They usually have lighting equipment you can rent. Rentals run anywhere from $15 to $30 or more per hour, but you'll have access to professional lighting equipment. Nice to try at least once instead of investing hundreds on your own equipment.

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