Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
I've spent years, literally YEARS working on lighting. Those of you who constantly struggle with lighting know exactly what I'm talking about. And it isn't just us - it's a struggle in every aspect of photography and videography. It's a science and one that is anything but exact! Mainly, I want to focus on lighting in my camgirl tutorials. I've spent 15 years as a camgirl and over time, along with age, of course, this can really screw with the eyesight. Certain lights are worse than others and where we place them, fliter and diffuse them makes all the difference, too.
I actually wrote the lighting tutorial that iFriends paid me for and displayed for hosts on their site, on the iFriends v1 platform. It was mainly a lighting placement tutorial. A friend suggested I try my hand at technical writing, after camming but I can't stop camming. I can easily see myself at 90 with one foot in the grave and a camcorder pointed straight at the action!
;D
Anyway, here it is. I've completed my first in a series of camgirl tutorials, starting with a DIY (Do It Yourself) diffuser. What this does is softens the harsh lights, making shadows less apparent. I've often found that bright lights, necessary for video crispness and clarity, hard on the eyes and over time, combined with all the time I spend on the computer for work and work-related tasks, my eyes have really suffered for it. Obviously, I try to avoid staring directly into the light but even with it in a sideview, can cause trouble later on with the vision.
I'll be adding to this tutorial with more on lighting, as well as offer some tips and tricks I've learned along the way. Feel free to try these. Oh, and the best thing: they're created with a super-small-sized budget in mind! ;)
On my blog.
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Does good lighting hide or highlight flaws ?? Like stretch marks and scars. I have an hd cam and decent lighting, but could definitely upgrade both, but Im just wondering if that will make my flaws more noticeable :(
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
thankyou sooo much. I've been looking into diffusers and they can be a tad pricey :3 much appreciated!
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Thanks for this! As a camming newbie, I've been struggling with lighting. This looks like something I can easily do while I'm still experimenting with what works best for me on my current budget.
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
If finding a stand is difficult, another option is to:
Take a small box and open both sides
Tape them open and then tape tracing paper to one opening (found in art section of walmart)
You can then put the box over the light
This helps to keep the light going in one general direction. This works best with desk lamps and lights that move around (pose-able ones)
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Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JessicaBrooks
Does good lighting hide or highlight flaws ?? Like stretch marks and scars. I have an hd cam and decent lighting, but could definitely upgrade both, but Im just wondering if that will make my flaws more noticeable :(
Hi Jessica,
I've found that they actually hide because the end result makes the lighting of the subject smoother, less shadowed.
Hope these are helpful, ladies.
PrincessLuna, that is an excellent idea! A DIY box light. Awesome! To be careful it doesn't go up in flames, I guess the same lightbulb rule would apply then. Use something that doesn't heat up. I find those ridiculously expensive LED lights (that apparently last 10 years if used 3 hours per day) are awesome for that. Especially in the summer when the last thing we need are lights heating up the place more when we want to work.
For those of you who want to know what it does, have a look at the 'before and after pic' below. In the 'after' pic, I was able to add more lights without worrying about glare. A little too saturated for my liking, but that's easily fixable.
BEFORE _____________________________________________AFTER
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Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
You are a goddess for this! Thank you times a million.
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Fab informative post, thanks Amanda :)
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I love this!
I've been working on my setup while I wait for my camera to get here in the mail, and I coerced a photographer friend to come over and help me play with my lights. He's been super helpful, but I'm really learning that it's a whole lot of experimenting and seeing what works for you. Even things like skin tone and what color the room is painted can make such a huge difference in how much/what kind of light you need.
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Amanda, I was reading your lighting blog posts and I was wondering if you could recommend any particular kind of light? I'm super newb, sorry if that's a dumb question.
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Hi Misc,
By "light", do you mean lightbulb or lighting fixture?
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
oh my god, I have such a issue with my damn lighting. I think its kinda my webcam tho, i should replace it. I want to get the c910. The one I have is a logitech aswell, but a shitty one lol. I have changed my room around, everything, diff lights and light fixtures. I have 2 desk lamps that face me and two other shaded lamps in the room, and its still "eeh, crappy" lighting to me. The desk lamps make tons of shadows and makes me look like a old hag, hahaha F! i cant figure it out, im thinking about trying this diffuser idea u posted, but damn..isnt there just a good light/light fixture available? Or hey u know what tho, ive noticed when i use clear bulbs it makes my light look a lot nicer.
What about a LED spot light in a desk lamp fixture, pointed towards u ? anyone have that, seems like they would have that soft look...i dunno im clueless tho !! haha
Re: Creating a Camgirl Tutorial
Thanks so much for this!! I have some glare problems with my current lighting set up, but I'm not sure if I have room for full diffusers in my cam room. This seems like an awesome and cheap alternative :D
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Ive been worried about my eyesight and lighting lately - Ill just turn everything off every 30minutes for 5 minutes (I bought this timer to shut them off), but that was becoming timeconsuming and felt uh completely stupid tbh. Didnt realize there was an easier solution, so this is really helpful, thanks Amanda.