DIY "Paniel" lets you try out beauty dish lighting at minimal cost

    One of the virtues of do-it-yourself photo gear is that you can try out a particular lighting modifier or other equipment at little cost.

    This is especially true if you use simple materials just for the experiment with a piece of gear or a technique.

    For example, when I was making a flash modifier, I chose to use cardstock first as a "proof of concept" to see if it was something that would work for me. I have since made a second one using craft foam.

    Daniel Norton, a New York photographer and one of Adorama's regular hosts on its Youtube channel demonstrates a way to make an absolutely cheap beauty dish lighting modifier, which his model and mentee, Marisa Roper, dubbed the "Paniel."

    If you're not familiar with a beauty dish, it mounts on a flash, which then discharges into a reflector that is right in front of the flash head, bouncing it into the large dish portion of the reflector and out toward the subject. It produces a not-so-soft light that sculpts the facial features.

    It also leaves a distinct halo-like catch light in the eyes.

    Commercial dishes can run you $70 or more, depending on where you shop.

    There are plenty of Youtube tutorials showing you how to make them from woks, flower pots and other items. But if you want to just try one out to see if its something you want to invest a bit more time and money in, or you forgot to pack one and need it, the Paniel provides a low-cost option,

    You get two aluminum foil pans at either your big box store or, if you want to keep the price point really low, go to your local dollar store. One has to be a roasting pan, while the other is a pie pan or smaller. 

    The first step is measuring a hole in the back for your flash unit and cutting that out of the roasting pan. Depending on how long-lasting you want this to be, you can either use pencils or straws to hold the pie tin in place over that center hole.

    In this video, Norton demonstrates live how well this jerry-rigged device works. I like the fact that he does it live with a tethered camera because you see in real time how well it works.

   

    Norton demonstrates that you don't have to spend a lot to make good looking pictures. And if you like the results, you can now build a more lasting version of the light.

    

PVC stand attachment provides extra "hands" for using poster board reflectors

    This post is a bit of a two-for-one deal. Two DIY projects in one post.

    The first one is a DIY reflector to bounce light on to your subject. You can use these indoors or out.

   There are expensive models, but a couple of photographers, including Joe Edelman and Daniel Norton, recommend using white poster boards. Norton calls the ones he uses "Brooklyn Reflectors." The boards are inexpensive — you can get them for $1.25 a piece at the so-called dollar stores, or your usual big-box store.

    With it being back-to-school, you may be able to get them on sale.

    Here's Edelman's demonstration with one.

   
    You can use the reflector with a voice-activated lightstand — also known as an assistant — but if you're shooting alone, it could get tricky trying to take the picture and hold the reflector yourself.

    Edelman proposes building a PVC holder for the reflector that lets you adjust it and put it on a lightstand. This allows you to use it hands free, and the rig can also hold flags (the light-blocking variety, not the state or national emblems) and Gobos, which go between a light source and a subject to create a pattern of light, say simulating light coming through a Venetian blind.

    Edleman's plans are in this video, although I would probably also use a joint to mount it to a PVC lightstand.

Turn household items into lighting modifiers

    Daniel Norton one of the photographers who appears regularly on Adorama's Youtube channel did a video during the COVID-19 lockdown demonstrating how to turn things around the house into lighting modifers.

    Among the items he uses to modify his single speed light are tin foil and poster board reflectors, as well as wine bottles and honey to create different effects.

    While he was doing it with a small figure on his desktop, the techniques could work for portraits.