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Using a computer screen or TV as a backdrop is a fun way to spice up your indoor photography and videography work. In the related video I experiment with using a 19″ IPS LCD screen as the background in a few situations like miniature diorama photography with Legos, as a backdrop for a book, and adding interest to photos of  Karuta playing cards . I also filmed a few quick video sequences using a “Lazy Susan” to spin around a product for b-roll clips.  Links are potentially affiliated in this article, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Even a small 19" screen can work alright. My related YouTube video about this project. For equipment I was using a Canon EOS M5 with a Sigma 56mm f1.4 DC DN lens. That focal length gave me enough of a narrow field-of-view that I could work with such a small computer monitor. If you try this out and use a larger screen you should have more flexibility in focal lengths. Here are a few examples of what can be achieved… If you want your own se...

I recently put together a basic home studio, so I could take some self-portraits. My goal here was to make post-processing a bit faster by having a uniform background and decent lighting. As this is a self-portrait setup, I wanted to implement a few tricks to make taking the photos easier and also get some nice creative framing without much repetition. First off, the camera setup: The photos above are a Pentax K-5 + battery grip, Pentax DA 14mm f2.8 lens, Sigma DG 530 Super flash with Sto-fen diffuser, Custom Brackets CB Mini, Vagabond ball head, and Slik Pro 700DX tripod. While I have light stands and slave flashes available, I felt this single setup was sufficient. The wide angle lens means I can achieve a larger depth of field such that I can avoid any issues with focus. To take photos of myself, I use a simple wireless infrared remote. It would be best to use a remote that can auto-focus the camera, but I don’t have one. That coupled with a camera that can do face-detection in...