DIY Lighting Tips and Tricks For Pornstars

As you start to build a career in camming and/or filming clips, you’re going to find a lot of advice on how to upgrade your equipment to improve the quality of your shows and content. Those upgrades can add up quickly though! While investing in good equipment is important to make quality content, spending too much too soon can leave you without much wiggle room in your budget. Sure, you can click your way over to Amazon and order a studio lighting kit in a box, but that’s not the only way to improve your lighting. For less than $70 you can improve your lighting over what you have: upgrading your gear a bit at a time will allow you to improve your content while keeping cash in your pocket.

 

The Cheapest Lighting Option

A window! No, I’m not kidding–every lighting setup aims to recreate even, natural light, which a window provides. If you’re concerned about privacy, a cheap pair of sheer curtains will obscure an outsider’s view without blocking the light. Using natural daylight isn’t always the best solution for camming, depending on what hours you work, but planning your shooting schedule around daylight hours will improve the quality of your videos without spending a cent. Add natural light to whatever you’re currently using for lighting to get more out of your camera.

 

The Do It Yourself Way

One step above the window (and a few bucks below softboxes, umbrellas, or a ring light) are DIY clamp lights. I used these for years with either a window or a desk lamp with a daylight bulb as the third point in my 3-point lighting system. They’re easy to make, cheap, and portable. I had a pair that went through 4 apartments in 2 years over in the UK, and when I got back to Canada I made another pair that lasted 2 years, until I retired them when I bought softboxes. I still haul them out when I am filming in a room that is tougher to light, or when I need more lighting angles for green screens.

 

Supplies Needs:

  1. Clamp lights: You can buy these on Amazon or elsewhere online. I got mine at a hardware store for cheap.
  2. Daylight bulbs: Look for bulbs that have a temperature of “5000k”, they’re often marked as “balanced daylight” or “balanced natural”.
  3. Parchment paper: Make sure it is a white shade and not ivory or yellow. Most parchment paper is rated up to 400F, and since you won’t be using incandescent bulbs in your lamps, it shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re nervous about the heat, you can buy white photography diffusion paper in sheets on Amazon, though they are pricier.
  4. Tape: Electrical tape works well, though I used duct tape because I always have a few rolls kicking around.

 

Steps To Setting Up Lighting System:

  1. Put the bulbs in the lamps (duh).
  2. Put the parchment paper over the lamps and tape it in place. Depending on your lamp size and shape, the bulbs may touch the paper, but again, that’s really not a problem.
  3. Clamp the lamps to something (chairs work a treat), turn them on, and voila!

 

DIY / Homemade Lighting Systems Are Affordable

You don’t have to spend a fortune on equipment to create quality content. Use what you have, buy only the pieces you need, search for ideas and tutorials. I love DIY projects, and I’m always looking for a way to make something before I buy it.

What do you use for lighting? Did you buy or DIY?

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