Cheap and Easy DIY Light Diffusion

Hard light can be extremely unflattering on your talent, which is why shooting outside can be tough. Direct sun can lead to harsh lighting and while finding shade under a tree can help, it can also result in uneven patches of light. However never fear, for I’ve got a cheap and easy DIY light diffusion trick that will have you diffusing the sun in no time!

Film sets traditionally combat this with what are called silks. These are basically large sheets of diffusion that can be used to soften any sort of light, including the sun. But purchasing pro level silks that are big enough to combat the sun can get pretty expensive. However for my DIY diffusion technique all you need is a white bed sheet, yep… a bed sheet.

The first step is to take two c-stands and use them like a frame. You’ll want two, because you want to prevent the sheet from flapping in the wind. To do this, join the two c-stand arms together like so.

Next, safety is key and when the wind picks up it’s going to fill your homemade diffusion like a sail, which can be extremely dangerous. So you’ll want to make sure you put plenty of sandbags on your c-stands to prevent it from crashing down on any of your talent.

Now that your c-stand is safe, you can attach the white sheet to it using A clamps or C47s, again making sure it’s held in place and not flapping wildly in the wind. Now thanks to your home made diffusion your scene can go from this patching lighting… to this more even flattering lighting.

So now that you know how to diffuse any situation, you’ll be a pro filmmaker in the streets and a brightness blocker with the sheets!

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