Mini Studio on the cheap

Posted November 10, 2011 By Scot (Admin)

I have had a few people asking me about the photos I’ve created recently using my DIY mini studio. Asking me to share the set up so here it is.

I hope you won’t be disappointed with the simplicity and cost effectiveness of this set up. The list of materials required to produce this mini studio is:

1x A1 snow white card (£1.97)

1x A1 black photo mount (£2 ish)

1x A3 clear acetate sheet (£.0.50)

a little sellotape and a sharp knife

As you can see the set up is not complicated at all and does not take up much space.

The A1 white card was sellotaped to the front edge of the small table and the card was laid to rest against the wall, creating a natural curved wall.. often called an infinity wall. In this image you can also see that I did the same with black card on the table to the right.

I am using two speedlights to light the background and another light to light the subject (not shown). by turning off various lights I can achieve different looks.

Background lit and no reflection

To create a reflection under your subject, place the thin sheet of clear acetate under the subject.

Background lit and using acetate to create reflection

Turning off the background lights, creates a different look

Background lights off and using acetate to create reflection

After this I tried shooting some crystal glasses that I own and had a little trouble getting the glass to stand out from the white background. My friend, Keith Hammond, suggested using black card on either side of the subject to create dark edges along the glasses.

The following was set up

The A1 black photo mount card was cut into 2 pieces and then each piece scored along one edge to create a fold as shown above.

The great thing about black photo mount is that the reverse side is white and can be used as reflectors when required.

using the set up above, I shot the glasses again and got the image below

I hope that you found this useful and informative. As always please feel free to ask questions or comment below

Till next time

Scot

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Categories: Inspiration, Learning, Tutorial
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Comments
  • Marion:

    Thanks so much Scot!!!!! I’ve been researching this, got too many ideas all of which were complicated / expensive / confusing. As usual you’ve nailed it – simple and concise!!

    I’m off to the art shop asap and will get snapping. Will finally get my product pics done.

    “Libby”

    Reply November 10, 2011 at 12:53 pm
  • Keith Hammond:

    It just shows you don’t have to spend loads of money to shoot products or items you may want to sell on auction sites, you can achieve great results on a budget.
    Another tip, if you or anyone in your house buys anything new, a phone, shoes, a pot, virtually anything then use it to practice product shots with before it gets used and marked or dusty, also find a shop with a good returns policy like Argos where you can buy goods, practice photographing them and then return them and get your money back.

    Reply November 10, 2011 at 2:42 pm
  • Paul-Baptiste:

    That is excellent. I have used something similar – a blue paper tacked to the wall and rolled down to create that infinity wall – but had not taken it to these next steps. Great information! And much appreciated!

    Reply November 10, 2011 at 4:32 pm
  • Darcy Moore:

    Scot,

    I also like the way you concisely show how you do it. Your tips and advice via @tipsquirrel are favs!

    Cheers,

    @Darcy1968

    Reply November 10, 2011 at 7:05 pm
  • Christian:

    Nice visualisation of your tips! Maybe it’s not self explanatory that a remote flash release is necessary. Which one do you use?

    Reply November 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm
    • Scot (Admin):

      Hi Christian,

      Thank you for your comment. I use the pocket wizard flex system, certainly a little overkill for this example. Both the Canon’s and Nikon’s built in infrared flash controls would work just fine for this kind of product shoot without the expense of using radio triggers such as the Flex TT5. I don’t know enough about the other camera systems to say whether they have the capability to fire flash remotely without further equipment.

      I hope that answers your question and feel free to ask anything else

      Cheers

      Scot

      Reply November 21, 2011 at 12:46 pm
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