DIY lighting/studio

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photojournalism

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Hi

Looking for some help.

Basically I want to make a DIY ( as cheap as possible) lighting/white background studio for product photography. Its not just small products , so the background would have to be quite big.

I have the camera/tripod/lenses but have no studio equipment , any pointers on doing this? Obviously I could just go out and buy all the kit from the shop , but it would be expensive and I am trying to avoid as much expense as possible.

I take it I will be looking at a glossy white background/lights/relflectors/something to diffuse the light...I think :p

I would be looking to get a nice crisp white background like this (just found thi spic on the internet)

product-photography-lighting-lesson-step-3.jpg




Any help greatly appreciated as I want to get started asap.
 
photojournalism said:
Would this do the job I require? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170651877...lk_rvr_id=271187422333&afsrc=1#ht_4741wt_1270
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No, I'm sorry but it won't. Apart from everything else, the reflector is fixed in place, so you can't use it with the light shaping tools that you'll need.

TBH, you're going about this the wrong way - DIY and 'cheap' lighting solutions don't work with product photography, where lighting needs to be finely controlled and with very consistent light quality.

And there's no need to economise anyway, good product photographers can earn obscene amounts of money for decent quality images.

As a minimum, you'll need the following equipment (this is all Lencarta, but similar products are available from other manufacturers)

A product shooting table. This one will handle anything up to about 70cm wide comfortably, above that you'll need paper backgrounds. You can get a smaller one instead, but a larger one is easier, especially if you're going to use it a lot.

A selection of honeycombs. These fit to the standard reflector and put lighting emphasis exactly where it's needed

A large softbox. This goes overhead on a boom arm

Some smaller softboxes and umbrellas. As included in this 4 head kit (and of course you need the kit too)

At least one low level stand, but 2 would be better

A reflector and a holder for it

A flash meter

An understanding of light and how to use it - get a copy of my still life photography tutorial or my still life video.

BTW, the example shot of the trainer is really nothing very special, and it's overexposed too.
 
Hi

Thanks for the reply.

Im not interested in doing product photography as a job. I just want to take photos of my own products I sell. So an image like the above would be fine for what I need. It doesn't have to be perfection.

I will take a look at the links you put in above.
 
maplin did a potostudio a while back it had a fold up soft box , 2 mini lights and a stand for a camera . the advantage is it folds flat

product no N60GU , at the moment its 29.99 its usually 39.99

Cheers Steve
 
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Thought I would just give this a go

Run around the house and grabbed a few bits to use , so grand cost was £0.

Not brilliant or anything but I like it for my first go and just using odds and ends from the house lol

IMG_8400.jpg
 
steve_lyt said:
maplin did a potostudio a while back it had a fold up soft box , 2 mini lights and a stand for a camera . the advantage is it folds flat

product no N60GU , at the moment its 29.99 its usually 39.99

Cheers Steve
Click to expand...

Thanks , that is ideal for the smaller stuff.
 
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