Videocrafts: Homemade Shade
Improve your outdoor lighting for less than $10.
If you have ever tried to shoot outdoors, you know that the sun's pattern of scattered light tends to cast deep shadows on subjects. The key to good lighting outdoors is to even out the light that falls on the people you're videotaping. Reflectors can work well for this purpose, but they also condemn your poor subjects to a lot of squinting when you're shooting in bright conditions. Diffusing the light works much better in these situations. Building a device to soften or spread out the light source only requires a few cheap materials, all of which you can find at a nursery or home improvement store.
First, measure and cut a square piece of mesh fabric slightly larger than the size of the diffuser you're creating. Leave enough extra material to be drawn tight when everything is assembled. Next, sew a pocket along all four edges of the mesh. Be sure to make a fold large enough for the 1/2-inch PVC pipe to slide easily into. Remember that the ends of the pipe must stick out of the pockets so you can attach the elbows in a later step, so measure and cut accord…
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