I've been looking into taking clean studio-style shots of my toys for a while and everything was pointing me towards a light tent setup. A Smith Victor two light kit runs about 100 bucks. When I added "DIY" to my Google search I found some very practical and extremely cheap ways to get the same effect. I used: -A compact 6.1 megapixel Nikon S1 point-and-shoot camera. -Mini tripod (10 bucks) - You could use a stack of books or boxes too but you'll be restricted to 90 degree angle shots. - A banker's box (Free) - Cut windows out of the sides and top. Cut all the way to the back of the box on top so you can affix a... -Chip Clip (pack of two for a dollar) -Backdrop (Free) - I used the back of a Borat mini poster. Colored posterboard would probably work well too. -Paper towels (cheap) - Drape them over your box windows. -Two desklamps (Free-$???) - You probably have some laying around. I used 60 watt flourescent bulbs for nice cool light. Experiment with your camera's exposure settings, lighting angles, camera placement, and framing your composition. Toys are very patient and will put up with your artsy wankering. Be careful about those paper towels though, probably flammable if you are going for a marathon shoot. Turn the flash off and use the self-timer feature to minimize shake from your hand pressing the shutter button. There should be a way to adjust the timer to something minimal. Check your manual. In my case it's 10 seconds. Presto! Fresh out of the camera with no Photoshop.
Nice shots! Those obakes are sweet. I've been resisting collecting those for a while. I think the temptation is too great now.
Nicely done! I've never had the patience to do this - generally the only time I take photos of anything is when I sell it and I just wanna get it done quickly. But one of these days I'll have to make one of these and have some fun. It's been years since I've done any photography...and haven't experimented with digital at all. (If anyone in the PDX area wants to buy darkroom equipment hit me up!)
Far out, right? Yeah, the first two pictures were taken with my fancy dancey digital SLR but I just wanted to illustrate that with the right setup you can get nice results with a modest cheapo camera too.
