Recent DIY Articles

How to Make Your Own V-Flats

One of the most popular pieces of gear most photographer assume a studio should have is a reflector of some sort, and a v-flat is greatly preferred. Some photographers who look for a DIY option but can't seem to find a source for the large foam boards usually give up and proceed without them. Here's another method you can use to create your own v-flats.

Create Cinematic Bokeh With This Cheap Hack

Making photos look "cinematic" is a big trend these days, often times with various plugins and presets, but this hack brought to us by The Creative Contrast allows us to get photos with the trademark anamorphic bokeh that it hard, if not impossible, to fake in Photoshop.

How to Convert Photographic Slides to Digital

Slides contain a lot of memories from events past: anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, family vacations and more. If you want to preserve those images for generations to come, you need to think about digitizing them. Here's a rundown of the options available and the results you can expect from each.

Unique Holiday Gift Idea: Photograph Your Own Pet Calendar

The holidays months can bring extra leisure time, and there's nothing more rewarding than spending that free time on a challenging photography project. During last year's fall holidays I decided to turn my available energy into something creative and fun: a pet calendar for 2018.

Photographer Modifies Film Hasselblad 500C/M Into a Medium Format Xpan

With the wealth of options out there for lens-adapting and DIY modifications, many industrious photographers are taking things to the next level. The process of adapting anamorphic projection lenses to a take-up lens has been well-established for years now.

How to Create Portable V-Flats That Will Fit in Your Car for Less Than $100

The elusive v-flat. Once you know what a v-flat is, the next question is always: “where do I get them?” For years, photographers were sent on scavenger hunts looking for 4X8’ sheets of foam, sheets so large, truck rental was required. They were anything but portable. Until now.

How to Produce 65mm Sensor Sized 12k Footage With a Super 35mm Camera

Most of have probably created a panorama at some point by stitching several images together. Some of you may have even tried the Brenizer method to mimic the look and feel of a larger sensor. I wonder, how many of you have stitched video clips together to mimic large-format cinema cameras?

Building Your Own Photo Backdrop Wall

Seamless paper backdrops among other backdrops are great for photography backgrounds, but sometimes, you want a background with some real texture. While having several different walls painted different colors or having different textures sounds great, the space and size of a studio can put limits on what you can actually do.

Who Needs Photoshop to Create Spooky Effects?

The spookiest day of the year is upon us and it might have you in the mood to create something frightful. Photoshop, of course, offers nearly limitless creative opportunities to scare your social media followers, but what if you'd rather create something horrifying using practical effects rather than digital?

Creating Fog for Your Photos in a Pinch

You're shooting the landscape, a dense forest rife with fantasy vibes perhaps, but there just isn't the fog you wish there was to complete the scene. Well this video has you covered and can help you get that little extra atmosphere in a pinch.

Build Your Own Justin Clamp for Half the Cost

Besides my camera, the one item that I always travel with is my Justin clamps. They are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment that I own, but they can be pricey. So why not build your own?

How to Build Your Own Studio or Video Lights

Cheap and decent quality LED lights can be found online easily these days; however, sometimes, you have to make specific sacrifices in either quality or function to get those cheaper prices. That's when DIY comes in.

Can You Shoot a Cinematic Video With a $94 Camera?

You guessed it right. It doesn't have two memory card slots and it doesn't shoot 4K, but so doesn't an old ARRI cinema camera. This is a cheap point and shoot camera challenge where the creator of the video tries to make its footage look cinematic with the least amount of cheating.

A Simple Home Studio Setup for YouTube

If you have ever found yourself wondering about basic home studio setups for your YouTube channel, look no further. In this crash course video for a home setup, we'll take a look at the fundamentals to get you up and running.

Product Photography With a DIY Diffusion Panel

In this six-minute video, YouTuber workphlo breaks down a simple DIY diffuser that works especially well when going for a "glossy" look in your product photos. This technique applies to close-ups of reflective products.

Fstoppers Reviews the Wood Be Nice Portable Backdrop Wall

While having a brick-and-mortar studio is nice, it isn't always feasible. Photographers create backdrops out of their homes, garages, or on set to disguise the location using stands with muslins, seamless paper, or even collapsible options as well. In searching for other options, I found a portable wood look to be the perfect fit.

How to Affordably Create Very Soft Light

Creating soft light can become an expensive pursuit. A large, indirect softbox will cost around $2,000 and the cheaper ones are often badly built, are small, or generally lack good light quality. Being a tight git, I set about finding a way to create high quality, soft light for my food photography, although this set up will work for pretty much all genres.

Polaroid Modified to Print on Cheap Thermal Paper

If you're into tinkering gear and customizing things to the way you like them then this might be your kind of video. Be prepared though as it requires quite a bit of technical know-how to fully understand and that's before we even start talking about trying to replicate what he achieved! However even without trying to attempt your own version I am sure you'll find this to be a rather interesting video to watch.

How to Create a Grungy Glass Window

Windows can be used to create interesting shots, especially when using the reflections to your advantage, but that’s not the only way to incorporate glass in your photoshoot. There are several different ways, but what if you are looking for a grungy-looking window for a specific concept you have in mind? Here's how to make one.

How to Build Your First Photography Studio

For a lot of us who are chasing a career in photography, we soon come to a bit of a pinch point. We have thrown all our money into cameras, computers, lenses, and lights, so our house is a mess of kit clutter. Here's how to build your own dedicated studio.

How to Shoot Neon-Themed Portraits at Home

If you're ever seen portraits shot somewhere like an arcade or next to a neon sign, you know they offer a neat look full of washes of color that envelop the model. If you don't have access to such lighting, this great video will show you how to recreate the effect at home.

Making Black and White Prints in the Darkroom

Just a couple of weeks ago, Ilford Photo released a video on how to develop your own black and white film. Now, they've followed it up by giving you everything you need to know in order to turn those negatives into beautiful, tangible prints.

Barbarian Transformation Photoshoot With Renee Robyn for Less Than $50

Photographer and digital artist Renee Robyn is known for creating magical composites complete with gorgeous costumes and dreamy scenery. But what happens when there is no designer to provide styling, no makeup artist, and a budget of only $50 to spend?

Why The Gear You Have Does Not Matter

G.A.S (Gear Accumulation Syndrome), is something all photographers feel it at some point in their careers. That feeling the gear they have is never good enough. Learn how to overcome that, and start taking the photos you've always dreamed of today.

Using an IKEA Lampshade to Create Beautiful Product Photos

Along the lines of my "it's not about the gear" principle that I believe in so much nowadays (believe me, it took years to drum that into my head), this is a quick tutorial on how to use an IKEA lampshade for an unusually simple product photography setup and covers both the shooting and the retouching for the example photos.

These Portrait Studio Fixtures Will Make Your Life Better

Are you thinking of designing and outfitting a portrait studio? I recently did just that, and through a little research and a lot of trial and error, I discovered some great, versatile finds that make life in a photography studio much easier.

Eight Simple DIY Photo Filters You Can Make on a Budget

Photography gear can get quite expensive and put a huge dent in our wallets. While there are many things we wouldn’t want to cheap out on, there are several DIY hacks that can solve some of our wants and still fit within our budget. Some of those hacks are great for adding effects and different looks to shots. Here are eight DIY photo filters.

Can You Tell The Difference Between $10,000 and $425 Photography Lighting?

The lust for better photo gear is something every photographer struggles with. In our photography industry, many people swear by the quality of light of this brand verses that brand, but in the end isn't light just light? In this video I create a classic beauty lighting setup with $10,000 worth of lighting equipment and then replicate that same setup with only $425 worth of lighting equipment. Will they look the same? This is the Rich Photographer vs Poor Photographer lighting test.

How to Get Inspired as a Photographer

Being an artist isn't easy, especially when the world is against our way of life and creation. The artist life is discouraging for sure, and every once in a while I still have days where I just want to lay in bed. I have learned that you can't let yourself have many of these days if you want to be great, there's always someone else who's pushing through it. Whether you're a professional or just a hobbyist, being uninspired sucks. Luckily there are so many things you can do to beat the gloom and keep on creating.

DIY Photography Backdrop Resources, and Why You Should Make Your Own

If you're a creator of any kind, chances are you've experienced being in a creative rut at some point in your journey to make cool stuff. As a photographer and cinematographer, nothing could be more true for me. Photographers by nature, I feel, have a "do it yourself" attitude. In talking with Photographer Nikki Smith, a DIY backdrop project could be just what you need to reignite that missing spark and add an additional element of creativity to your work.

How to Make Your Own Pinhole Camera Lens

A pinhole camera is essentially a box with a piece of photo-sensitive paper on the inside and a tiny hole on the other side of the box. It's used by pointing the hole at a light source or reflected light, exposing the paper through the pinhole and then covering again. Simple. So, whats stopping us from doing it with our digital cameras? Nothing, that's what, so get up off your bum and start creating something different, like Blue Mantle Films just did.

Two Locations In Which Every Beginner Needs to Shoot

You wouldn't expect that certain locations alone could assist you in learning the art of photography, but they do — especially if you are one that needs to experiment to learn. Photographing someone in these two locations will force you to learn about all kinds of light, get creative with posing, and help you create images that are full of substance and all the elements of art.

How to Use CTO and CTB Gels to Change the Color of Your Background

One way to spice up your photography is to add gels to your lights so you can produce colorful and edgy looking imagery. Adding wild colors to your photos can offer a lot of creativity but gels can also be used in a much more subtle fashion to slightly alter the color of your background and sky. In today's video I want to share two simple techniques I use to help make my backgrounds on location look more interesting.

How to Setup an Easy DIY Overhead Camera Rig

Whether you shoot portraits, still life, fashion, beauty, or even video, there will be a time when you’ll need to shoot overhead for some reason. Don’t ask me why, I’m just sure that one day you will. So while I can’t help you with when and why, I can share the latest video from Peter McKinnon explaining how. Watch this tutorial to learn all about setting up a secure, compact, and efficient overhead setup.

This Simple Battery Charging Station Will Save You Hours of Prep Time

One of the most important underlying themes in being a successful photographer is streamlining your workflow. That may be in how to edit photos quickly, how to organize video files, how to quickly produce invoices, or any number of tasks that you have to perform over and over again. One aspect of my business where I found myself wasting a lot of time was in my battery charging. In today's video, I'm going to outline how Fstoppers created our battery charging station and how you too can make your life a lot easier as you prepare for the next day's photoshoot.

Incredible Footage of Soap Bubbles Freezing in Winter Weather and How to Do It Yourself

Photographers all over the world have found something absolutely incredible happens when you blow soap bubbles in the freezing winter temperatures. As these delicate bubbles freeze almost instantly, inside each one a unique universe of patterns and shapes comes to life right in front of your eyes. If you're lucky enough to be enduring the worldwide cold front we're having, give this a shot to make the brutal winter more fun and beautiful.

Photo by Nik Thavisone

If you've ever wondered where photographers are getting this gorgeous colored powder for portraits, stock imagery, and dance photos, it turns out it's very easy and affordable to make at home. This powder can be used in endlessly creative ways to add an eye-catching unique and fine art element to your studio or outdoor photography. Clients and followers love seeing these fun images, and it's an absolute blast to photograph.

Build and Photograph Your Own Miniature Set Using Only Household Items

With the holiday season in full swing during December, I decided to put my camera down and focus on coming up with new ideas and concepts rather than just shooting straight away. Being a big fan of Felix Hernandez Rodriguez and the miniatures he brings to life through his photography, I decided to build my own set and photograph it.

The Perfect Gift Guide for DIY Photographers

Have you ever had to buy presents for a friend or family member that likes photography, or thinks of you as the photographer in the group who will know best what will make their selfies and cat pictures that much better? Here is a quick guide from James Popsys on what to get them if you don't want to spend that much money.

Ten Hacks for Your Camera in Less Than 100 Seconds

Photographers and cinematographers sometimes find themselves in the middle of a shoot wishing they had some piece of equipment to get that shot just right. Whether a gimbal has broken or the light just isn't cooperating, sometimes you just need a creative solution to make the image you visualize in your head. Vlogger and Photographer Hayden Pedersen has put together a video with some clever hacks to help you create the shot you want — video or still — when you might not have exactly the right piece of equipment to accomplish it. And, best of all, you can see them all in less than two minutes.