DIY - Filter Holder

In developing my jewelry photo technique I have always kept adaptability and cost foremost in my mind. Thus I was never attracted to commercial light tents. I tried a few and felt like I had to sacrifice the camera angle and distance from my subject for the design of the tent. I did not like the cost either. So I came up with my own filter holder. This allowed me to put the lights were ever I needed them in relationship to the camera angle and distance from the subject that I wanted.

Construction:

You go to any hardware store of your choice and go to the drip irrigation section. You will need to find corner and T connectors like these:



Next go to the section of the store that has wooden dowels:



You need to find ones that will fit inside the diameter of the drip connectors that you bought. The number of dowels you need will depend on the size you need your frame to be. In my case I make my frames 17" x 20" so I needed 3 dowels.

You but together 2 corner connectors to one 17" length dowel and one 20" length dowel:



Now is when you will need the T connectors. They are used to but a dowel in so that you can connect the filter holder to a light stand. Cut one of the 17" lengths and one of the 20" lengths in half. Then connect these together thus:



Put them all together and you now have your filter holder:



In the frame you see I have installed a polarizer filter, however you can use any material that you want for use as a diffuser. I would recommend that you start with either wax paper or Ripstop Nylon. I used Ripstop Nylon until I went to the dual polarizer technique I use now.

This frame holder technique allows you a lot of flexibility. You can either put together multiple layers of rip-stop nylon mounted on one frame or use one layer mounted per frame and multiple frames. You will need to play with both techniques and see which one works best with your subject. And the cost is right; around $2.35 for the drip connectors and $2.35 for the dowels, a total of $4.75 per frame. Ripstop Nylon runs $6.50 per yard at 60" width so 1 to 2 yards would be enough. So for about $25.00, less then a small tent, you have 2 frames and a lot more flexibility.