Using what’s around you to create the light and image you want is just a matter of knowing how light acts and how materials can modify it. When looking for materials, think about what reflects, how it reflects, what absorbs and what can diffuse light.

Plastic Shopping Bag and Balloons

What makes for softer light? Making the light bigger in relation to your subject. Taking an inflated white balloon, slipping it into a white plastic shopping bag and tying it around a speedlight makes an instant softbox. It may shoot warmer, requiring some white balance adjustments, but it’s a fast fix for a hard-looking speedlight (meaning a light with deep, defined shadows that are very contrasty—not a good look overall). A colored balloon can give you a soft, gelled light for a background and hair light from one light source since it acts like a lantern instead of just a directional softbox.

Foamcore 

Take some spray glue and aluminum foil and voilà, you’ve got yourself a double-sided dual finish bounce board. This  is a white board that can reflect back light to fill in shadows. If you want that fill light to be more specular and directional, you can glue foil to one side, allowing for a double-sided reflector.

Fluorescent Paper

Whatever your light bounces from, it will absorb its properties. If you want some fun effects with colored shadows, bounce that key light onto some cool neon glowy fluorescent paper and make those shadows a snappy hue.

Aluminum Foil 

Want a hard specular reflection? Lay it down anywhere you need to reflect light back. It’s a cheap, fast grab that is able to handle heat and is moldable. It can block light or be molded to make snoots. Poke holes in it and shoot through it to create textured light. Need more control? Spray one side of it with matte black spray paint for homemade Cinefoil.

Emergency Blanket

Need a large area with the same look as a silver bounce that can fold down to almost nothing? Emergency blankets are perfect and cost under $5 or less if you buy in bulk.  

Tissue Paper

Along with foil, I always have a pack of tissue paper at the ready. It costs $1 for 10 big sheets, takes up no space, weighs nothing and gives almost a perfect one-stop diffusion panel when shooting with a speedlight. If I have this and some foil, I can refine my light on my subject and refine my shadows, bouncing the lighting back. Double up the tissue for a more opaque surface to soft-bounce the light.

Food Coloring and Water

Need a colored light on that background but can’t find actual gels? Grab some food coloring and throw it in a small Ziploc with a little water and suck out all the air. You can create dappled light or even swirling colors if you mix the water with a thickener like Thick It, which, by the way, is great when shooting macro shots of splashes. It slows down the speed and boosts the viscosity of the water. 

Related: Your Illustrated Guide to 5 Strobes and When To Use Them

10 Ways to Create Stylized Light

A Complete Guide to Color-Effects Gels in Portrait Photography