8 DIY Lighting Tricks For Creative Photography

You can spend hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds on lighting equipment for your home studio but there is a less expensive, and more fun way, to light your shots using unique and inexpensive lighting sources from your home. 

To demonstrate just how many lighting sources you may already have that you can experiment with, our friends COOPH have put together another creative photography tutorial that utilises everyday objects like glasses or utensil holders to make their images stand out.

The team kick the tutorial off by showing you how to use a white lantern and a few artistic tools to create an awesome cloud-themed light which is pretty cool but if you want to use something that doesn't involve as much effort, how about reaching for your laptop? The light from your laptop screen, along with a unique image and mirror can create a really cool reflective photo that pops - simple but effective. Another simple way to use what you have is to shine light through a crystal glass to create patterns on walls you can then capture portraits against. Plus, if you have a wide-range of glasses, you'll be able to create different patterns without too much effort. In fact, you can also use colanders, disco balls and other interesting household objects to create shapes - you just have to grab objects you think might work and have a play around with them. 

If you have a bit of room and a clear container for holding water, you can combine light, water and objects for interesting still-life images.

Light brushes and long exposures are another fun way you can capture creative portraits, particularly if you combine them with reflective props, or how about using fairy lights and books to create a story-book inspired shoot?

However you experiment with creative lighting, we'd love to see your shots either in the comments below or uploaded to the Gallery.