Frugal Filmmaker's $5 PVC light stands a practical way to hang lights, back drops.

    As most makers know, PVC pipes are a versatile medium.

    You can make quite a few things out of the pipes for a relatively low cost. The limits are just your imagination, just like with Lego bricks or Tinker Toys.

    (The pipes have been nicknamed "Tinker Tubes" for their use as a modular building material.)

    One of the more popular uses of PVC among DIY photographers is light stands. If you go online, you'll find a variety of stands online, holding a variety of lighting rigs, from speed lights to modified work lights.

    In my opinion, one of the best is the one designed by Scott Eggleston, also known as The Frugal Filmmaker for about $5 a stand. The stands are modular, which makes them adjustable to any height you need while being easy to transport. And you can use them to hang back drops, hold mics or position reflectors or sound-absorbing material.

    I built a set of four stands for about $25, which included extra poles to use for hanging a back drop, and extra connectors. I did try to cut some corners on Scott's design by eliminating end caps on the feet, but I quickly discovered that the caps are not there for aesthetics. They help stabilize the stand, because without them the stand is resting on the center pipe connector, making it unstable.

    My wife and I gave them a battle test recently, when we used them to hold up a limbo bar during a Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet. The stands survived a parade of Scouts trying to get under the bar.

Night-photography lighting in your pocket

    The folks over at Digital Photography School had suggestions on how to use your cellphone for dramatic night photos.

    In the article, it suggested using the LED lamp on your smart phone as a key light for portraits. It throws adequate light on the subject, while at the same time preserving the ambient light. It works better than flash which tends to create a harshly lit image of the subject against a nearly pitch-black background.

    This is not the first time someone has suggested this. Jared Polin over at FroKnowsPhoto.com has also advocated this technique for years. The best example is his photo of a meetup in front of the Kolner Dom in Cologne, Germany.

    But the DPS article acknowledges that there is a problem with this technique. The LED on the phone is not the brightest light, as it's a single bulb. That means you have to hold the phone pretty close to the subject and possibly boost your ISO to boot.

    But there's a way to shed more light on the subject without breaking the bank. Harbor Freight has 144-lumen led flashlights for less than $4 that can put out more light than a phone. I keep a few of them around my house (I usually pick them up when I get the coupon to get one free) for emergencies, but I think I might add it to my photo bag as well.

Free copy of ON1 Effects. (LIMITED TIME OFFER)

                              

    The people at ON1 are giving away some software.

    The company, which makes the ON1 suite of photo editing software, is discontinuing support for ON1 Effects 10.5. So, the company is allow people to download it for free.

    There won't be any new updates, but at least you can use it to apply various effects to pictures, such as making it look like a tintype photo or giving it an HDR look without having to pay $60 for a software license.

    The software works as a stand-alone app, or as a plugin with Lightroom and Photoshop.

    To get your copy, go here.

Improve your iPhone video audio quality with a trip to the dollar store

    I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Straight-out-of-camera audio is terrible.

    As you recall from previous posts, I demonstrated how you can get better audio using just a voice recorder or even investing in a cheap lav mic.

    But sometimes you're in that situation where you're recording on a phone, and you don't have the option to do secondary recording. But there is a way to get good quality sound for about a buck.

    I found one of those hands-free phone devices at the local dollar store (They go by names such as Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Dollar Store, depending on where you live and what's available.) It's basically ear buds with a mic on it.

    I've seen some people cut the ear buds off so it's just a mic, but I prefer to keep it intact just in case I need to edit video in the field on the phone. But the microphone is good enough to give you clear sound, at least clearer than the mic on the phone will get you.

    I tried it out while on assignment, and while there was some wind out there, the recording was relatively clear.

    It's another option if you're on a budget and want to have better video. Just remember, audiences will forgive slightly out of focus video, or color balances that are off, but bad audio will send them looking somewhere else.

Free DxO photo editing software (LIMITED TIME OFFER)

    Looking to get beyond iPhoto, Apple's Photos or the basic editing software that came with your camera, but can't afford Adobe's Lightroom or Photoshop?

    DxO Labs is offering a free license for its DxO OpticsPro 9, a $130 value. All you need to do is enter your email address here, and they will send you a download link and a serial number to unlock the software and use it indefinitely.

    There are a few catches. The offer is only good until Feb. 28, 2017, and the software cannot be updated. But, if you are looking at getting beyond the basic editing software, this is a free alternative to more expensive software or "rent" the right to use software.