doityourself

This Large Format Camera Was Built with Garage Scraps and a DSLR

I recently built my own DIY large format camera using scraps. The idea of this camera started with vintage profile spotlight that I wanted to restore, only to discover that some of the internal lens elements were shattered. The only lens element that was undamaged was the front element. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that this element can project an image circle big enough to cover an 8x10 area.

Making Gobos Out of Unusual Things for Creative Portrait Lighting

Typically, the term “gobo” is reserved for the lens filters and patterns that are affixed to theater lights. The terms “flag” or “cucloris/cookie” are actually more accurate for what we’re going to be using in this post, which is an object placed between the light and the subject, but not attached to it.

I Built My Own Medium Format Film Scanner from a Shoe Box

Unless you have the dough to get a lab scanner, it is a painful process to scan your own film. Luckily one day all the photo labs dumped their Pakon F-135 to the market, and I remember you could get one for ~$250 a pop.

Hacking a 19th Century Lens Onto a Sony a7S

When beautiful vintage photographic technology meets state-of-the-art photo equipment, the results are almost always interesting. Case in point, check out this frankencamera created by graphic designer Arber Marra using his Sony a7S and a 19th century lens he found at a flea market.

DIY Tip: Use Your Bathtub for Better Product Shots on the Cheap

The time had come. I’d been trying to justify keeping my X100S and X100T for some time but, in reality, since T had arrived, S had been spending increasingly lengthy spells in the cupboard. So, with a heavy heart, I decided to sell. The obvious route was on eBay, so I cleaned the camera up and took a couple of snaps before preparing my listing.

How I Shoot Pro Portraits with DIY Barn Doors

Recently, I had a portrait shoot with the legendary poet, rapper, and actor Saul Williams. It began with a simple stroke of luck: I saw he was scheduled to perform at a local club near my house, and so I did a quick search for the name of his manager. I easily found it and e-mailed them, introducing myself and explained that I would like to take his portrait.

How to Build a DIY Camera Stabilizer Using LEGO

Advanced camera stabilizers are becoming cheaper and cheaper these days, but if you're the type of person who enjoys building the things you use, here's a neat tutorial for you. Product Tank released a 7-minute video showing how you can create a DIY stabilizer using LEGO pieces.

Build Your Own Wearable Timelapse Camera with a Raspberry Pi

Wearable so-called "lifelogging" cameras are a neat way to catalog your day-to-day, but did you know that you can built your own? If you don't want to spend a bunch of money and don't need all the bells and whistles, this DIY Raspberry Pi-powered wearable cam will do the trick.

Canon Said My Lens Was Dead… So I Fixed It Myself for $140

A little while ago, I was shooting the icebergs on the black sand beach by the Jokulsarlon Glaicer Lagoon, Iceland with a rental EF 24-70mm F2.8L II. Iceland is notorious for being windy, and while I was shooting there was blowing winds carrying ocean spray and water splashes all over me and my camera + lens.

Use Welder’s Glass as a $1 ND Filter for Long Exposures in Daylight

Want to shoot long exposure photos in bright daylight without having to shell out big bucks on a neutral density (ND) filter? Try using a piece of welder's glass -- the kind that protects your eyes while welding. The 13-minute video above by photographer Mathieu Stern provides a nice overview of this photo hack.

How to Build Your Own Set of LED Studio Lights for Just $250

Buying a professional portrait lighting setup like the much-loved Kino Flo lights is just not within everybody's budget, especially if you want LEDs. But you can actually build a reasonable alternative for just a couple hundred bucks and about an hour of manual labor.

Build a DIY Flickr Auto-Uploader with Raspberry Pi

Flickr generated a lot of bad feelings back in March 2016 by making its Auto-Uploadr app a Pro-only feature. If you're not Pro but would still like the convenience of automatically uploading new photos, you can build a custom gadget that does it for you.

The $5 Raspberry Pi Zero is Now Camera Compatible

We've shared a number of do-it-yourself camera projects involving Raspberry Pi in the past. If you're interested in trying your hand at one, it's now even cheaper: the ultra affordable $5 Raspberry Pi Zero now has a camera connector.