Photography DIY: V-flat

[tps_header]In this post on Photography DIY, Larry Becker will show you his solution for creating a Photography DIY V-flat with a few local purchases.[/tps_header]

Materials

For this project, you’ll need a very large diffuser. Some people might use a thin, white bed sheet, but I found a great thin, oversized shower curtain at my local hardware store for $16. Get a roll of chrome duct tape (available at most hardware stores) and two panels of 4×8′ R-Matte Plus 3 insulation (about 3/4″ thick). These panels have a silvery finish on one side and sealed white plastic with all the printing on the reverse side.

Note: Lowe’s and Home Depot have these for around $11 per sheet (locally). The Home Depot product has a more matte silver with a closed cell foam. The Lowe’s product is shinier silver and the core is beaded Styrofoam. I bought and used the Home Depot product before I discovered the Lowe’s option, but I’d recommend the shinier panels from Lowe’s if you can find them.

This project assumes you already have things like a small light stand with a cold shoe, at least one (preferably two or three) flash unit, and a camera that can trigger your off-camera flashes.