Numfar
Offline
Upload & Sell: Off
|
 How to compete with expensive kit... | |
I was one of the instructors at a photo workshop, and I found out that the session before mine would be demonstrating some ultra-high end kit. On show as a full Broncolour strobe set and a Phase One digital back. All told, it was about $125,000 worth of studio kit being demo\'d, shooting a lovely model in a beautiful (and pricey) dress.....
So when putting together my session, I thought I\'d show what you can do for less than that cost.
As attendees came over from the previous session to mine, I pulled out a few elinchrom\'s, a sun bounce reflector and my D800, a studio backdrop and some reflector gear, had the model change into a local designer\'s dress and made a photo.
Everyone thought my point was what could be done for 10 per cent of what we\'d just seen earlier.
But I wasn\'t done....
Then when everyone was not-entirely impressed, but playing along nicely, I decided to show what could be done for 0.1% of that cost...
I moved out my studio lights, put down my D800 , and got rid of the studio backdrop and sun bounce reflector
In their place I used a $12 clamp light from Walmart with a regular 100w bulb; my second light (providing rim and background light) was a cheap 2nd hand table lamp I bought from a local consignment store for $5.99 (the lampshade provides diffusion and a nice warm tone. Replacing my studio backdrop was a $9 shower curtain I got from Target on sale, and instead of the sun bounce reflector, I used the white side of an empty XL pizza box.
And I sent my model back into the change room to put on something we\'d pre-arranged. She came back out wrapped in a table-runner I\'d bought for $2 from the same consignment store as the lamp
I think everyone thought I was nuts.
I showed everyone the stuff - and this is the stuff I used to use back in the day when I first started out doing work on the road - whatever I could get my hands on - totally improvised.
But could you make even a passable photo with this collection of near-garbage?
Shooting tethered, I then turned around and made this image.
Total cost of the set:
Main Light - $12
Background & Rim light $5.99
Shower Curtan: $9
Wardrobe (table runner): $2
Reflector: Free (with last night\'s dinner)
TOTAL: $28.99
|
