Some creative Holga Tips!

Tip 1:

You can make some good use of the holga's flash to make some creative effects! The color flash on the camera will only reflect on subject that are near. So a shot near a window will have an effect as shown :)

Alternatively, if you shoot with the red flash on a human subject near you, this is what you will get! The creativity is yours :)

Tip 2:

Make full use of the Bulb function of the 'N' type Holga to take some creative night and low light shots. Switch to 'B' and the aperture will open as long as you hold the shutter button. How long you hold depends on how much ambient light is available and what effects you like to achieve.

Here is an example of my long exposure on the street lamps taken in a car, from the passenger seat. Make sure you do not distract or obstruct the driver!

There are many other dramatic and creative effect that can be achieved using the bulb function.

Tip 3:

Shoot using the 35mm film instead of the medium format. This method require some modifications to your Holga but it is really not too difficult. The modification procedures can be easily found from searching the internet. 

These are some of my shots with the 35mm film on my Holga:

More interestingly, you can buy a film scanner, and you can produce pictures with the sprockets! Well, I would say this is more challenging and a relatively good scanner should be used :)

Here’s a Quick Way to Setup a Basic Studio Portrait Lighting

Studio photography by seanyeo


For studio photography, the equipment plays a key role. The lightings and setup can determine the effects or styles of the final product.

One of the easiest way to setup a basic studio lighting is to use a single light source placed at 45 degrees to the subject and pointing at a 45 degrees angle to the subject.

Front view

Side view






The white translucent umbrella will disperse the light to give a soft look. A popular alternative is to use a soft box, which will produce very nice diffused light too.

If you prefer a harsher light to give a more dramatic look, you can use the black umbrella with silver coating inside:

The pictures will show a nice gradient on the models' faces :)

If you will like a more balanced look, you may use another light source on the other side e.g. window light to reduce the gradient. Alternatively, a reflector can be used too. The 2nd light source should be set to about half the power of the key light, facing at an angle to create a geometric effect for the face!

The equipment used is from elinchrom.

Little known ways to take a good Holga picture!

The unpredictability of the toy cameras makes taking pictures exciting. However, I wish the success rate is higher! The medium format nature and the film processing makes this quite expensive.

A tip on taking good pictures with the Holga is light, lots of light. A bright day outdoors is quite safe to get enough light. For indoor shots, use the flash!

Here are some other points you should look out for:
- Light leaks. If you do not tape your holga, you will get light leaks shown below. Although sometimes it may look quite nice.
- Avoid silly mistakes like forgetting to remove the cap. This may be common for SLR users who just look through the viewfinder and shoot!

Accessories and toy cameras are available at lomography.com

These are some shots taken in Thailand, OTW to Koh Phangan.

Here is a shot taken at the Koh Phangan beach. Part of the beauty of the holga is the natural vignetting effect

One shot that is not taken by me (obviously)

Tsujkii fish market, Japan

Malaysia, Truly Asia

A short trip to KL, Malaysia. Did not get enough time for shooting this time.
I have seen many nice airport photos from Flickr. So while waiting, why not look for some photo opportunities?

Tip: Look for patterns, usually airports have nice architecture. Or look for patterns outside the airport.
The weather was not too good that afternoon but it looked interesting enough for my shot!

flying on the edge, originally uploaded by Sean Yeo.

It was raining outside, so not really a chance to shoot the Twin Towers. There isn't anything that interest me inside the mall, so I decided to photograph people. I like overhead shots. This is a technique that I learnt from my instructor.
Note: Sometimes I think shots like this can be dangerous, I think there are couple of times either my camera or even myself could have fallen off the edge! So make sure your camera strap is hung across your neck and your feet is firm!

i finally bought my flickr pro account!

These are some of my earlier shots, in Little India, Singapore. They were taken during my basic photography course outdoor assignment. That probably kickoff my love for photography! Thanks to objectifs and their instructors :)







I eventually used this set for my showcase during the end of course exhibition.

a reason to start?

sigma50 test shot, originally uploaded by Sean Yeo.

I wanted to start blogging, seriously. Well, a good way to start is to buy the pro account for my Flickr site! Then I can start to post my photos! Right! Let see how it goes.

At least I have something to show, now that I have purchased a new lens! Sigma 50mm F1.4

July rain. Am I leaving or staying?