Lamps: home-made for apartments and streets. How to make a simple LED lamp with your own hands For outdoor lighting

A LED is a semiconductor device that allows you to convert electric current into light radiation. One 220 volt LED lamp allows you to save a huge amount of electricity. The savings are 2 times more than a fluorescent lamp and 10 times than an incandescent lamp. If you use parts from a burnt-out lamp to make such a lamp, you can significantly reduce costs. You can assemble an LED lamp with your own hands quite simply. But do not forget that for this you need to have the appropriate qualifications, since you will have to work with high voltage.

Advantages of LEDs

Nowadays you can find a huge number of types of chandeliers with LED lamps in shops. They have different advantages and disadvantages. Modernization of energy saving lamps allows you to take full advantage of fluorescent light. This applies to the most common lamps with an E 27 base. And the old representatives of this family were endowed with an unpleasant flicker. Fluorescent light sources are truly a miracle. Compared to them, incandescent lamps are losing ground very much. Their high consumption energy and low luminous efficiency are not covered by a high color rendering index.

Durability is their main advantage. Mechanically it is strong and reliable. It is known that its operating life can reach up to 100,000 hours. They are also considered environmentally friendly light sources, unlike fluorescent lamps, which, in turn, contain mercury. But as you know, fluorescent lamps have some disadvantages:

• The vapors contained in the pipes are quite poisonous.
• Due to frequent switching on and off, they can quickly fail.
• The design itself requires some disposal.

The LED lamp can be considered the second revolution in the field of lighting. It works 5-10 times longer, is more economical and does not require any special disposal. Although there is a minor drawback - it is much more expensive.

In order to remove this small minus and turn it into a good plus, you can build a lamp from an LED strip with your own hands. In this way, the cost of the light source can be reduced. It will be much lower than that of luminescent analogues . And also this lamp will have a number of advantages:

• The lamp life will be a record 100,000 hours, but only with proper assembly.
• The cost of a homemade device is no higher than that of a fluorescent lamp.
• The watt/lumen efficiency is far superior to all comparable products.

But there is also one drawback - there is no warranty for this product. It must be compensated by the skill of the electrician and strict adherence to the instructions.

Homemade lamps

There are a huge number of ways to create a lamp with your own hands. Using an old base from a burnt-out fluorescent lamp is the most common method. Such resources are available in every home, so there will be no problems finding them. You will also need:

In some schemes, one or two elements from this list may not be useful. However, in others, on the contrary, new chain links may be needed, for example: drivers or electrolytes. In each specific case it is necessary individually draw up a list of necessary materials.

How to make an LED lamp with your own hands

To begin installing the lamp, you need to prepare two damaged fluorescent lamps with a power of 13 W and a length of half a meter. There is no point in buying new ones, it is best to find old ones that don't work. But they must be checked for cracks and chips.

Next in the store you need to purchase LED strip. This must be approached responsibly, since the choice is very large. Tapes with natural or pure white light are best. Since they do not change the shades of surrounding objects and are super bright. Typically, these strips contain LEDs in groups of three. The power of one group is 14 W, and the voltage is 12 volts per meter tape.

After which you need to disassemble the fluorescent lamps into their component parts. You must act very carefully - do not damage the wires or break the tube, as this will release toxic fumes. All removed entrails should not be thrown away. They may be useful in the future. Next, you need to cut the tape into sections of 3 diodes. After this, it’s worth getting expensive and unnecessary converters. Large, sturdy scissors or wire cutters are best for cutting the tape.

In the end there should be 22 groups 3 LEDs or 66 LEDs, which must be connected in parallel along the entire length. To convert alternating current in constant voltage, it is necessary to increase the standard voltage of 220 volts to 250 in the electrical network. This is due to the straightening process. The next step is to figure out the number of LED sections. To do this, you need to divide 250 volts by 12 volts (voltage for 1 group of 3 pieces). Having finally received 20.8 (3), you need to round up - you get 21 groups. It is best to add another group, since the total number of LEDs will be divided into two lamps. And dividing an even quantity is much easier.

Next you will need a rectifier direct current, which can be found in the extracted insides of a fluorescent lamp. Using wire cutters, remove the capacitor from the common circuit of the converter. This action is quite easy to perform, since it is located separately from the diodes; you just need to break off the board.

Using superglue and soldering, it is necessary to assemble the entire structure. Don't try to fit all 22 sections into one lamp. As mentioned above, you need to find 2 half-meter lamps, since it is simply impossible to place all the LEDs in one. There is no need to rely on the self-adhesive layer, which is located with reverse side tapes. It won't last long. Therefore, it is better to use superglue or liquid nails to secure the LEDs.

To summarize, we can analyze all the advantages of the assembled product. The amount of light in the resulting lamps is 1.5 times greater than in analogues. But the power consumption is much less than that of fluorescent lamps. The service life of this light source will be approximately 10 times longer. And also one of the advantages - this is the direction of light. It is directed straight down and has no ability to dissipate. Therefore, it will be best used at the desktop or in the kitchen. However, the light emitted is not very bright but has low power consumption.

Constant use of the lamp in the on state will consume only 4 kW of energy in a year. The cost of electricity consumed per year can be compared with the cost of a ticket in public transport. Therefore, such light sources are often used where constant illumination is required, for example:

• Street.
• Corridor.
• Utility room
• Emergency lighting.

A simple LED light bulb

There is another way to create a lamp. A table lamp, chandelier or lantern needs an E14 or E27 base. Accordingly, the diodes and circuit used will differ. Compact fluorescent lamps are now common . For installation you will need one burnt cartridge, as well as an altered list of materials. Necessary:

Let's move on to creating an LED module with our own hands. First you need to disassemble the old lamp. In fluorescent lamps, the base is attached to a plate with tubes and secured with latches. The base can be disconnected quite simply. It is necessary, having found places with latches, to pry them off with a screwdriver. Everything needs to be done quite carefully so as not to damage the tubes. When opening it, you must ensure that the electrical wiring that leads to the base remains intact.

From the upper part with gas-discharge tubes you need to make a plate to which the LEDs will be attached. To do this, you need to disconnect the light bulb tubes. The remaining plate has 6 holes. In order for the LEDs to be firmly attached to it, you need to make a cardboard or plastic “bottom”, which will also insulate the LEDs. You need to use NK6 LEDs; they are multi-chip (6 crystals per diode) with parallel connection.

Because of this, the light source is super bright with minimal power. You need to make 2 holes in the cover for each LED. The holes should be pierced carefully and evenly so that their location matches each other and the intended pattern. If you use a piece of plastic as the “bottom”, the LEDs will be firmly fixed. But if you use a piece of cardboard, you will need to glue the base with the LEDs using superglue or liquid nails.

Since the light bulb will be used in a network with a voltage of 220 volts, an RLD2−1 driver will be required. You can connect 3 diodes of 1 watt each to it. This lamp required 6 LEDs with a power of 0.5 watts each. It follows from this that the connection diagram will be formed from two series-connected parts of three parallel-connected LEDs.

Before you begin assembly, you need to isolate the driver and board from each other. To do this, you can use a piece of cardboard or plastic. This will prevent short circuits in the future. There is no need to worry about overheating as the lamp does not get hot at all. All that remains is to assemble the structure and test it in action. White light makes the light bulb appear much lighter. Light flow assembled lamp equals 100−120 lumens. This may be enough to illuminate a small room (corridor or utility room).

Types of lamps

LED lamps can be divided into two groups: indicator (LED) - used as indicators because they are low-power and dim. The green lights on the router are indicator LEDs. There are such diodes on TV as well. Their uses are quite varied. For example:

• Car panel illumination.
• Various electronic devices.
• Computer display backlighting.

Their colors come in a huge variety: yellow, green, red, purple, blue, white and even ultraviolet. It is worth remembering that the color of the LED does not depend on the color of the plastic. It is determined by the type of semiconductor material from which it is made. In most cases, you need to turn it on to find out the color, since they are made of colorless plastic.

A lighting structure is used to illuminate something. It differs in its power and brightness. It also has a very reduced price, so it is often used in household and industrial lighting. This type of lighting is considered productive, environmentally friendly and cheap. Today, the level of technology development can make it possible to produce lamps with a high level of light output per 1 Watt.

I work in Kharkov, far from kedrofis and, accordingly, far from all equipment, light, cameras, stabilizers and drones. With the arrival of the cold season, it becomes more and more difficult to shoot outside, which means you need to move indoors. And today I will tell you how I made a homemade softbox with my own hands specifically for these purposes.

Target

In my case, the goal was quite simple: to make a convenient lighting device for photo and video shooting at home. Of course, going to the store and buying a couple of softboxes would probably be easier, but, firstly, it would cost quite a decent amount, and, secondly, it would take away the opportunity to make something with your own hands and remove the very DIY magic.

So the main criteria for what should happen in the end were as follows:

• budget, but without much fanaticism
• sufficient power
• foldable design for easy storage
• versatility of placement

Previously, I made a small light fixture from a tabletop “clothespin lamp”, two wire hangers, several sheets of A4, foil, a stapler and adhesive tape. And, naturally, a powerful fluorescent lamp was used, which I grabbed at some time on some promotion. My “Light Mark I” served me for quite a long time, but time has shown that the design of the lamp has a tendency to break, and, moreover, ordinary paper cannot provide sufficient rigidity for the reflective structure.

Another significant disadvantage of the first incarnation was its inconsistency. Although the Mark I Light turned out to be quite compact, storing it was quite problematic, especially considering the fragility of the design. So now it's in a pretty bad state, although it's still pretty functional. In the new version I tried to take into account all the mistakes and not repeat them again.

Sources

To make the body of my future softbox, I decided to use the most ordinary cardboard box. In my case, its dimensions were 40 x 35 x 28.5 cm. You can buy such a box at the nearest post office or any other place where they pack something. The pleasure, by the way, is quite inexpensive.

Prototype

Naturally, before doing anything with the box, I needed to develop a prototype. I worked with the most ordinary A4 sheets, so the scale was approximately 1:5.

I want to say that if you were ever told that geometry is not useful in life, then here is a refutation of this dubious thesis. So if you've heard something like this, you can find your math teacher and, highlighting everything with a softbox, laugh in her face.

Once I was happy with the prototype, I moved on to cutting a full-size copy out of the box. In order to make the structure easily folded, secured and unfolded, I added small square protrusions, with the help of which the fastening will be carried out. But more on that later.

After the main parts were cut out, it looked something like this. Everything is coming together, which means we can move on to the next phase of the Light Mark II project.

In order to make everything easy to assemble and disassemble, I decided to use the most common Velcro. You can buy it at any fabric store that sells accessories. A meter was enough for me with a large margin, and I paid about $0.50 for it.

As it turned out, the square protrusions were not enough to hold the structure firmly, so two additional Velcro were needed for each of the joints. The protrusions can be used as fastenings for suspension or just conveniently to hold on to.

The lamp itself, which in my case is a socket on a clothespin, bought for about $4 at the nearest hardware store, is also attached to the interior wall with Velcro. To do this, a small area of ​​leftover cardboard was glued to the lamp using hot glue.

Once the entire structure has folded and unfolded successfully, it's time to apply the reflective layer. For it I used ordinary food foil and PVA glue. Having spread the glue in an even layer with a brush, I laid out pre-cut pieces of foil on all internal surfaces, smoothed them out and let them dry. The result was quite impressive.

As a final touch, I attached a wire to each part of the lid, “covering” it with a layer of reinforced tape. This made it possible to secure them in any position if necessary. I use baking paper as a diffuser. white, which can be found in any supermarket. For now I'm still thinking about how to do better fastening for her.

Bottom line

As a result, I got a fairly powerful lighting device. All my requirements were met. It folds, it’s budget-friendly, it’s, as it’s fashionable to say now, modular. I am more than completely satisfied with his work.

My plans are to blow out the Mark II Light with black paint on the outside to make it look more professional, redo the Mark I Light, and also make a Mark III Light, which I will also talk about.

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Decorating your home yourself favorite hobby many housewives, this article reveals how to make a lamp with your own hands. You can revive the interior of a living room, bedroom or hallway using improvised means, just by changing the shade of a chandelier, floor lamp or table lamp. Do-it-yourself lamp shades can be used not only in residential interiors, but also in cafes, pubs, and pizzerias.

Selection of materials and lamps for the lamp

Products made for children's rooms must be made from natural, non-toxic materials and painted with environmentally friendly paints.

When manufacturing, you should also remember fire safety Therefore, lampshades made of flammable materials made from paper, plastic, feathers or threads should only be used with lamps that have a low heating temperature.

You need to use LED or fluorescent lamps. They have a number of advantages:

• long service life;
• minimal heating of the base from the glass part;
• the light has three shades: warm, cold, neutral.

In addition, such lamps are also called energy-saving; their only drawback is their high cost.

It is also advisable to have a specialist connect the wire to the socket. You should not try to perform this operation yourself, as this may lead to undesirable consequences. It is more convenient to decorate an existing lamp frame or make it from durable and not very heavy materials.

To create lamps, the following materials are used: scissors, mounting knife, fishing line, wire, pliers, hot gun, in some cases it can be replaced with super glue. They should be used by an adult; it is unacceptable to involve a child in gluing. Since in one case he will get a burn, and in another he may glue his fingers together or stick to the parts of the future product.

What can a lampshade be made from?

Many craftsmen make lamps from completely unnecessary materials:

• made of plastic or glass bottles;
• newspapers, thin or colored paper;
• artificial or natural threads;
• dried branches of unusual shape;
• disposable spoons;
• old disks.

Plastic lamp

From plastic containers You can easily create a homemade chandelier of different sizes.

1. For the base you need to take a 5 liter bottle. The bottom is cut off from it. Then circles with a diameter of 1.5 cm are drawn on the surface. They need to be cut out with a mounting knife or small scissors.
2. The bottom of the bottles for decoration is cut off and the entire surface is cut with scissors into strips 0.5 - 1 cm wide, then the workpiece is heated over a lit burner. When exposed to heat, the stripes will take on a chaotic appearance.
3. Then the blanks are inserted into a 5-liter container with holes, and with inside The lids are screwed on. Then a wire is threaded through the large neck and the lampshade is installed. For such a lampshade you need to use an energy-saving lamp.
4. In some interiors you can find a fancy lamp made on the basis of an ordinary hanger or straw hat. In general, limit the scope of imagination of both home craftsmen and professional designers can't do anything.

Glass bottle lampshade

Very interesting option homemade chandelier obtained from glass bottles. They are used to decorate the halls of catering establishments. This is also a good option for a kitchen in a residential building or apartment. This can be a lampshade consisting of one or several bottles, the bottom of which is cut off. You can do this yourself, but it is better to use the services of a workshop where they cut glass and mirrors.

How to use thread

For a lampshade made of threads or ribbons you will need: a ready-made frame made of strong wire, threads different color, scissors, glue.

1. The frame consists of two rings connected to each other by metal pieces. You can make it yourself from strong wire.
2. One color or several shades of thread is required.
3. A thread is secured to the bottom, then it needs to be pulled through the top ring, lowered down and thrown through the bottom ring. You need to make sure that the thread is taut and the turns fit snugly against each other. As soon as the thread runs out, you need to attach the next piece to the bottom ring.
4. Carefully trim the remaining threads and glue them on the back side.

Spoons for lamp

You can make a multi-tiered, colored lamp from ordinary disposable spoons.

1. It is necessary to make a frame from wire; for a round small lamp you need to make three circles with a diameter of 12, 18, 26 cm. Then the circles are fastened together using fishing line. The largest diameter will be at the top; there should be the same distance between them.
2. In the spoons you need to make a small hole with a thick needle at the top of the handle.
3. Spoons color acrylic paints in three colors, for example, yellow, orange, red.
4. Assembling a homemade chandelier: cut the fishing line to a length equal to the distance between the circles. A spoon is tied to one end of the fishing line, and the other to the frame. You need to tie spoons to the lower circle of small diameter yellow color, to the middle - orange and to the top - red.

Lightweight and elegant lampshade

For a paper lampshade, paper or thin cardboard is suitable. Such a lampshade can be either rectangular or square shape. First you need to think about the size of the lampshade; the larger the room, the wider the structure can be. In a small nursery or hallway, a lampshade with a diameter of 30–35 centimeters will look good.

The frame can be made of wire; it will consist of an upper and lower part; consider making a lampshade in the shape of a cylinder.

1. You need to make two circles of wire required diameter. They are connected to each other using a fishing line, the distance between the bottom and top frame– 12 – 15 cm, the hoops are fastened with fishing line in three or four places. The larger the diameter of the base, the more connecting elements need to be made.
2. You can draw circles on a piece of paper different diameters, figurines of cartoon characters. Outline drawings can be taken from the Internet and printed, then redrawn using carbon paper. A special ruler is suitable for drawing circles, or you can outline lids or buttons of different diameters. Some designs are cut out completely with a stationery knife, others are cut along the contour.
3. The paper is tried on the base and glued with an overlap. Then glued to the wire; it can also be secured with thin wire. To do this, first make a hole in the paper with a thick needle or awl, then thread the wire and carefully tie it to the frame. It is advisable to glue thin paper, as it can easily be damaged.

Exclusive lampshade made of metal basins

1. Cans made of any metal are used; an interesting option would be made from copper or aluminum containers. An old, used basin will also work. If there is a through hole in it, it needs to be welded or sealed, for example, epoxy resin.
2. The inner surface must be painted light color so that the light reflects as much as possible from it.
3. The outer surface can be painted in a dark, rich color that harmonizes with the interior.
4. A fringe about 5 centimeters long is glued to the bottom of the headband with hot glue. In the central part of the basin you need to make a hole for the wire. It can be drilled with a drill or pierced with a nail.

Such a lampshade can be decorated with a mosaic of CDs. To do this, the discs are cut into small fragments with sharp scissors, which are glued to the outer surface of the pelvis. You can glue only the bottom outline and paint the rest. Or decorate the entire surface of the lampshade with such a mosaic. The more convex the surface, the smaller the disc fragments should be.

Natural materials

An original lamp can be made from a dry branch of an unusual shape. It needs to be cleared of bark and covered with stain, then, if desired, treated with clear varnish. The branch must be attached to the hook on the ceiling using regular fishing line. Then I wind the wire with the lamp onto the branch several times. A branch entwined with several wires looks beautiful.

You can make a lamp from plastic hangers. Described in detail in the video:

Lamps for different rooms

DIY bottle chandeliers are more suitable for the kitchen. Structures made of glass or plastic will be easy to clean from dust and wash if necessary. For the kitchen, hallway or living room, a lamp made of natural wood.

For a child's room, a painted lampshade would be more suitable. plastic bottles, a floor lamp made of bright threads or a paper composition. The last option cannot be called durable, but this is the option that children will like. Girls will like a lampshade with butterflies and plant elements; boys will like designs with cars, superheroes or bright plastic lampshades.

In some cafes and pubs they are used for hall decoration. original lamps from bottles. These could be beer bottles. They can serve as a lampshade for light bulbs, or be an interesting frame for a lamp.

Ideas for homemade lamps by location

With your own hands you can give new look floor lamp. You can decorate the lampshade with fabric, threads, paper with cut-out designs, and you also don’t need to ignore the base and leg of the lamp. They can be painted with acrylic paints, glazed, and decorated with beads. The decor of the lower part of the floor lamp should echo the elements in the upper part. The simplest option is to decorate the lampshade in a single color with lace or guipure.

Decorating lamps

Bottom part A lampshade made of threads can be decorated with pom-poms of the same size hanging on a thread. They are glued to the inside of the frame with glue. Pompoms can hang on both the same and different heights. They can be made in one color or combined several shades.

To decorate paper lamps you can use lace, thick tulle, beads different sizes. Decorate glass jars Or bottles can be glass pebbles, which can be purchased at hardware stores. You can also use buttons of different sizes and colors. Small buttons can even be glued to PVA.

On new year holidays It is customary to decorate the Christmas tree, but you can also decorate the shades of lamps and floor lamps. Here you can use regular rain, hand-cut snowflakes, Christmas tree figures, decorative balls and a regular garland. If in wall or floor lamp If an energy-saving lamp is installed, its lampshade can be decorated with paper snowflakes.

Wall sconces installed in living rooms, bedrooms, children's rooms. After repairs, you can use old sconces only by changing them appearance. You can paint the body of the lamp in a light color, and apply bronze or silver paint on top with a hard bristle brush to create a patina effect. If the lampshade is glass, the desired pattern is applied to its surface using a glass stencil. Here you can use contour paints (they are used to create stained glass) or aerosol paints.

Economical lighting lamps are already found in almost every home. We offer you to consider how to make an LED lamp with your own hands, what materials will be required for this, as well as tips on what criteria should be used to select them.

Step-by-step development of an LED lamp

Initially, we are faced with the task of checking the performance of the LEDs and measuring the supply voltage of the network. When setting this device to prevent injury electric shock We suggest using a 220/220 V isolation transformer. This will also ensure safer measurements when setting up our future LED lamp.

Please note that if any elements of the circuit are connected incorrectly, an explosion is possible, so strictly follow the instructions given below.

Most often, the problem of improper assembly lies precisely in poor-quality soldering of components.

When making calculations to measure the voltage drop in the current consumption of LEDs, you need to use a universal measuring multimeter. Basically, such homemade LED lamps are used at a voltage of 12 V, but our design will be designed for a mains voltage of 220 V AC.

Video: LED lamp at home

High light output is achieved with diodes at a current of 20-25 mA. But cheap LEDs can produce an unpleasant bluish glow, which is also very harmful to the eyes, so we recommend diluting your homemade LED lamp with a small amount of red LEDs. For 10 cheap white ones, 4 red LEDs will be enough.

The circuit is quite simple and is designed to power LEDs directly from the network, without additional block nutrition. The only drawback of such a circuit is that all its components are not isolated from the mains supply and the LED lamp will not provide protection against possible electric shock. So be careful when assembling and installing this light. Although in the future the circuit can be upgraded and isolated from the network.

Simplified lamp diagram

1. When turned on, a 100 ohm resistor protects the circuit from voltage surges; if it is not there, you need to use a higher power diode bridge rectifier.
2. The 400 nF capacitor limits the current required for the LEDs to glow normally. If necessary, you can add more LEDs if their total current consumption does not exceed the limit set by the capacitor.
3. Make sure that the capacitor used is designed for an operating voltage of at least 350 V, it should be one and a half times the mains voltage.
4. A 10uF capacitor is needed to provide a stable, flicker-free light source. Its rated voltage should be twice that measured across all LEDs connected in series during operation.

In the photo you see a burnt out lamp, which will soon be disassembled for a DIY LED lamp.

We disassemble the lamp, but very carefully so as not to damage the base, then clean it and degrease it with alcohol or acetone. We pay special attention to the hole. We clean it of excess solder and process it again. This is necessary for high-quality soldering of components in the base.

Photo: lamp socket
Photo: resistors and transistor

Now we need to solder a tiny rectifier, we use a regular soldering iron for these purposes and have already prepared a diode bridge in advance and process the surface, working very carefully so as not to damage the previously installed parts.

Photo: soldering the rectifier

As an insulating layer, it is fashionable to use the glue of a simple hot-melt assembly gun. A PVC tube will also work, but it is advisable to use a material specially designed for this purpose, filling all the space between the parts and simultaneously fixing them. We have a ready-made basis for the future lamp.

Photo: glue and cartridge

After these manipulations, we proceed to the most interesting part: installing LEDs. We use a special circuit board as a basis; it can be bought at any electronic components store or even taken from some old and unnecessary equipment, having first cleared the board of unnecessary parts.

Photo: LEDs on the board

It is very important to check each of our boards for functionality, because otherwise all the work is in vain. We pay special attention to the contacts of the LEDs; if necessary, we further clean and narrow them.

Now we are assembling the constructor, we need to solder all the boards, we have four of them, to the capacitor. After this operation, we again insulate everything with glue and check the connections of the diodes to each other. We place the boards at the same distance from each other so that the light spreads evenly.

LED connection

Also, without additional wires, we solder a 10 μF capacitor, this good experience soldering for future electricians.

Finished mini lamp Resistor and lamp

All is ready. We recommend covering our lamp with a lampshade, because... LEDs emit extremely bright light that is very hard on the eyes. If we place our homemade lamp“cut” from paper, for example, or fabric, you get a very soft light, a romantic night light or a sconce for a nursery. By replacing the soft lampshade with a standard glass one, we get a fairly bright glow that does not irritate the eyes. This is good and very nice option for home or cottage.

If you want to power the lamp using batteries or from USB, you need to exclude the 400 nF capacitor and rectifier from the circuit, connecting the circuit directly to a 5-12 V DC source.

This is a good device for illuminating an aquarium, but you need to choose a special waterproof lamp; you can find it by visiting any store of electromechanical devices; these exist in any city, be it Chelyabinsk or Moscow.

Photo: lamp in action

Lamp for the office

You can make a creative wall hanging, table lamp or a floor lamp for a work office made of several dozen LEDs. But for this, the flow of light will be insufficient for reading; here you need a sufficient level of illumination of the workplace.

First you need to determine the number of LEDs and rated power.

After that, find out the load capacity of the rectifying diode bridge and capacitor. We connect a group of LEDs to the negative contact of the diode bridge. We connect all the LEDs as shown in the figure.

Diagram: connecting lamps

Solder all 60 LEDs together. If you need to connect additional LEDs, just continue to solder them sequentially, plus to minus. Use wires to connect the negative of one group of LEDs to the next until the entire assembly process is complete. Now add a diode bridge. Connect it as shown in the picture below. Connect the positive lead to the positive wire of the first group of LEDs, connect the negative lead to the common wire of the last LED in the group.

Short LED wires

Next, you need to prepare the base of the old light bulb by cutting off the wires from the board and soldering them to the AC inputs on the diode bridge, marked with the ~ sign. you can use plastic fastenings, screws and nuts for connecting two boards together if all diodes are placed on separate boards. Don’t forget to fill the boards with glue, insulating them from short circuits. This is a fairly powerful network LED lamp that will last up to 100,000 hours of continuous operation.

Adding a capacitor

If you increase the supply voltage to the LEDs in order to make the light brighter, the LEDs will begin to heat up, which significantly reduces their durability. In order to avoid this, you need to connect a 10 W recessed or table lamp with an additional capacitor. Simply connect one side of the base to the negative output of the bridge rectifier and the positive side, through an additional capacitor, to the positive output of the rectifier. You can use 40 LEDs instead of the suggested 60, thereby increasing the overall brightness of the lamp.

Video: how to make an LED lamp with your own hands

If desired, a similar lamp can be made using a powerful LED, but then you will need capacitors of a different value.

As you can see, assembling or repairing a conventional DIY LED lamp is not particularly difficult. And it won't take much time and effort. This lamp is also suitable as a summer option, for example for a greenhouse; its light is absolutely harmless to plants.

For most photographers, the pressing question is how to create high-quality studio light. Since it is often missing from the window, and stationary lamps do not give the desired result. You can make studio lighting yourself. Simplicity and low budget remain an important factor.

Home photo studio

Most often this is a huge amount of expensive equipment in large room. However, if you wish, you can assemble your own portable studio light kit by spending a minimum of money on it.

To do this, you need the following equipment: a camera (with lens), synchronizers, flashes and holders for them, batteries, stands, umbrellas, softboxes, modifiers, backgrounds and, of course, bags to carry and store the entire instrument.

What is studio light like?

The role of lighting in the world of photography is invaluable. With its help you can convey mood, depth, emotions. The most powerful source in the studio is considered to be key light. It’s just not worth using, as the contrast is too great, and half the object ends up in the dark. You can correct the situation with fill light. This will make the shadows smoother and less noticeable.

To get a more ideal picture, you need to add backlight. It will give visibility, the object will be visually separated from the background. Place it behind the model.

There are also types of studio light such as pulsed and constant. Let's look at each of them.

Pulsed light

Such a source provides much more power than a constant one. Even if you compare them by cost, size, and other parameters. Why is this happening? Because constant lighting, while the shutter is open, should reflect photons from objects in the lens all the time. And pulsed studio light accumulates enough energy in a short time and instantly releases it in large quantities. Which will make it easy to beat the sun. Because photography requires a brief moment.

If a large amount of energy is needed for work, this is the best option. A pulsed light source can illuminate a room as if it were a sunny, clear day. At the same time, it will weigh only 100 grams and fit freely in your hand. It is more convenient to use pulsed light when shooting outdoors. Of course, fluorescent lamp tubes do not fold very compactly, and they need to be protected from impacts. The power source is conventional batteries.

Pulsed light is emitted by flares and pilots. They are connected to the camera by a synchronizer. There is only one drawback - selection large quantity heat. The consequence is huge energy consumption.

Constant light

The main sources are LED and halogen lamps. They do not communicate with the camera, which is very convenient to use. Despite the fact that pulsed light, at first glance, is superior to constant studio light, the latter also has its advantages. Using this type of lighting, the photographer will see what his camera sees. There are no restrictions on the use of light modifiers. Since little heat is released. Even without taking a photo, you can see the result simply by moving the light.

Working with him is a pleasure. No need to use a flash meter, shoot in manual mode. You just need to switch settings until you get desired result, adjust the camera’s ISO and aperture. Constant light is ideal for learning. The models will like it too. She will not be bothered by sharp flashes, she will just have to get used to very bright lighting.

DIY studio light

The most common attachment for lighting fixtures is the softbox. You can do it yourself. For this you will need:

• cardboard box;
• whatman;
• foil;
• halogen spotlight;
• lining translucent fabric;
• slats;
• knitting needles;
• glue;
• scissors;
• wire;
• nuts;
• hairpins;
• stationery clothespins.

A softbox consists of a frame that can be made from any (square or rectangular) cardboard box. On the one hand, you need to cut off the lid so that it is open. Then we make a reflective layer. To do this, we cover the inside surface of the box with white paper or foil. We will make a diffuser screen from translucent light fabric, covering the open side with it. The softbox has a two-layer case: outer (black) and inner (metallic reflective).

On the opposite side of the screen it is necessary to make a hole for a lighting device, which is a halogen spotlight. It is attached with wire.

If you need a large softbox for work, then its frame can be made from wooden slats and wire knitting needles. It should be noted that the frame on which the screen is mounted must be much larger than for a spotlight. The finished frame is covered with a cover. It can be made one-piece two-layer. So, it is easier to put on the frame, but it requires a lot of time. Separately we tighten the walls using stationery pins of different sizes.

The softbox is attached to the lamp leg. It is very important to turn it on only when shooting. Because the surface gets very hot. Homemade studio light is ready.

Power and quality of different types of light

For those who like bright, shallow-focus shots with an open aperture, constant lighting is ideal. Although it has little power. For shooting food, still lifes, products and static objects in general, it is better to use pulsed light.

As for quality, opinions on this matter are very subjective. However, constant light is more pleasant and soft.

Work principles

A photographer in a home studio must have everything necessary for shooting. This is it, the background, lighting fixtures, reflectors, attachments. But this is not enough. It is also very important to know how to work with studio light and set it up correctly.

Main attributes:

• beauty plate;
• reflector;
• umbrella;
• softbox;
• reflectors;
• color filters;
• tube;
• honeycomb

Using a background reflector will help illuminate the background evenly. Will give sharp shadows, directional hard light. placed opposite the object being photographed. It gives soft directional (concentrated) light, which is complemented by diffused light. A softbox and an umbrella are used for this. You can install a lamp behind it (in the light) or use it as a reflector thanks to the white fabric on the inner surface.

Today, the most popular attachment among photographers is the softbox. The light is diffused and beautiful. Masters use octoboxes (large octagonal) and stripboxes (long rectangular). It all depends on the size, shape, distance to the object. For group shots, octoboxes are used, for portraits, and for full-length shots, stripboxes are used.

To change direction and color, photo reflectors are needed. They are also indispensable for single source studios. Photographers rarely use a spot (tube), since it can only illuminate a small detail.

Color filters are used to change the color of studio lighting. They are installed on the source, directed towards the background and this is how a photo is obtained in a halo. The color of the skin does not change. To simulate sunlight use honeycombs.

Monoblocks and generators serve photographers as sources of constant light. Experienced craftsmen choose generators. Although they are more expensive, they are easier to work with.

Synchronization and methods for doing it

Today you can buy a set of pulsed light in stores. This includes:

• rack;
• lamp;
• umbrellas;
• color filters.

The inconvenience is that it requires synchronization and connection to the camera. Otherwise the flash simply won't work.

Synchronization can be done in three ways.

1. Transmitter (IR trigger).
2. Radio synchronizer.
3. Sync cable.

The IR trigger is a small box. Attaches to the camera where the flash usually is. It works on this principle: inside the candy bar there is a “trap” that catches impulses, which makes it clear to the flash: “It’s time to work.” Flaw - infrared ray must be within sight of the device, like the remote control and TV. Due to its inconvenience, this method is rarely used.

A radio synchronizer is more practical to use. Takes pictures from any place where the signal reaches. The principle of operation is the same as that of the transmitter, but it is based on radio waves.

An extremely inconvenient way for a photographer is a sync cable. Since the light source and the camera are connected by a wire, which will constantly get under the master’s feet.

Having decided on the synchronization, you need to configure the flash. It switches to manual mode. Power decreases. We do the same with the camera. The exposure of a frame is determined by a histogram or flash meter.