eBay Seller needing help.Would like to make DIY lighting set up

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danjackson999

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hey all

Joined talkphotography and after having a look around for a couple of hours i know this is the best place to get some much needed advice.

I have just started a new business as a eBay trading assistant(selling other peoples items on eBay for a percentage) and i would like to make a studio that would be suitable for a wide range of items.

I currently have a 30inch light tent bought from eBay years ago.Picture below

p7170002.jpg


I have had some ok results by placing it on a footstool right in front of a window but this is not really a long term solution.

I have an office and i have the corner of the room to build a permanent fixed studio.

I will place it low down on a table, just like the one in the picture so maybe i can get some light from above.

I will be taking pictures of a variety of items and maybe from time to time they will be bigger than the light tent.There is also the problem that maybe the light tent is too big for macro shots because the walls on the tent will be too far away from the product.
Will this size be ok for macro shots? I really dont have a clue when it comes to lighting!
If so should i use the light tent for the majority of items and then use a makeshift white sheet drapping down for larger items. Or should i just scrap the light tent and go for something like this to use all the time

2218210974_b0b2cf769e.jpg


or

wos_4007.jpg


Then it comes to the lighting, of course i would love to have the budget to spend £300-£400 on a lighting set up but that is not an option.I have searched for DIy set ups on this forum and found a few ideas but thought i would include it in this thread to get some more specific ideas.

Can i use lamps from ikea or something and then use daylight bulbs.
How many lights should i use? 2 for the side, 1 above?

Should i have the set up firmly against the wall or slightly away from it so i can have light from behind?

If i done a set up without the lighting tent how can i get difused light from a DIY set up?

here are some photos i created from my light tent with just daylight.



f480.jpg

w910.jpg

w5951.jpg

g6002.jpg

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The last one was helped along with some editing software but i really struggled to get a pure white background.
I also experimented with a black background but they did not come out too great.

Will i get better results than them pictures by using a DIY set up?

I only have a normal digital camera that doesnt have a big mecro lens or anything.but it does have super macro.

One last thing for this absolutely monster essay like post,how can i get results like in this auction.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-White-S...6:3|39:1|72:1690|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:100

Can i se some sort of perspex or something like that to create reflexions instead of shelling out £25 on something if i can make it for cheaper.

I think using a black surface like this will help alot with light coloured objects.

I thank you in advance for any help
 
i have no lighting at the moment.When i sold on ebay a few years back i just used some worlights but they give off a very harsh yellow light.

I was looking to hopefully doing it as cheap as possible.
 
For the reflective base, get hold of an old clipframe (those A4 glass sheet/hardboard sandwich things) and use the glass as the base under your object.

If you've got a few day's to spare in research, there's also this thread on Photography on the net. It's where I got the ideas for my DIY lightbox. Beware - it's currently on 3442 posts!
 
There are a lot of different ways of doing this, including using your light tent (but it takes a fair amount of skill and care to get anything other than boring, flat lighting) used with fluorescent lights, which don't give off a yellow light and which don't get hot - but you need the proper photographic ones, otherwise some colours including reds will end up totally wrong.

Or you can actually learn about lighting, get some fairly basic studio flash with the right accessories and produce far, far better shots that will increase your sales and more than pay for the investment.
 
Garry Edwards said:
There are a lot of different ways of doing this, including using your light tent (but it takes a fair amount of skill and care to get anything other than boring, flat lighting) used with fluorescent lights, which don't give off a yellow light and which don't get hot - but you need the proper photographic ones, otherwise some colours including reds will end up totally wrong.

Or you can actually learn about lighting, get some fairly basic studio flash with the right accessories and produce far, far better shots that will increase your sales and more than pay for the investment.
Click to expand...

what is the very cheapest way possible of getting flourescent lighting.

I dont need the pictures to be absolutely perfect because i dont want to spend too much time on each photograph because in my business time is everything,the more listings i do in a day the more money i earn.

I will learn gradually along the way but i do not have the time to become very knowledgable about it hence the reason for asking all you experts.

what do you reckon the minimum i can spend on lighting is to get a good set up
 
you can use desklamps, as long as they have the same bulbs they will be the same colour - then whatever it is you can fix it after the picture

its the nature of the tent thats important here methinks to get even light from the desklamps


also the lack of power isn't a problem as the subject is still if you have a decent (ie will actually hold your camera still and not wobble - mine wobbles like hell) tripod to hold the camera then you can make shutters as long as necesary
 
Try this thread.

I had a spell farting about taking quite a few things using the light tent and Asda £1.99 lamps method...

I found a black backgroud was easiest for flebay type shots. Bit of glass sat on black card inside the light tent with a black back to the tent...



 
I use 3 Asda desk lamps and bought some 100w daylight bulbs off ebay.. about £5.99 for three I think. Really cheap and easy lighting.
 
you know, all I do is get some wrapping paper (black one side, white the other side) and bluetack the top bit to the wall and have it go down onto and across the table. Then I use a desk lamp with a daylight bulb for lighting.

This is one of my results.

DSCF0672.jpg
 
hi, some good advice in this thread.

I would just like to add one thing,

remember selling items on ebay, is about picturing a true omage of the item that they want to buy, not about being arty or even worrying (to a degree) about shadows or backgrounds.

reflections is somthing that you do need to pay special attention to though, the last thing the buyer wants to see, is detail being obscured by reflections of the light.

I work in an antiques pottery shop, and sell a lot of things on ebay, and like you said, you dont want to be spending an hour on each piece, but a few times in the past we have had people asking if there is damage or fading on a piece that was in fact reflection (we have a lot of stock that was photographed before i joined)
 
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