Homemade gear or mods ($$ savers!)

[jamesgysen]

<p>Regardless if you are a pro or amateur, at one point or another I am sure you have found it necessary to create or modify gear in order to meet a specific need. In my case (and I'm sure for others as well) my purse strings have had to be tightened slightly, hence there was a good reason to turn to some 'Arts & Crafts' for what I desired. I'm hoping that we can all share some unique and/or economic equipment ideas that we may have run across. And OK, I'll admit that I want to save some $$ for new glass ;) Here's mine:</p>

<p>Having recently begun shooting indoors with off camera strobes I have turned to Strobist.com and Prophotolife.com for some inspiration on light modifiers. Not perfect and hardly pro-level material, here are some of my raw, first attempts:</p><div></div>

[jamesgysen]

<p>2.</p><div></div>

[jamesgysen]

<p>3.</p><div></div>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>In what way was the grid a failure?</p>

<p><Chas></p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Where did you get the filter material? I was kind of wondering if there was a craft-source for transparency material.</p>

[george_ghio]

<p>Ah yes, the old straws in a pipe grid trick. I have just been playing with the same concept for a painting with light project. What I found was that using a long tube (such as your snoot) and placing the straw grid at the end closest to the light source produced a much better effect than the example in your failed grid.</p>

[jamesgysen]

<p>Charles - I admit it wasn't a complete failure but I am already working on a third rendition. The straws still being white allow for some light to "blend"(?) across and not be as restricted to the 30-40 degrees I was going for. Can you buy black straws? Paint didn't quite work.<br>

George - you bet, I tried the snoot with a grit as well and that seems to work fine too. All told I think all the projects cost a grand total of $10 or so, and one confused wife who can't find any of her drinking straws.</p>

<p>Come on folks - snap a pic and share some ideas!</p>

[Sanford]

<p>I've been glueing rear lens caps together so long I thought I invented it. Leica has the idea first. A great aid in changing lenses in the field.</p><div></div>

[Sanford]

<p>I've found those small paint sample cards make great portable flash reflectors when attach with a rubber band. And, they come in any color and are free from the paint store.</p>

[User_276104]

<p><em><strong>Michael Axel</strong></em></p>

<p><em><strong>"Where did you get the filter material?"</strong></em></p>

<p>Years ago I heard that Rosco would send you a swatch book for free. Seeing your comment reminded me that I did request one online a long time ago but never received anything. Their website currently offers them for a $7.50 shipping fee:</p>

<p>http://www.rosco.com/sbreqs/index.cfm</p>

[george_ghio]

<p>Yes James black straws are available. As you asked for home made, this is a shutter lock I made to hold the shutter open on bulb setting for painting with light. </p><div></div>

[george_ghio]

<p>Shutter lock on camera</p><div></div>

[george_ghio]

<p>While most people simply hold the shutter open on bulb setting and wave a flash light around I felt that there was better to be had so I also made some small hand held lights to allow me to work up close and contain light spillage. Example in my very small gallery.</p><div></div>

[jamesgysen]

<p>George that's an interesting one. I haven't tried the light painting but will keep it in mind.</p>

<p>Michael - about the 'gels', if you are concerned with proper color balanced and tonal accuracy I would stick with Eric's plan of buying the stock which seems quite reasonable price wise. In my case I am only throwing color against a backdrop to create effects for portraits. Here are a couple of examples but if you want to see where I got the idea visit the link (from Strobist.com)</p>

<p><a href="

</div>

[jamesgysen]

<p>And another</p><div></div>

[Guest]

<p>I've actually been looking for grid-making material, since the company that offers the cool lights we've been thinking of getting does not offer grids for them and I've been unable to find any square grids in the appropriate dimensions. I came across a site that sold several different grid materials that might work for creating different degrees of grids. I'll have to see if I can find the link.<br>

We've been making some custom equipment for product photography that we can take apart relatively easy to transport when needed. We're currently working on plans to build two different types of product photography tables and some custom diffusion panels/scrims to meet our specific needs. IMO, the best way to meet custom needs is to build what you need yourself. :)</p>