Build a Cheap DIY Tabletop Studio to Capture Great Small Object Photos
Photographing small objects—things to sell on eBay, DIY projects you want to show off—with even lighting and good contrast can be quite tricky. Use this guide to turn household objects into a tabletop studio for well-lit small object photos.
You don't need to spend a lot of money on a commercial table top studio and expensive lights to get great results. The nice thing about shooting small inanimate objects is that it's easy to fuss with them and they don't get upset if the shoot takes too long or the lights are too hot. Tinkerer John De Cristofaro shares an easy to imitate setup that involves little more than some basic PVC pipe, lightweight MDF board, white paper, bright household lights and some mirrors to bounce light about. Check out the video below to see comparison shots of his setup with varying amounts of light added.
Although he uses PVC pipe and some MDF board to stiffen the studio, you could easily improvise with stuff from around your home like a sturdy cardboard box, wine crate, or other large rectangular object. Visit the link below for tips and tricks on making the most out of your nearly-free table top studio. If you already have a flash, check out this $10 tabletop macro studio.
How-To Take Great Photos of Your Projects [Adafruit Industries via Hacked Gadgets]Send an email to Jason Fitzpatrick, the author of this post, at jason@lifehacker.com.
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Can be summed up quickly with:1) A continuous white sheet to create the infinite background.
2) Diffused light source(s) with your camera's flash turned off.
3) Proper camera white balance.
For instance, snapping a quick pic of a ring, I taped a piece of copy paper to the wall to create the infinite background curve. Then tossed up a florescent light overhead as my diffuse source of light. Set my point and shoot's white balance to custom; sample the page with a shot to set the WB. Put ring in, and take the picture.
A tripod or some other stable mount helps a lot in increasing quality. That way you can keep the ISO low for less noise. Also allows you to use a very small aperture if you want a wider depth of field--helps to make a sharper image on iffy lenses.
A trick to remove camera shake blur on hitting the shutter is to set the camera up on a mount, then use the timer. Reply
I use posterboard (the shiny side), the corner formed by the top of the microwave, and a really cheap fluorescent octobox from Adorama. Reply
I just throw them on the carpet and then press the shoot button when the objects are approximately on screen. Reply
I did something like this a while back for my school. The lesson I learned from it is that for this type of shoot, I'd rather have a good light setup and a point-in-shoot then a lousy light setup and a DSLR.Course now my place of employment gives me the good camera and the good light :-) Reply
This could be handy for photographing those family treasures that won't fit on a scanner . . .