<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>DIY Craft Photography</title> <atom:link href="/tag/home-photo-studio/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link></link> <description>Product photography for handmade goods</description> <lastBuildDate>Sun, 18 Aug 2013 04:47:22 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5</generator> <image> <url>/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cropped-DIYC-site-icon-32x32.png</url> <title>DIY Craft Photography</title> <link></link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Anatomy of a DIY Home Photo Studio</title> <link>/anatomy-of-a-diy-home-photo-studio/</link> <comments>/anatomy-of-a-diy-home-photo-studio/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[M. Johnson]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 03 Aug 2013 21:00:49 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Cameras & Equipment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[budget]]></category> <category><![CDATA[diy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[home photo studio]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">/?p=158</guid> <description><![CDATA[My house has a very small extra bedroom. It isn’t good for much besides storing junk, but it’s the best-lit room in the house so I cleaned out the junk and turned it into a little photo studio! I built this studio through trial and error, but now it’s ready to share its secrets with...</p><p><a class="more-link" href="/anatomy-of-a-diy-home-photo-studio/">Read More</a></p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_165" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/budget_diy_photo_studio_at_home.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-165" class="size-full wp-image-165" alt="Budget friendly diy photo studio" src="/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/budget_diy_photo_studio_at_home.jpg" width="1024" height="682" srcset="/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/budget_diy_photo_studio_at_home.jpg 1024w, /wp-content/uploads/2013/09/budget_diy_photo_studio_at_home-300x199.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-165" class="wp-caption-text">My budget-friendly DIY home photo studio</p></div> <p>My house has a very small extra bedroom. It isn’t good for much besides storing junk, but it’s the best-lit room in the house so I cleaned out the junk and turned it into a little photo studio!</p> <p>I built this studio through trial and error, but now it’s ready to share its secrets with the rest of the world. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Here’s a tour of my DIY home photo studio!</p> <h1><strong>1) Adjustable Garment Rack</strong></h1> <p>For hanging backdrops, it’s hard to beat this: the horizontal bar you see here is just a $15 portable closet rack! I draped one twin-size white sheet over the bar to create a smooth, seamless background and floor for my craft photos.</p> <p>I chose white because I use a white background a lot and because it won’t show dust the way a black sheet would.</p> <h1>2) Black fabric background</h1> <p>To use a different background I layer a piece of fabric on top of the white default backdrop. (Shown here is about a yard of black fabric, but if your objects are small you can get away with <em>a lot</em> less fabric.)</p> <p>The friction is usually enough to hold up additional cloth backdrops, but if not, it’s very easy to use a few straight pins to anchor the new backdrop to the white sheet. Surprisingly, poster board usually has no trouble sitting in this setup, either.</p> <h1>3) Overhead lamp</h1> <p>Figuring out how to build a spotlight to point down into my photo studio was a challenge. Many DIYers use an adjustable desk lamp, which is a great solution, but I had a mic stand laying around and wanted to see if I could put it to good use. I clamped an $8 aluminum work lamp from Home Depot onto the mic clamp and clipped the lamp’s cord to the stand using a wooden clothespin. The bulb is fairly lightweight (it’s just a 45W bulb) so the mic stand supports its weight.</p> <p>This modification is very easy to undo (and redo) so I can still use the mic stand as a mic stand, too. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p> <h1>4) Aluminum Clamp-On Work Lamp</h1> <p>I got three of these <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-150-Watt-Incandescent-Clamp-Light-CE-300PDQ/100354511#.Uf2giI21GCM">aluminum clamp-on work lamps from Home Depot</a> (about $9 each). The clamp isn’t strong enough to support the lamp in a free-floating position, but the clamp does do a good job of stabilizing the lamp when it’s resting on a flat surface. The lamp above the studio has a 45W bulb and the two on the sides have 150W bulbs.</p> <p>All three lamps have a double layer of a thin white fabric clipped over the cup to diffuse the light. This cloth layer makes a huge difference – the lights are much to bright and burn out the object in photos without the covers in place.</p> <h1>5) Tripod</h1> <p>Just a standard tripod I bought when I moved out and lost access to my Dad’s old metal tripod. I was shocked at how much better this modern tripod was! If you’re working with an ancient tripod, you might be surprised at how much better the new ones are.</p> <p>My favorite features:</p> <ul> <li><strong>extremely light weight</strong></li> <li><strong>easy-adjust legs</strong> (no tedious turning: just unlock, pull, lock)</li> <li><strong>water-bubble level</strong>, which I use all the time</li> <li><strong>nice big hand cranks</strong> for adjusting and tilting the camera</li> <li><strong>durability</strong> – it’s survived a few tumbles now</li> </ul> <h1>6) Iron & Ironing Board</h1> <p>A bit old fashioned, yes, but the iron and board are essential for pressing backgrounds before photo shoots. Sometimes I feel lazy and skip this step, then later regret it as I try to salvage the wrinkled results in Photoshop. Don’t skip the ironing step!</p> <p>When it’s not in use for ironing, it makes a nice temporary shelf.</p> <h1>7) Floor Lamp with Tinfoil Reflector</h1> <p>I took the shade off this floor lamp ($35-ish at Walmart) and set it up with a tin-foil and cardboard reflector I made myself to help give the room a soft ambiance.</p> <h1>8) Tinfoil Reflectors</h1> <p>Sometimes I place these tinfoil reflectors just outside the shot to bounce lighting back onto an object’s shadowed side. A black shadow turns into a smooth, dark shadow with a tinfoil reflector just outside the shot.</p> <p>Even better, tinfoil reflectors are super cheap to make: just tape a sheet of tinfoil to a piece of cardboard!</p> <h1>9) Window with White Drapes</h1> <p>Here in the Pacific Northwest it doesn’t get sunny too often, but when it does I try to take advantage of it. I chose white for the drapes on this window to diffuse incoming light without adding any colors or patterns.</p> <h1>10) Power Strip</h1> <p>All four lamps are plugged into this one power strip with rocker switch. This makes it super fast and convenient to turn the whole setup on and off.</p> <h1>11) My DIY Light Tent Box</h1> <p>Like many DIYers I’ve built my own light tent out of a cardboard box. I like my open studio better, but I keep it around just in case I decide to switch back.</p> <p> </p> <p>Want to share your own DIY home photo studio? See any room for improvement? Leave a comment below!</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>/anatomy-of-a-diy-home-photo-studio/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss> <!-- Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https://www.boldgrid.com/w3-total-cache/ Served from: diycraftphotography.local @ 2024-06-28 17:50:28 by W3 Total Cache -->