Modifications to a camera are a fun way to learn more about photography.
Photography is a fun and lively way of capturing memories and expressing yourself. With a combination of artistic flair and technology, users can capture images in ways that bring delight or contemplation. By experimenting with different mechanical settings on a camera, users can create images just they way they want them.
Some people take this experimenting a step further and modify their cameras to learn more about the mechanics of photography or to create looks that they might not otherwise be able to achieve.
Instructions
Learn About Your Camera
1. Designate a camera to modify. As you experiment, it's possible you will make a mistake and the camera will cease to work. Only experiment on a camera that you don't mind losing.
2. Read all you can in the users manual or in books published about the camera to get an idea of its mechanics and the way the parts are laid out. This should also inform you about the level of skill needed to work with various parts.
3. Decide on the modification you want to make, be it to the lens, shutter mechanism or, in the case of film cameras, the way light strikes the film.
Lens Modifications
4. Explore different lens combinations on an interchangeable-lens camera. Using different types of glass or color filters you can significantly alter the images your camera creates. Many lens adapters are available to purchase.
5. Experiment with pinhole lenses. Pinhole photography is made by using a tiny pinhole punched through a piece of card or other dark material. Simply tape the card onto the front of your camera lens and explore the ways in which this changes the image. You will find you need longer exposure times due to the smaller amount of light available through the pinhole.
6. Hold other lenses in front of your regular camera lens. Many old or strange lenses will produce interesting results when simply held in front of your existing lens. Some interesting choices are "fish eye" lenses, which make things look like they are being viewed through a door peephole, or a kaleidoscope-type lens which will produce a kaleidoscope effect.
Film Camera Modifications
7. Modify the body of an old film camera so that it "leaks" light. A camera is meant to be light-proof, but alternative results can be achieved my modifying the housing of so that a little bit of light strikes the film. This causes light streaks that produce red and yellow colors over your image. You only want a little bit of light to get through, so start with a small hole and work up from there.
8. Use different types of film in a camera that the film wasn't designed for. In medium format cameras, regular 35mm film can be used for interesting effects. You will have to tell your photo-lab not to cut your negative and find someone who can scan it for you, but the results are not something you see every day.
9. Process the film in an unusual way, such as asking your photo-lab to process positive film in negative chemicals and vice versa. This is known as "cross processing" and is used to get results that are unexpected as the films are not designed to be developed in the "wrong" chemicals.
Flash Modifications
10. Use a translucent film canister or hold a piece of translucent plastic over your flash to soften the light and cast it in a wider direction. This will reduce the power of the flash but will make the shadows caused by it to be softer, which can often lead to more pleasing portraits of people.
11. Hold or secure colored gels (colored plastics) over the flash. This will cause the flash to take on the color of the plastic and cast that color on your subject.
12. Use a rolled-up piece of paper to create a tunnel known as a "snoot." This will direct the flash down a "tunnel," causing a spotlight effect highlighting certain parts of the image.
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