This is the second entry in what I hope will become an occasional feature dissecting how some of my photos - and those of the Cheapshooter community - were taken. These photo dissections will highlight how a photo concept is developed technically on a limited budget and will be geared for more advanced photographers. Cheapshooter’s first photo dissection was dubbed “Held Hostage“.

The concept: As fall continues, I have more and more assignments to shoot. The bulk of these are boring as all hell - I shot a street sign yesterday, for example - but occasionally an opportunity to be a bit more creative comes down the line. After an earlier photo assignment fell through, I had to rush to put together a portrait of a member of a student skateboarding club. Daylight was fading quickly, so I knew I would need to break out the flashes for a night session.

The equipment: It’s been a bad week for me, equipment wise. One of my budget radio triggers has been on the fritz, so I was limited to one flash. My Canon 40D is already in the shop, so I broke out the trusty Digital Rebel XT. Light was provided by a Canon 430 EX, a silver umbrella and a stand. I wanted a wider perspective for this photo and my flash would provide plenty of light, so I utilized the 18-55mm kit lens, which works surprisingly well in situations like this.

See how it all came together after the jump.

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Sites like Strobist - as well as some of the examples I’ve shared on Cheapshooter - require off-camera flash. While this can be accomplished with cheap cords, things can become complicated pretty quickly. Wireless is certainly a better option, but high-end flashes can deplete even the hardiest budget pretty quickly. Professional options like Pocketwizards are even more expensive. What’s a budget shooter to do?

Enter the Gadget Infinity Radio Triggers. With a transmitter and two receivers costing just under $50, you can get started with off-camera flash pretty easily. But just how well do they work?

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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.

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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.

Nothing like a little humor to start out the weekend.

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.