DIY Photography Tips from Joe Edelman (Cr.Photog.)

Do It Yourself photography gear and tips are money savers and shot savers. We all like cool gear, but the reality is that cool gear can be incredibly expensive. Deciding to DIY a piece of photography gear that may only be used occasionally instead of purchasing the fancy brand — named version, can save you thousands of dollars and, in exchange, you will be able to try techniques that you otherwise may not have been able to.

2 Fun DIY Photography Backgrounds for Glamour and Portrait Images

DIY Photography Backgrounds I love cool gear. Who doesn’t? But a great photographer isn’t necessarily the person with the fanciest gear. A great photographer is a great problem solver. Chances are, you probably have a lot of really cool portrait and glamour backdrops sitting around your house, and you don’t…
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Livestream Setup in My DIY Home Studio for Photography Videos

A lot of folks have asked me for the details on the livestream setup and gear that I use to produce my photography videos for YouTube. I’ve been doing YouTube videos weekly now for just about 4 years. The home studio setup that I am using now is the result…
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Unlimited One-of-a-Kind DIY Portrait Backgrounds

How about a DIY portrait background that will save you money and give you infinite creative possibilities? A portrait should NEVER be about the background, however, the background can make or break the shot. My favorite solid background color is gray, because with gels I can make it just about…
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DIY Portrait Backgrounds To Improve Your Holiday Portraits

Learn how to make some glorious DIY bokeh ball backgrounds from your Christmas decorations- for less than ten bucks.
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The Best DIY Photography Reflector for Less Than $2.00

Bet you didn’t know that Walmart sold professional lighting accessories. Here’s an inexpensive and effective DIY photography reflector that you can find at any Walmart or Dollar Store. If you’ve read many of my articles or attended my workshops, you have heard me talk about my famous DIY photography reflector,…
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DIY Justin Clamp

What is a Justin Clamp? A Justin Clamp is an incredibly versatile clamp that retails from Manfrotto for $56.00. Below is a DIY Justin Clamp that I will show you how to make for $23.00. Why is it called a Justin Clamp and what do you use it for? It’s…
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DIY Portrait Backgrounds

Have you ever considered the idea of painting with light to make a portrait background? The possibilities with this live composite technique are endless and it’s actually a lot easier than you might think. Some of you may be thinking that, although light painting has been around for decades, it’s…
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3 DIY PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS to Create Depth in Studio Portraits

3 DIY PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS Solid colored backgrounds are great when shooting people because they let you isolate your subject, and since they come in different colors they are very versatile – if you have enough money to buy every color. I already showed you in this YouTube video that gray…
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DIY Strip Light Modifier for Speedlights

Grab your Jedi robes and your stuffed Ewoks, because I’m about to show you how to make a bigger, brighter, light saber than any of the ones you see in the Star Wars movies–perfect for photographing Princess Leia. These lightsabers are even daylight balanced and great for shooting portraits both…
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DIY Christmas Light Portraits

When my wife made her annual pilgrimage to the Christmas in July sales, it got me to thinking about Christmas lights and wondering what kind of DIY Christmas light portraits and beauty shots I could do with some cheap LED lights. You know that when it comes to lighting portraits…
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Portrait Lighting Arrangements With DIY LED Studio Lights

Now that you have your own DIY LED studio lights- or you maybe you are planning to build a set- you need to learn how to use it. I’ll walk you through a dozen different ways that I use these lights, plus I’ll give you some not-so-obvious tips that I…
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DIY Photography LED Studio Lights

Studio lighting can be darn expensive. I’m going to walk you through the steps that I took to build my DIY Kino Flo lights with LED light bulbs for less than 300 dollars! About four years ago I posted a video about building a four light studio light setup with…
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DIY Portable Background Stand for Studio or Location Shooting

Everybody loves a bargain – especially when you don’t have to sacrifice quality in the process. I want to show you a simple, easy-to-find and inexpensive material that makes a great portrait background that’s also available in loads of different colors. I can even show you how you can use…
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DIY Gobos

Did you know that a dog toy, a toddler’s wheelbarrow, a house plant, a can of cheap hair spray and even a roll of toilet paper could be some of the best accessories you could own for shooting portraits and models? They can be used as gobos! You’re probably thinking…
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DIY Home Photography Studio Setup

If you are going to photograph people in a studio setting, well, you need to own or rent a photography studio, right? Wrong! You can build a home photography studio similar to what I have, in your own basement. Ten years ago, I decided it was time to give up…
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