Some time ago (it sounds like a kids story), there were no Wescot folding softboxes and no Ebay or chinice like products for even more tight budgets, so all you can get was or Bowens mount softboxes or what we called universal mount softbox. The only thing was, that even if you could get those universal mount softboxes, you’d have to manage a trick to put a small flash (off camera flash) in them, So if you have one of those sofboxes, Who are still sold on ebay and amazon for some strobes models, this post is for you.

Read more about the DIY Universal Softbox Small Flash Mounting Adapter (by Tomasz Nowak)

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When you are out on location shoot and need to out a high light above your model, you’ll nned to use a boom.

If you do it in your studio, there is a boom that connects to a studio tripod and you can place your flash there. When you’re out there you’ll need someone to hold that boom for you.

One way to have a boom is to get a monopod, it will come as one piece and ready for action, with one downfall – it is short. In this link Maxell Lander offers a solution by using a normal studio tripod and “transform” it into a boom.

I’ll do this project in case I have broken studio tripod, meanwhile I’m using a monopod as a boom.

Check out Maxell’s blog if you are into more ideas, just be aware that it contains some nudity.

A RingFlash is a very cool flash tool.Many of the current “young”/”cool”  look images are done using this gadget. When You try to go the DIY way, there are many ways to improvise the ringflash.In many of those DIY RingFlash you’ll have do manage a hole into a metal salad bowl, so the flash will get into the bowl and cover the bowl surface with some kind of a white softbox diffuser materials (paper, fabric esc…).

If you just want to “feel” the result of the ringflash and don’t have nor the budget to buy a real ringflash and don’t have the “talet” to drill and cut through the metal, here is a nice alternative for doing your own ringflash.I found this link on the web, here a guy named Chung Dha Lam explains how to create a ringflash out of carton!!!

Looks a very easy and affordable project,here is the carton diagram

Get to his website to read more about this project.

Any how, after I built on of those carton simple ring flash bought this affordable ringflash:

PEACE

Hey!

After doing a couple of  DIY grid projects in here,  its time to show something very nice I found on Ebay a couple of weeks ago, after searching for some gel filters I accidentally visited a store called “The strobist corner”. Well he sells some gel filters and very nice looking snoots, but what caught  my attention was this grid materials! No more cutting and gluing straws, you can get the real stuff there and for a reasonable price too!

You get for about 10$ three honeycombs pieces sized for the hot shoe flashes, each one in different size for different effect. The general idea about that honeycombs is that you’ll get a smaller circle of light depending on the size and length of the “straws”.

If you want a narrow/small circle of light you’ll have to choose a small straw diameter .

If you want to get a wide/big circle of light you’ll have to choose a big straw diameter.

I just wanted to share those “news” with my readers first. I promise to write more about it later as I’m a little tight on time (our little dog got run by a car and needs a lot of attention…)

So that’s a link for the strobist corner at ebay

A grid is the light modifier that you’ll use when you want to focus or narrow your flash beam of light, and let it be concentrated in one strong beam.There

is a way to narrow and control the flash light beam by using the manual zoom angle control (this option is available with the Canon 550EX flash unit and in many other flashes) but with the DIY grid you’ll be able to really control its width and power to a maximum.

This project is an easy one and all you’ll need for it is:

• Piece of bristol paper ( you could use any type,I used a folder that I got in a Google convention).
• About 40-50 straws.
• Ruler.
• Canon 550EX…
• 20 minutes

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