Make my own personal little studio?

[afrikaner07]

Hi Everyone,
I need some help. I mostly take photos outside, but I have been thinking of building my own little studio indoors. Nothing major, maybe 2 foot cubed with two open sides. My goal is to maybe take some macro shots or some other types of shot on smaller items. I was thinking of just using a white semitransparent shower curtain for two of the sides and white poster board for the floor and back of the mini-studio, any ideas on what might be better? Also, I was planning on just using everyday lamps, and was wondering if incandescent or fluorescent would provide me with the better light? I was going to use the shower curtain to soften the light a bit. I am on a pretty tight budget, and will go this weekend to what the materials will cost me etc. Anyways, any ideas would be fantastic and would certainly appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks.
Cheers,
Johan

[thorndor]

I don't do this type of photography, but I remember seeing a video on here of some nice looking portraits taken with daylight balanced florescent lights. I would post a link but I can't seem to find the video.

[afrikaner07]

Thanks Richard, I will see what I can find. I will probably go look for bulbs at a local hardware store or something similar, since the pro stuff is completely out of my budget, plus I'm so new to this I don't think quality will make that much of a difference at the moment.

I forgot to mention earlier, but I am not using an SLR for my photography, I use a Canon Powershot S5 IS. Eventually I'll get myself a better flash, student budgets can be tight sometimes =D.

[L Stegall]

Johan,

Regardless of whether you are on a tight budget or not, there are some inexpensive things that work great for this type of work. Go to Office Depot or Office Max and you'll find tri-fold foam board (lots thicker than just a plain poster board), which gives you a background and "ready made" sides. I bought both black and white. Probably about $10-12 each. Also, I bought a pack of bright colored poster board (reversible for different colors) that I clip to my background if I want a color instead. I just used that very inexpensive setup to shoot some colorful gerbera daisies over the weekend (here's some examples - I had my white tri-fold foam board in back and a flat sheet of white poster board underneath. I took the bright colored poster board and clipped it to the back with one of those black metal clips you get at the office supply store as well.

You can set this up to take advantage of natural light or get some other type of light source and it doesn't have to be an expensive flash or strobe. You have a good idea with something to diffuse another light source. You'll have to play around with your options. A light meter can be very helpful, but that's something that isn't necessarily cheap (although you might rent one for a weekend if you have a source for that).

Anyway, have fun.....here's some examples of how I used simple poster board for good effect:

[afrikaner07]

Gorgeous, and thank you, I will try that out for sure.

[afrikaner07]

Thanks for all the help, I got some poster boards and was playing around with my macro mode. I still have to work on diffusing the light some. Any tips on my approach to these shots?

[Nocturnus]

I made something like this. And used rip-stop nylon as my diffuser..

[Donb10]

Here's another good sight.

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

[afrikaner07]

Ok, I constructed one of those light boxes out of pvc, it was far cheaper than I originally thought. The problem is I made it too big...now I am looking for some opinions.
Do I a) make it smaller by cutting off some of the pvc,
or do I b) take some rope and string and essentially just clip the background further forward?
c) something else I haven't thought of?
Here is an image of it...as you can see, its rather large, and since I didnt have a table to put it on I had to add some legs.



Thanks for any help you can provide.

[afrikaner07]

I ended up taking some shots of flowers the other day, here are some links to them.
Here is the set link for the macro shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/african...7603730347444/

[bent0box]

Originally Posted by afrikaner07

I ended up taking some shots of flowers the other day, here are some links to them.
Here is the set link for the macro shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/african...7603730347444/

nice macros man. I think I'm going to build my own little setup pretty soon. If you don't mind me asking, what lens are you shooting on those macro shots?

[afrikaner07]

oh, i dont have a lense, I use my Canon Powershot S5 IS. I am not too sure about the specifications but I know the Super Macro mode I have from 0-10cm and the Macro mode I have from 10-50cm. Sorry I couldn't be of any help.

[picman]

Check this one out.
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/200...to-studio.html
Cost next to nothing - not going to use it for a while - toss it and make another when you need it.