The DIY Home Studio

Lamps

Whilst ceiling lights are not usually of great interest to the photographer, lamps
on stands can provide directional light. Angle-poise lamps, in particular, can be useful
for things like still life / tabletop photography.

Make sure to set your white balance to the appropriate setting (probably tungsten) and be prepared
to use wide apertures or longer exposures to cater for the weaker light offered by most lamps.
A tripod will come in handy for this, and I suggest fitting the most powerful bulbs your lamp can take.

A single angle-poise lamp, with fill light from a homemade reflector, lit the image below. The image
was pivotal in winning me my first significant commercial commission.

Beware of mixing sunlight with tungsten lamplight. They posses quite different colour temperatures,
and your camera’s white balance settings may only be able to deal with one or the other – resulting
in a reddish or bluish colour cast on part of the image (depending on the white balance setting).

Reflectors

When working with a single light source such as the sun or a household lamp, you might need to add
some fill light to the side of your subject furthest from the light source. Any bright reflective surface
can perform this task, but note that different surfaces will contribute different qualities to the light
they reflect back on the subject:

> Colour surfaces may add colour casts to the subject; can be removed in Photoshop, but best avoided in the 1st place
> Silver surfaces such as tin foil can reflect a lot of light on a subject, but note that it will be quite cold hard light
> A golden surface will reflect warm light onto a subject
> Bright white card is a good all-rounder; it is colour neutral and neither warm nor cold; it also comes in different sizes!

Move your reflector closer to the subject to increase the amount of fill light and produce a more
balanced overall effect.

Small reflectors can be useful for diminishing localised shadows such as the shadows under a
person’s chin (ask your subject to hold the reflector above their lap if you are shooting a head &
shoulders portrait).

Walls can make good large reflectors for portraits, just be watchful for those colour casts.

Backgrounds

For my money, less is more when it comes to backgrounds.
If you like to shoot your subjects in natural surroundings carefully consider what is present
in frame. Be prepared to move things out of the way, leaving just those objects that contribute
to the atmosphere or story of your image.
Also, move objects that are interacting with your subject in an unfortunate way; flowers growing
out of the top of someone’s head are not going to make for a great image (unless you’re creating
a comic portrait of a gardener).

A clean studio look can be a bit harder to create, especially if you prefer a white background.
Even white material has to be evenly and powerfully lit to look white in a photograph.
Achieving a black background is easier. If you have some black velvet lying around (don’t we all?)
it is very good at absorbing light and providing a pitch-black background. If you do not have velvet,
other materials will do – just try to keep your light source from reaching the background (remember
the inverse square law - and use it to your advantage).

For tabletop photography, you can purchase small (A3 or A4) sheets of black or white acrylic Perspex
for a very small investment. They are great for giving your images a professional look, including a
faint reflection in the foreground. White Perspex also helps provide fill light, since it is highly reflective.

The pickled onion was shot on a 3mm thick sheet of white Perspex placed on a glass table, and lit
from a single source directly beneath the Perspex.

Light Tent

A common reason for wanting to try tabletop photography in the home is to advertise items for sale
on auction sites such as ebay.
A light tent provides a neat way to light the subject evenly, so producing a professional-looking image
that will help sell your item for more money.
Light tents can be purchased relatively cheaply these days, but if you’re of the Why Don’t You generation,
you could make your own.

A light tent is essentially a flexible frame covered with white diffusing material. They usually come with
a detachable front flap that is slit vertically in the middle to allow the camera lens in – although from my
experience, this is only necessary for the most highly reflective subjects (such as chrome or polished silver)
– the front flap can be left off for most other subjects.

Your homemade light box could be constructed from a large and sturdy cardboard box, some spare net
curtains, a piece of white cotton and a bit of white masking tape or some staples.
Cut out the panels on each of the six sides of the box – about an inch from the corner – this gives you
a cube-shaped frame. If you’re a bit of a perfectionist, paint the insides of your box frame white.

The discarded panels may be useful as reflectors or blocks (to prevent light hitting certain parts of the
subject or background).

Tape or staple squares of net curtain over four cutout sides of the box, keeping them as taught as
possible. The remaining sides should be adjacent to each other, and will form the front and base of the tent.
A front flap can be created in a similar fashion, if required. Secure it to the top of the tent only, making
it an optional feature.

Placing the tent on acrylic Perspex or white cotton creates the base.

To hide the lower-rear edge of the tent (and avoid a bit of work in Photoshop), attach an ironed white
cotton sheet from the top-rear to the bottom-front of the tent, allowing the material enough slack to
form a gentle arc near the rear of the tent.

You can now illuminate your subjects with light from different sides with one or more angle-poise lamps,
and create clean images with soft shadows.