Do It Yourself: Beauty Dish

[RobP412]

So I decided yesterday while I was out to start my own DIY beauty dish. I’ve been tossing the idea around for quite a while, and decided that I’d just go ahead and do it. So I went to the dollar store and got some things then to Walmart for a few more. I based it off of the Strobist one, but I’ve taken pictures of each step of building to make it easier for you to follow. And seeing as the Strobist one is for speedlites I figured I’d post this for everyone. It took about 2 hours with paint drying times included. Well here goes.
What you’ll need:
A large bowl- Could be for gardening, or for eating… I found mine at the dollar store for you guessed it, a dollar.
A convex mirror- Found this at Walmart for around 2 dollars.
And old CD case- Found it in my house, this is where your flash will bounce into.
2 CD’s- One I glued in the inside of the CD case, the other I spray painted black and glued on the outside.
Some spray paint- Black and White, these will give the more reflective surface on the inside, and hold in some light that comes out the back if not painted.
Glue- I used Hot glue, but you can use gorilla glue, or any other glue you trust.
I’d assume most people have the CD’s, case, and spray paint at home, but if not tack on a few more dollars for total cost.

[RobP412]

First off: Cost.
This cost me $3.00 dollars to make. I waned to modify it more originally with the food storage containers I bought at the dollar store, but I decided against that. The windshield cover I bought is for the reflector I made out of it. So ignore that as well. The bowl- $1.00 The mirror- $1.56. For those of you using speedlites, there is a piece that Strobist recommends using that is available at Home depot for a few dollars… http://bp2.blogger.com/_ePYlfF599aE/...h/_DXT0570.jpg That is the little metal mounting plate, that I’m sure all of you have seen at some point.

[RobP412]

Building: First: I started this whole thing off by getting the bowl ready to cut by finding the dimensions that would allow me to fit my mount on my Alien Bees into the bowl backing. This is that: I drew a circle on the bowl, and took a dremel to begin the cutting. This is how it turned out: Now I sanded it down more so it wasn’t as rough but you get the idea…

Next: I took the CD case, and drew on the same dimensions as I used on the bowl, and again used the dremel to cut it out. That is seen here: Again rough, but I sanded it again.

[RobP412]

Next: I took the case that the CD’s go up into, and hot glued the first CD inside of it. Seen here: The thing was that a little light was coming out, so later I spray painted another CD black and glued that on the OUTSIDE of the case. After I glued the first mirror into the CD case, I took the mirror I bought: and lucky me I got one that had a peel and stick backing on it, so there wasn’t any excess glue needed. Seen here: Bring the product number to the store, and I’m sure they will be able to find it for you. It’s in the automotive section.
Next: After cutting all of this out, I took the CD bottom cutout, and glued it to the base of the bowl. This is where the CD Case top will attach and hold onto. Once that was done, I took it over to the corner, and began to spray paint the inside white. Seen here: I’m glad I waited to paint until this point, because the black casing became white and made the inside appearance so much nicer.

[RobP412]

Next: Once that had all began to be less tacky to the touch; I flipped it over, and spray-painted the other side black. This will help prevent light leaks from the other side. Once everything was dry, I began to assemble the middle part to the bowl base, and it was all finished. You can see it lit up here:
I’ll eventually get a wider bowl, but for now this one will do the trick. It’s an hour or two of work, but it saves you a lot of money. And that’s what it’s all about these days right? If you have any questions whatsoever, let me know, and I’ll clear it up for you. Hope you guys enjoyed this, and I hope you’ll use it to build your own!
Thanks,
Rob.

[MrBattle]

test shot of light output?

[RobP412]

Yeah, it's rough though...

[RobP412]

Beauty Dish was the only light used here...

[MrBattle]

looks good dude!

[RobP412]

Thanks bro! I still gotta get a Boom arm, but for now I gotta do what I gotta do =]

[Johnny Yuma]

Can you show us a picture of it shot onto a blank wall?

[RobP412]

Yep, I'll go get a shot now.

[The Mack]

Thanks for the DIY.
I've added a CM badge to your profile.

[RobP412]

Hope it helps...

[RobP412]

Thank you very much mack! I made a snoot today out of a gatorade bottle and a small bowl... I'll post another tutorial tomorrow probably, i'll include test shots, and will answer any questions anyone has.

[DAMN ALEX]

damn, impressive..looks good to buddy

[MrBattle]

go buy me one of those bowls and ill pay yah back :P

[RobP412]

I'll just make you one Battle. hahah I just need a cd case, and I don't care about buyin the mirror or bowl lol.