lighting still life table

AMac

AMac

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Alex
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Hi,

I have been using "her in doors" coffee table with different sheets of paper then laid on and stuck to the wall as my back drop.

She has asked (well demanded) her table back!

So before I bought something from Ikea I had a quick look around.

What about something like this" Kenro Still Life Table 60 x 130cm - Small"

Or has anyone got any more suggestions? I am trying not to go too mad with cost!
Cheers Alex
 
Does it neccessarily have to be a table for underlighting?

We have a much larger Manfrotto version at work and it's good - the underlighting works, although it's something I don't use that often. Even on the size we have (the panel is probably 1.5x2m minimum) it's a struggle to get even light from a standard studio head udnerneath because of the physical size of flash heads. With the Kenro one I take it you're using speedlights?

If you don't need underlighting, I'd just go with a standard coffee table - it's been good enough up to now :)
 
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Hi Alex

For a small fraction of the money you could make yourself a still life table that can also be used as a light tent/box.

Constructed from 20mm PVC pipe and push-fit elbow joints, you can build it to your exact requirements and easily adapt it when necessary.

My one packs away into a 1 metre x 10cm bundle, including light box diffuser material.

If you are interested in building one then let me know and I can dig out a parts list and simple construction plan.

Sam-D
 
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I've got this desktop one.....

31_RM1017_3.jpg


They're about £50 from Calumet, although I got mine via their Amazon store where it was a fair bit cheaper
 
I use a really cheap pasting table, picked up for about £10 from my local DIY place. Folds flat to store under the bed when not in use / good working height so that you're not breaking your back setting things up on it / big surface area for larger set ups and plenty of room to stand a light tent and lights on it if you want to. There's also plenty of scope for draping in with fabric and pinning it to the wall behind if you want to create an infinity curve.

:shrug: Probably not the most elegant solution, but it's practical and cost less than a good bottle of wine.
 
We also have a drop-down table on the wall at work. It's just a 5ftx6ft panel of wood that's on chains to lock it at 90-degrees. We just have a roll above it on a (bamboo) tube that's threaded through two large screw-in metal hooks to act as rollers. A wedge stop the paper in place once you've created the curve of the paper roll. The paper is secured at the leading edge of the table with crocodile clips.

We put it in when the Manfrotto table wasn't put together; was seen as a low-cost, compact way of having a table one minute and then folding it up to give more studio space.

I only re-instated the Manfrotto table to use because it seemed to expensive to be sat collecting dust.....
 
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Hi,
Thanks everyone for your advice, it has given me something to think about.

It was the back and having a infinity curve without having to use all sorts of sticky tape to the wall, that always then falls off :) that first attracted me to the table. Rather than the under lighting.

Also being able to quickly clip on different backgrounds.

Oh Sam D if you could let me have a look at your plans, I am not much of a DIY person but you never know!

I only have two speedlites and am just trying to learn about lighting.

Oh one other question whilst I am here, I was also looking to get so light shapers to fit on my speedlites (430EX11 and Yongnuo YN560)
Any recommendations?
Also they look quite big, will the light sensor still work to trigger the 2nd flash with shapers fitted?
Thanks again, advice here is always very good, cheers.
 
The 'Kenro' one has all these unnecessary black clips on it, which can cause problems with larger items that are fairly close to them - IMO a bad design.

And the desktop one will be a real pain if you ever do want to underlight it, you'll need to find a way of raising it a hell of a lot.

Unfortunately these shooting tables are one of the 'generic' items (like softboxes) which just anyone can make, and like softboxes they are often made by small firms that don't know or care about good design and suitable materials.
 
Sam-D said:
Hi Alex

For a small fraction of the money you could make yourself a still life table that can also be used as a light tent/box.

Constructed from 20mm PVC pipe and push-fit elbow joints, you can build it to your exact requirements and easily adapt it when necessary.

My one packs away into a 1 metre x 10cm bundle, including light box diffuser material.

If you are interested in building one then let me know and I can dig out a parts list and simple construction plan.

Sam-D
Click to expand...

I don't think Tinker Tubes specifically includes a still life table, but it gives the theory behind PVC studio structures - link (pdf, may take a minute),
 
AMac said:
Oh Sam D if you could let me have a look at your plans, I am not much of a DIY person but you never know!
Click to expand...

Hi Alex
Here is the basic parts list and building details. (Click on the website illustrations to enlarge)......

http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

And here are the parts prices from Screwfix – Please note that single lengths of pipe are only available from Screwfix branches, as their internet/phone orders only come as a pack of 10x3 metre lengths.

6 metres of overflow 21.5mm pvc pipe £4.98 (2x3 metre lengths)
4 overflow 21.5mm 90% tees £2.59 (pack of 5)
4 overflow 21.5mm elbows £2.59 (pack of 5)

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do?f...&fh_start_index=0&fh_sort_by=&fhSearchParams=

If Screwfix is not convenient for you, B&Q and other sheds should be similarly priced.

As it’s constructed from plastic pipe, it’s not only cheap to buy the bits, it’s also very easy to cut with a hacksaw. My version is a bit larger than the size shown on the plan and I have mounted a large bulldog clip instead of the sheet-metal screws for holding the background paper. I also decided not to glue the joints, but use small fixing screws instead, and then only on the joints that remain in place when the frame is dismantled, finding it unnecessary to fix joints 1,2,3,and 4, (as numbered on the ‘top frame’ illustration).

In addition I used 4 additional lengths of pipe to make up 2 adjustable lighting diffusers, which simply lie across the frame and provide infinite variation to lighting. The diffuser material that I used is frost protecting garden/horticultural fleece. It’s cheap to buy and can be increasingly doubled up to achieve the desired effect. It can also be used to replace the background paper, allow you to illuminate it from behind if required. Horticulture fleece can be purchased by the metre from DIY stores and garden centres, or can buy an 8 metre roll of it from... guess who? Screwfix!

http://www.screwfix.com/p/frostgard-frost-protection-fleece-1-5m-x-8m/64660

If you would like further help or clarification, then just let me know.

Have fun.
Sam-D
 
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Hi,
Been away working all week.
Thanks for that detailed plan Sam, it all looks well thought through.
Do you use a sheet over the top or your extra pipe lengths as a diffusers all the time? If you did not would you get shadows caused by the pipes?
Thanks again for taking the time to answer.
 
AMac said:
Hi,
Been away working all week.
Thanks for that detailed plan Sam, it all looks well thought through.
Do you use a sheet over the top or your extra pipe lengths as a diffusers all the time? If you did not would you get shadows caused by the pipes?
Thanks again for taking the time to answer.
Click to expand...

Hi Alex

No I don’t use a sheet, but the horticultural fleece as mentioned.

To explain in more detail, both diffusers are identical in construction and can be used singularly or both at the same time. Each one is made from two 90cm lengths of 21.5mm pvc pipe and four layers of 75cm x 2 metres fleece attached to the pipes. To help visualise it, imagine a wide roll of kitchen towel with a second tube attached to the free end of the paper, however, both tubes are a bit wider than the paper roll.

To use the diffusers, just unroll as much as is needed and lay one end on top of the frame, draping it across the top and down the side. What’s good about this arrangement is that you can diffuse just the top and one side, or just one side only, or just the top, or just a part of the top. The permutations are endless and if you want a typical ‘light tent’ arrangement then simply drape top and both sides. If you want to increase the diffusion effect then unroll more fleece and use it in folds.

With regard to your question about pipe shadows, this has not been a problem; however, you could remove any one of the horizontal pipes and the frame should still support itself. Obviously pipe shadows could be more of a problem when not using any diffusion. In that situation, just turn the frame around and curve your background towards the camera and away from the frame.

In reality it is extremely simple, but very difficult to describe in writing, but please let me know if I can help further.

If you prefer to chat through it on the phone then I am happy to PM you my phone number. Just let me know.

Good luck.

Sam-D
 
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