Photo by Just Fab using a version of the do-it-yourself scrim.

It’s senior portrait season, and that means people are looking for easy ways to take better portraits outdoors.  Direct light is the double-edged of outdoor portrait photography.  On one hand, it produces beautiful, rich, saturated backgrounds.  On the other hand, it produces harsh shadows on the face - a big no-no for proper portrait photography. For better portraits, you want diffuse directional light.  This is the purpose of using a soft box indoors - you’re able to use a bright light while softening it to eliminate its harsh qualities.  But how to you diffuse the sun?

Enter the do-it-yourself scrim, which lets you shoot outdoors in direct sunlight while softening the sun enough to produce sharp portraits.  The best part?  It can be produced for under $30.

Here’s what you need to purchase:

• 3 ten foot sections of PVC Piping
• 4 T Connectors
• 2 90-Degree Connectors
• White Nylon Shower Curtain

That’s it.  Cut two sections four feet in length.  These will serve as the two, perpendicular horizontal parts of the frame.  Then, cut two five foot sections for the side of the frame, two 16-inch sections for the legs and four nine-inch sections for the base.  You end up with something like this:

This should give you enough support for the frame to be freestanding.  The shower curtain you purchased will act as the diffusing material.  For an inelegant solution, you can simply drape it over the frame.  Or, if you’re nitpicky, you can cut and tack it so it looks a little more professional.

How do you use it?  Position your subject so they’re facing at a right angle to the sun.   Stick your new do-it-yourself scrim between them and the sun.  The shower curtain acts as a diffuser, casting softer shadows across the face and improving the quality of the portrait.  At the same time, the background is still bright and saturated.

For better results, use in the early morning or evening - the so-called “golden hours”.  This will keep your background from being washed out from a bright sun and the sun is at a greater angle, making your scrim more effective.

Be sure to come back and post your results!  This will be a great addition to the toolkit for parents looking to take senior photos, and might save the need for hiring a professional.  Good luck!

The do-it-yourself scrim was refined from an original concept by Just Fab.  Thanks for the inspiration!

Light is the backbone in every photograph. In this post-processing, Photoshop-faking, high-dynaminic-ranging world of modern photography, beginning photographers often forget about light in the process. It’s to their detriment: Almost every other photographic flaw - poor composition, cheap equipment, etc. - can be excused simply if the light is good. And, despite what a lot of people may think, good lighting is something that just can’t be faked.

This is an introduction - the first step in thinking about lighting’s impact on your photographs. More advanced photographers may find it beneath them, but oftentimes we all can benefit from a return to the basics. Here are four different types of lighting along with examples of how each is used well. In the coming weeks, Cheapshooter will explore each in detail and offer some specific techniques on how each can be used to produce great photography. Don’t miss out - make sure you add our RSS feed.

Catch the four different types after the jump.

Frontlight

Diffused Frontlighting

Diffused Frontlighting creates a more uniform exposure than other types of lighting.
Photo originally uploaded by zorglubb.

What is it: A specific type of frontlighting that loses some of its directionality. A common side-effect of overcast days, diffused frontlight results in an image that is more evenly illuminated than a simple frontlit photo alone.

What is it good for: This is another safe type of lighting that most digital cameras handle with ease. Because the diffusion reduces shadows, it’s great lighting for portraits, macro photography or other detail shots.

Challenges: The sky is dull and boring in diffused frontlit photos, giving landscape photographs a gloomy look that may not be desirable. It’s better to shoot portraits and the like against an interesting backdrop rather than a dull and lifeless sky.

Backlighting

Note: Read the full article on backlighting here.

Backlighting can create a cool effect in many images if used correctly.

Sentimental Sunlight, originally uploaded by HaMeD!caL.

What is it: A subject directly in front of the primary light source.

What is it good for: Backlighting is used to produce sharp silhouettes or interesting lighting effects with partially-transparent objects like flowers or leaves.

Challenges: Most cameras struggle to find the right exposure for a backlit image, making this an effect that’s often easier to produce with manual settings. Poorly-exposed backlit images represent the worst of both worlds, with unclear detail in both the background and subject. The effect also tends to be overused, so images run the risk of being cliche.

Sidelighting

Sidelighting can produce some of the most dramatic and interesting effects.
Photo originally uploaded by Michael Czeiszperger.

What is it: Just like it sounds: the primary light source is positioned to the side of the subject.

What is it good for: Sidelighting is arguably the most aesthetically-interesting of all forms of light. It’s the easiest method to give your images the illusion of depth, as shadows will be darker in a sidelit image. Portraits in front of a window are a classic example of a sidelit look that many photographers try and replicate.

Challenges: Balancing both shadow and highlight areas can be a challenge for many photographers and many digital cameras. This is the most advanced type of lighting, and the setup time and knowledge level necessary for a good exposure is almost certainly increased.

As Cheapshooter explores lighting more, this page will be updated with links to each type’s specific article. Be sure to bookmark the page and come back later.

Stumble It!

This week’s lesson is on balancing flash and sunlight - an important concept for just about everyone to understand. Be sure to give it a look.

A photography umbrella gives the photographer a greater level of control over the lighting in a photograph like this.

I talk about lighting and flash photography a lot at Cheapshooter, but it’s with good reason. Lighting can be one of the best ways to make expensive-looking photographs on the cheap. Everything else - poor digital camera, subpar lens - can be forgiven if the lighting looks good.

I qualified my statement because photography lighting can also become expensive really quickly. I stay away from talking about expensive studio strobes and soft boxes - that’s for another site (and another photographer with more money) to handle. In my own photography I stick to cheap solutions, and I’ve found that one great way to achieve beautiful lighting is with a photography umbrella.

What is a photography umbrella? It’s exactly like it sounds - it’s an umbrella. A photography umbrella is simply a regular umbrella with a reflective inner lining. It pushes up like an umbrella and it even works to shield a forgetful photographer and his digital camera in a rainstorm (Believe me, I know.)

What a photography umbrella does is diffuses a light source without compromising its directionality. This is important and it’s what makes photography umbrellas unique. If you shine a light into a light box, it may be diffused, but you lose a lot of control over where to aim that light. Not so with an umbrella. Not only does the umbrella soften the light, but you’re still able to aim it exactly where you want it. This makes it a useful - and unique - tool.

Typically, photography umbrellas are used with off-camera flashes, like the Vivitar 285HV or any of the other myriad of flashes available. But if you’re limited by budget or are just fooling around, an umbrella can still be useful. While you shoot, find some to hold a bright light source like a halogen work lamp and point it into the umbrella. You lose some of the control that a flash gives you in terms of exposure settings, but there’s no reason why this technique wouldn’t still work in a pinch.

Typically, you set your photography umbrella to the left or right of the subject you are photographing and point it directly at them. Moving the umbrella closer amplifies and narrows the light source, while moving it away does the opposite. Multiple umbrellas can be used to provide more varied lighting effects.

The best thing about the photography umbrella is its cost - one will only set you back around $30 or so. For the flexibility it offers, a photography umbrella is a bargain. Unlike expensive and ungainly studio equipment, you won’t mind lugging a photography umbrella around for the afternoon and you’ll mind even less when you see what it can do to your photographs. It’s a tool that belongs in any photographer’s kit.

A ring flash is a great way to get even lighting for your macro or portrait shots. Typically, it’s a pricey investment, but DigiHack came up with a way to convert your regular, off-camera flash into a ring flash. It may not be the prettiest looking thing in the world, but the ring flash gets the job done and that’s what matters, right?

Here’s what you’ll need to build it:

1. A flash. Any flash will work for this but if you want to use the ring flash for more than just macro work, you’ll need a strong flash. Get the strongest one you can get your hands on. Seriously.
2. Styrofoam
3. Cardboard
4. Aluminum foil
5. Tape
6. Lens hood. (This is important this is the device you will be using to mount the flash directly to the lens. It’s important that you use a hood/shade thingy and not just a lens filter. There’s a bunch of flare to be dealt with)

The DigiHack site is kaput now, but you can view the whole article courtesy of the Wayback Machine here.

Check out this photographer’s idea to soften her fill flash out doors. Here’s a preview. It involves an umbrella, a flash and … a helmet. That’s right - the whole rig is strapped to her skull. She fires her off-camera flash on her helmet into an umbrella that’s sticking out the back of her head. Unorthodox? Certainly. Insane? Debatable.

The results look pretty good, but at the same time, I’ll take a pass on this one. Sometimes, self-respect is a bit more important than getting the perfect shot.

The Vivitar 285HV flash has been around for nearly thirty years. Introduced all the way back in 1972, the Vivitar 285HV has seen use for a long time as a reliable strobe flash with a fair amount of power. While Vivitar stopped producing the unit for a while, a strong secondhand market developed on eBay.

Fast-forward to 2007. Prices for the Vivitar 285HV remained high on eBay, SLR prices were falling, and blogs like Strobist helped to spur interest in flash photography. The folks at Vivitar decided to break out the old workhorse again and started cranking out the 285HVs for a new generation.

The Vivitar 285HV has been updated for the modern age - in one way, at least. Older Vivitar 285HV flashes could generate more than 6v of electricity when fired, a level higher than many modern digital cameras could handle. This could lead to a fried hot shoe, and an angry photographer who isn’t going to be delving any further into flash photography for the foreseeable future. But there’s nothing to worry about with the new Vivitar 285HV model as it has been certified as safe for all digital cameras, topping out at 5.9v.

Besides that change, the Vivitar 285HV remains charmingly anachronistic in appearance. None of the rounded edges and LCD screens common on the new high-end Canon and Nikon flashes — the Vivitar 285HV is build like a big brick and looks like one too. While the Vivitar 285HV body is constructed out of plastic, don’t mistake the heft of the unit. I wouldn’t worry too strongly about tossing a Vivitar 285HV in a bag and going - this thing is built to last awhile.

The Vivitar 285HV doesn’t support E-TTL II or E-TTL, although the unit does have a small dial in front for an automatic setting. Largely, the 285HV unit is meant to be set manually. There’s a dial on the side for the photographer to program in distance and ASA/ISO settings, and the flash adjusts accordingly. In front, a second setting allows you to dial down the Vivitar 285HV flash power incrementally, allowing the Vivitar 285HV to be used as a fill flash or an accent light fairly easily. Still, there may be a learning curve for the Vivitar 285HV. If the idea of fiddling around with settings to get the results you want is a turn-off, you’d be better off looking at an automatic flash.

The Vivitar 285HV head rotates vertically up to 90 degrees, enabling you to use it as a bounce flash. This is less than ideal, as the Vivitar 285HV can’t be used to bounce off a side wall, but it’s serviceable. The Vivitar 285HV head also zooms between a wide, normal and zoom setting, giving you a bit more control over the light. Vivitar also includes a diffusion panel with the Vivitar 285HV, enabling the flash to reach a “super-wide setting.” It’s a nice touch, but the panel is exceedingly easy to misplace.

Recycle time is decent for the Vivitar 285HV, but don’t expect it to be in the league of the flagship Nikon or Canon flashes. The Vivitar 285HV flash runs off of four AA batteries. Vivitar sells a proprietary power pack as well.

One nice touch the Vivitar 285HV has that is missing from many more expensive models is a slot to insert gels over the flash head. This allows you to switch gels in and out on the fly, adjusting for lighting conditions quickly. There still isn’t much there to latch them in, so it may be good to buffer your gel up with gaffer’s tape to make sure they stay in the Vivitar 285HV unit.

The best part of the Vivitar 285HV is the price. It’s available new for under $100 from almost any major camera store. That’s a lot of flash for the money. You don’t get the bells and whistles of an ETT-L II model but you get something that can perform just as well with a little more work. The Vivitar 285HV is not the best flash on the market by any means - the limited rotation of the flash head makes using it as a bounce flash fairly limiting. But many will find the Vivitar 285HV to be flash enough.