Show Me Your Photography Setup

[Johnathan]

I have gone through a bunch of different forums to find pictures of members photo setups. It would be so nice for me, and others, to have them all in one place. Please show me what you have, and let me know your likes and dislikes. I'm thinking about buying the studio-in-a-box, but I'd love to see what is working for everyone before I spend the 100 or more bucks. Thanks[8D]

 

[punkinn]

Johnathan, you don't have to spend anywhere near that much to get a good photo. I made my own light box for about $30, all told. Some PVC pipe and a twin white sheet from walmart, the lights, and poof! I disassemble it and store it in a closet; reassembly takes about 2 minutes.

The setup:

A representative image from the light box:

The idea came from this site: http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent I just modified it to my needs; not gluing the joints makes it able to be taken apart for storage. I also did some sewing on the sheet to make it conform more to the shape of the light box, but that was totally unnecessary.

HTH!
Nancy

 

[thetalbott4]

I have basically the same set up as Nancy and it works great. Go through my photos and you'll see what I mean. I use an overhead light as well. Daylight bulbs.

 

[mrcook4570]

I use a setup similar to Nancy's. I have lights on either side and one on top with 100 watt daylight bulbs.

 

[Johnathan]

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[terrymiller]

I have the same basic setup only difference is that I left the top open and I put a bar across the top about a foot above the setup so I can steady the camera.

 

[btboone]

I've got one of these: http://www.gemvision.com/html/products/imagedome/imagedome.html
It is very expensive, and I wondered if it would be worth the money I spent on it. It turned out to be one of my best investments since I now make my living off of my website. The pictures don't even compare to my old ones. You could probably do well to do similar lighting by household stuff like a white styrofoam buckets or similar items.

 

[Johnathan]

Bruce, that setup looks pretty amazing! after seeing the lease cost, I would hate to know what the purchase price is. Having been through your website, it does show. []

 

[btboone]

Old Pic.

New Pic.

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It's hard to put a price on that. The system was something like $4000. For me, worth every penny. The system came with the Nikon CoolPix 4500. The camera that comes with it updates as technology changes. One of the biggest plusses of the system is that it's all adjustable while being repeatable and very sturdy. It has different zoom lenses that plug into the mounting unit. The lighting is flourescent, and are adjustable, as are the doors and overhead shades. You can get lots of different lighting effects with these. There's also a small light up top to give nice reflections. When I first took pictures with it and downloaded them to the computer, the rings were about the size of truck tires. I started noticing all the little things such as how the light is reflecting off the part and dust specks and fingerprints. The quality of my product came up immensely as I was able to notice more of those details.

Obviously, the unit is way over the top for most budgets, but simulating the way it bounces the light off the curved walls can be done a lot cheaper. I've seen one done with white Styrofoam ice buckets. Total cost, about $2.00.

 

[woodpens]

Here is what I use. I take pictures of my pens inside the cocoon. The larger stuff lays on top of the tabletop photo studio with the cocoon removed. You can get something very functional for considerably less than I spent. I like the quality of the pictures I get from this setup, but I don't pick up a glossy finish. I think I need another light behind or above the camera. My camera is a Casio QV-4000.