Great Book For DIY Lighting: Low Budget Shooting

I placed an order for this fantastic book a few days ago. I rec'd it this morning, and what a wonderful book it is. It's only 63 pages but what it contains is a library's worth of DIY photography "goodies". I've only thumbed through it but what I have read so far is excellent.

Some of the things you will learn to make are:

• Backgrounds
• Imaging Table
• Mini-Seamless Backdrop
• Outdoor Light Tent
• Travel Diffuser
• Softboxs and Striplights
• Close-up Diffuser
• Holders for Mirrors and Reflectors
• Many more projects…..

I've seen a lot of great DIY projects out there for photography but the ones contained in this book at top-notch. Most of what I saw was very inexpensive but yet the projects had a professional feel to them. Once I read through the whole thing and even try a few things contained within - I'll get back and write a better review. You can find the book here:
Low Budget Shooting

If you are a fan of Strobist you will love the simple solutions to everyday photography lighting. Pick up a copy - you will not regret it!

Come On - Chalk It Up

Ah nothing beats the fun of youth. Not only is being young fun but all the cool toys and stuff you get to play with is hard to beat (well maybe photo equipments beats childhood toys - who knows). My son loves to color with chalk on the driveway - just about every afternoon he goes out there and draws to his heart's content - even in 95 degree temperatures. I decided to follow him out there one day with my camera and 100mm Canon lens just to see what I could capture.

I love the look of chalk - it's colors, textures and shape really lends itself to some good captures. As he was busy with something else I quickly grabbed a few pieces and laid them down on the concrete to see what I could come up with. I was only out there a few minutes but there is so much you can do with this stuff. All I did for that shot is converted the RAW image into a JPG using Lightroom - just a few levels adjustments to darken the concrete. You can also pump up the color saturation (which I also did) to bring out the texture of the chalk.

Don't be afraid to try different angles too. I set these back up differently and got down on the concrete - ouch - that 95 degrees tends to warm things up. My wife and neighbor were across the street. They both were looking at me as if I was some kind of nut (which I am, btw). They asked me what in the world I was taking a picture of (since they could not really see the chalk). All they saw was some guy laying on his stomach on 100 degree concrete with a camera in his hands - I guess I would have asked too....LOL.

Here is shot I was after (top photo below). I don't like this one as much - I guess the composition could have been a bit better - but hey - there's always tomorrow. I plan on doing a few more with chalk and taking a bit more time. As I do I will have a follow-up article with some shots and some explanation. I may bring it inside and try some on a seamless white / black background.