Institution: Bod a Pocket RGB LED Light for Your Home Photo Studio

The event that divine ME to start out this project was the time when my daughter asked for my help to make some special photos. She ISN't a line of work photographer but she is quite passionate some this artwork form and was sounding saucy to making some interesting photography.

So we mixed my interest in leds with her dip for taking pictures and created the project you are about to see delineated.

There are already devices that merged colorful led lights (pocket rgb led lights) that are available happening amazon, e.g.:

  • AtomCUBE RX1 RGBCW Bag Airy
  • Falcon Eyes F7 12W RGB Led Light
  • Aputure MC Aputure RGB Light-emitting diode Picture Light

to count just few.

The most useful thing that comes with using this kinda device in my opinion is the fact that you can change through colors slowly Beaver State at whatever focal ratio you would like. It's also awe-inspiring that you can ascendence the hue and the saturation of the colours, so you can have an array of styles to choose from. Apiece of the devices had a a couple of options I liked, others had different options that were serviceable but I did not find altogether of the options I would have precious into one lone device. What I thought I could do was put in a software system on a microcontroller that would direct the LEDs thusly that I could attain the lighting effects I desirable. In this way I could experiment and find out pretty fast what sort of colors suit my subjects.

You have to keep in mind that nada compares to doing something with your own hands, so that it will oeuvre just the fashio you want it to. Am I right? Thus, I can create this device exactly as I want. The construction is not complex at every last, the electronics are low-priced (as was common for Maine 😊) the only requirement could be the possession of a 3D printer, although this is not really necessary because there are companies that can impress the components of the led panel. The effects this tool gives create an amazing look to pictures, as you will see in the sunset step of the propose. And it can constitute old non alone for photos, merely also for video filming, and so that you can capture the path the lights are changing.

This can buoy be pe perfectly exemplified in the proficiency presented in this video for example but there are as wel many separate tutorials on the internet that describe the way to use these pocket led lights, these tutorials apply to our device because it whole caboodle in the same way Eastern Samoa other devices of this type and it offers many another options (if not more).

So let's start!

Step 1: Materials, Components

For the expression of this device I used:

  • A pocket RGB LED light torso and LED support (2 variants, more about at the construction step) - printed on the 3D pressman, here is the link for the STL files on Tinkercad;
  • A piece of music (158x140 mm) of transparent Plexiglas (maybe besides transparent white) as a screen;
  • Window privacy foil (frosted white - gives the impression of a seamless, textured light), ;
  • A art object of LED strip with 68 WS2812 LEDs (60 leds/m);
  • An ESP-01 module;
  • An RGB LED controller for Extrasensory perception-01;
  • 5.5x2.5mm DC Female Plug with Cable;
  • 5V power supply with 5.5x2.5mm D.C. Antheral Male plug

I did the 3D printing with a PLA material of 'atomic number 13' color, IT looks like the case is successful of metal :) The LED support is forced into its place so information technology was not necessary to glue information technology. On the sides of the box I provided some holes for ventilation because, from my experience, at high brightness the leds get a bit hot and the PLA is not same resistant to screaky heat energy. However, the function of the LED venire at level bes brightness should be avoided arsenic it also shortens the life story of the LEDs.

I also organized two 3D printable accessories for this device that essentially serve for a better concentration of light commingle. I haven't tried them yet, perchance in the future, but I'll make the STL files disposable to you, which are also connected Tinkercad.

Also here you can download an STL file cabinet for a ballock that can be inserted into the expansion slot in the caparison of the device with which you can attach the scoop RGB LED Light to a tripod. The nut is not my project but you can find it happening Tinkercad here.

If you want, the plexiglass plank for the screen can be transparent because the white foil filters and lowers the intensity of the LEDs light a small-scale.

The electronic components are very cheap (especially if ordered from China 😊 )

  • LEDs $3.3
  • Extrasensory perception-01 module $2.2
  • RGB LED controller module $0.9
  • Plug with cable $ 0.25

The 5v powerfulness supply however must constitute of good quality and relatively high current. For 68 LEDs at maximum white brightness the required current would be about 4A (68 * 60mA). In order to make up in the safety perimeter and not to overload the magnate supply, it should be able to output about 6A. The 5v/6A power supply can cost about $10- $12 so information technology would be about the most dearly-won component. Merely information technology is necessary. If we do not allow the required afoot for the diodes, in addition to the fact that they will not illuminate at supreme brightness level, they will also have a very annoying flickering. To this cost would be added the price of the 3D printing (which is only the Price of the crucial if I apply my own 3D printer) and plexiglass costs a few tens of cents. In the stop, the cost would be all but $15, overmuch cheaper than any of the pocket RGB LED lights on the market today.

Measure 2: Software

However, all this construction receives added evaluate by using quality software package. And because the ESP8266 microcontrollers from the Second sight-01 boards have gained a huge popularity, I had a great variety of programs to choose from. At a first seek I plant the following solutions:

  • WiFi Controlled Desk Lamp
  • FastLED + ESP8266 Web Server
  • FastLED + ESP8266 + Dedicated Web Server
  • As such-Exalted/esp8266-fastled-webserver
  • World Wide Web management of WS2812b LED Strips with ESP8266
  • McLighting v2 - The ESP8266 based multi-node lighting gadget
  • McLighting v3 - The ESP8266 based multi-client kindling gizmo
  • WLED - ESP8266/ESP32 webserver to control NeoPixel LEDs

By Army for the Liberation of Rwanda 'WLED' is the one I likable the near, information technology offers everything I sought from a small lighting panel and much more! It is likewise very tardily to establis, the World Wide Web interface is glorious and practical and the fact that 'WLED' also provides clients for Humanoid and iOS is a outsize summation.

I will not insist on the configuration and the utilisation of WLED because there are a series of howtos and videos about that, there are also some articles that you can find on the WLED wiki.

However, to start with the WLED configuration, I strongly advocate the video below

Pace 3: Construction

After printing the case and the LED abide, I proceeded to the actual mounting of the LEDs on the support. During the aim I had to choose between three LED mounting possibilities at the same size of the housing:

- A variant with 48 LEDs

- A variant with 83 LEDs

- A chance variabl with 68 LEDs

I old the last version (neither too a few nor too many LEDs 😊) merely in Tinkercad you can also find the LED support for the second version. The holes in the support are provided not only for hiding the connectedness wires between the pieces of the LED strip merely besides to help to position them on the support.

After climb and gluing the pieces of the LED strip, I soldered the contact transmission line to the RGB LED controller module, after I passed the index cable through the hole in the housing I soldered the 5v power ply wires to the one led controller mental faculty. My opinion is that there is nary need for the electronic scheme, the images above speak for themselves. The next step was to load the firmware into the ESP-01 mental faculty as follows:

  • I downloaded ESPHome-Flasher, currently version 1.3.0;
  • I downloaded the firmware from the WLED github namely WLED_0.10.0_ESP8266_1M_full.bin;
  • I attached the ESP module to the programmer (for uploading the programs, I used the programmer in the picture, I also used IT in other projects of mine, for example my Screen background Ring Clock);
  • I inserted the software engineer (with the ESP module affiliated and the button pressed) into a USB port (and so I free the button, the ESP entered programming mode);
  • I started ESPHome-Flasher, I chose the COM porthole of the software engineer, the previously downloaded firmware and I started authorship
  • When writing was finished I closed ESPHome-Flasher and I removed the programmer from the USB port.

At the end I put the ESP module in the RGB LED controller, I mounted everything in the loge and attached the Plexiglas screen.

With this setup I careful 140 lux at 1m outdistance at full white (with an app on my phone, I Don't have a dedicated lux meter 😊 ). It may seem too small of a value but don't bury that WS2812 LEDs were not invented for this purpose. In any case, as you leave pick up, we can still use them as an accessory in an amateurish photo lab.

That's whol.

Step 4: The Pocket RGB LED Light in Action

So WLED microcode is installed and running good.

I watched some videos about its use, I chromatic some howtos and I went connected to take some photos and some shortly videos.

I connected above some photos that my daughter took with her Nikon D3300 DSLR.

Great thanks to our cat Sophie for being such a great model for us even if it was a little bit solid to work with her 😊

Behind the scenes, the catwalk...

In the making of the photos, we used one color for all 68 LEDs and cardinal colours, incomparable for each fractional of the LEDs.
For the videos, recorded with my call, I tried a red and blue "walking light effect" (I moved the LED light over the subject), and some WLED effects: the "Rainbow" effect connected the rotating wench and the "Sparkle" effect on my Desktop Ring Time. You can watch the merged videos below.

Information technology might not be the best tone simply as I told you, my girl and I are just enthusiastic amateurs 😊

But No Photoshop involved in the photo devising!

Ill-trea 5: Conclusion

The Pocket RGB Light-emitting diode Light I receive built is rather functional even if the powdery intensity of the device is quite a low-level. To increase the value of the light intensity you can build up and exercise more such devices, you fanny expend more LEDs or flatbottom stronger RGB LEDs.

I also thought that two WS2812 LED arrays could constitute used with 64 LEDs each, as in the photo beneath,

the device could be smaller, it would have more LEDs (128) and much higher candlepower.

Thank you for reading yet, I hope you liked my article, I'm in order for your questions and observations as usual 😊

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