DIY Light Reflector

If you know anything about photography, you know that lighting can make or break a picture. It doesn't matter how advanced your camera is, lighting is key to a good shot. Sometimes nature just doesn't work in your favor and you end up with harsh shadows or not enough light. Some professional photographers use lights, but sometimes it's not convenient to take bulky lights with you. The solution? Reflectors and diffusers. Buying them can cost around $20! If you're just getting into photography, making your own for cheap can help you improve your photography and learn more about lighting and placement.

In this super simple tutorial, I'll show you how to make your own reflector out of things you probably already have.

Materials:

Cardboard

Aluminum Foil

Glue

Ribbon or string (optional)

Vintage Camera!

This beauty of a camera is now in my possession! This Minolta Maxxium 3000i was my dads in his college years When I first got into photography a couple of years ago, he said I could have it, but he could never find it. Well, we found it, and I now have it! After doing some research, I found that this model was first manufactured in 1988. I found some reviews and photos taken with it online, and it's apparently a really good camera! I can't use it until I get another battery. Of course it has some kind of special thing that's $12. But whatever, I'm excited! I need to learn how to use a film camera too. Oops. I also found my mom's old film point and shoot, so I think I'm going to try and learn on that one. Summer project!

Photo editing fun!

So I don't have PhotoShop. And I don't have GIMP installed on this laptop. (This laptop isn't even technically mine). How do I edit photos? I rely heavily on online editors. My go-to was always Picnik, but it sadly closed. Although, I think you can access a simple version of it on Google+? Now I use Pixlr.

Pixlr offers a sort of simplified version of PhotoShop with it's main photo editor. You have a toolbox with basic functions like dodging, burning, sharpening, blurring, etc. The toolbar has a few drop down menus where you can access levels, curves, brightness, contrast, exposure, etc. This program also allows you to create layers and it has one click editing things, much like PhotoShop actions.

Concerts

Even though Knoxville is the third largest city in Tennessee, the biggest concerts that come through are usually country artists. Not that I don't like country, but it's not my biggest cup of tea. However, sometimes dear artists come through and I get lucky enough to get to go, and of course I bring my camera! These are not the best because of the concert lighting and having to zoom in and use a high ISO.

Matt Thiessen from Relient K playing their acoustic show at the Bijou in December 2010. This was actually taken with my old Sony CyberShot.

My friend Cassie had an extra ticket to the sold out Taylor Swift concert at Thompson-Boiling Arena on July 1st, 2011 and I took her up on the offer to go see her for free!

Up Close with Nature

One of my favorite things about the PowerShot is how beautiful the "macro" setting is. Obviously it's not true macro photography, but the setting puts a beautiful depth of field behind a close up shot.

Lauren

The campus at UTK is so beautiful, and the fall colors only enhanced it. I desperately tweeted that I wanted to shoot someone and dear Lauren took me up on that offer. I titled this set her "officially unofficial senior pictures."

It was quite sunny so I had a little trouble with the harsh shadows, which made editing a little trickier, too.

Meredith

Last summer after I had gotten familiar with my camera, I took Meredith to downtown Knoxville and did a little photoshoot. This was the first time I had ever really "shot" someone and I was so nervous and excited. Such a mix of emotions that day!

We started out in Market Square, taking advantage of all the green leaves.

Current Setup

Alright, so just as an overview, I'm going to post my current camera and then post a few of the pictures I've taken with it.

I currently have a Canon PowerShot SX20IS, which is basically a pretty powerful point and shoot. I bought it a year ago with some graduation money to help get my feet wet with photography.

My plan right now is to hopefully save up and get a Canon EOS 60D and start a lens collection.