'No Frills' $75.00 home studio tent/lightbox

SharpByCoop said:
Folks,

I have always shared my setup and methods with as many folks as have asked. Somehow, in doing so, my own business has never lost a beat. A consistently 'mysterious' question that is posed is "What is the best setup for cheap....?" I wanted to find out myself.

For many, the constraints of weather and daylight necessitate having a consistent indoor studio. Also one that can be set-up, taken down in a heartbeat, and stored away in a minimum of space. I think I came up with just such a project.


So here it is. It's hardly a mystery now!

Coop
Click to expand...

I'm new to the bladeforums (and knives in general) and I just got my first DSLR (D-40)...this is like the best of both worlds:thumbup: Nice work and thanks for sharing!
 
Sorry to dredge up an old thread Coop but could you find some of the lightbulbs you're suggesting here on the net so I can buy some? Everytime I'm in Home Depot or such I pick up more lightbulbs but I always get the wrong thing.:o

TIA Coop,

Greg
 
Hi Greg,

I guess each store is different. I picked up three a month ago at my local Home Depot. You DO need to be specific.

Here is a site that covers a great range of these and the prices are great:

http://www.rewci.com/vercomfluorb.html

Coop
 
test photo

stagandkreins055.jpg
 
Nice to see your tests Shappa. you are using the right idea with the diagonal composition to the images.

Just a few things that might help.

1. when youi crop the images, leave more room at the tip and the butt whether done in the camera or post production. You also can, with single images of knives then reduce the amount of space above and below the spine/edge in the final crop.

3. as to the background. the first impression of the images are that they are underexposed and result in a "muddy" image lacking in contrast. try putting them into your image editor and using an auto levels fix if you have that and you will see the images "snap" to attention. The problem generally results from using an auto exposure reflected light meter reading from the camera when using a light background.

Auto reflected light meter readings are fine but it is important to use a background that is close to a neutral 18% gray so that the camera meter does not get "fooled" by the light background and underexpose the whole image.

3. not sure what lighting you are using and perhaps a photo of your setup would be worthwhile. however, as you can see, for some reason you are getting a hotspot which is clearly visible in the Mike Irie knife. Damascus blades are much more forgiving than are satin or polished blades.

keep working on the images and see if you can try other backgrounds and post some more images
 
OilMan said:
Thanks Coop. Ordered some.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

I picked some up but it isn't helping my light situation as much as the blue colored bulbs I originally got with my light stands for some reason.:( I'm thinking the blue bulbs were quite a bit brighter too. The problem with the blue ones is they burn out fairly quick. I'll have to hunt some more up.
 
At what angle do you guys like to take the pictures? I have been trying to get as close to vertical as possible, in part because it makes it much easier to hide the cork slices I use to prop the knives. What do people think?
 
Joss said:
At what angle do you guys like to take the pictures? I have been trying to get as close to vertical as possible, in part because it makes it much easier to hide the cork slices I use to prop the knives. What do people think?
Click to expand...

I take my pics at about 60-70° (from horizontal), mostly because of the tripod's size but I also like that angle. Two sample pics (no tent, 500W regular halogen lamp reflected on white ceiling, manual white balance using a white paper, F13 opening with an 18-55 zoom at 31 for the first pic and 46 for the second one).
I need to make a tent and get some lights, with my lamp I have very long exposure time and that highlights the shiny spots on the knife.

sebenza1.jpg

sebenza3.jpg
 
Murray White said:
Nice to see your tests Shappa. you are using the right idea with the diagonal composition to the images.

Just a few things that might help.

1. when youi crop the images, leave more room at the tip and the butt whether done in the camera or post production. You also can, with single images of knives then reduce the amount of space above and below the spine/edge in the final crop.

3. as to the background. the first impression of the images are that they are underexposed and result in a "muddy" image lacking in contrast. try putting them into your image editor and using an auto levels fix if you have that and you will see the images "snap" to attention. The problem generally results from using an auto exposure reflected light meter reading from the camera when using a light background.

Auto reflected light meter readings are fine but it is important to use a background that is close to a neutral 18% gray so that the camera meter does not get "fooled" by the light background and underexpose the whole image.

3. not sure what lighting you are using and perhaps a photo of your setup would be worthwhile. however, as you can see, for some reason you are getting a hotspot which is clearly visible in the Mike Irie knife. Damascus blades are much more forgiving than are satin or polished blades.

keep working on the images and see if you can try other backgrounds and post some more images
Click to expand...



O.K. some details.
Camera is a cheap Nikon coolpix L1

Lighting is 2 full spectrum flouro's...each equal to 100 watt standards.

Image is as taken...no work in an image editor.

My fixes will be...get another light. That should brighten it...also get me even lighting over the whole knife...notice the end of the handle on the Anderson darkens slightly? Back the lights up so there is no hot spot. Sound good?
Also I'll move the lights foward so they are closer to the camera. I just realised the were coming from just slightly behind the knife. Foil was providing a good bounce light but the position of the lights might be a bit too far back.

Try a different background.

look for a free/cheap image editing software.

Let me try something here...cropped, "quickfix" used.

stagandkreins0602.jpg



stagandkreins0592.jpg
 
They look much better now. IMO these are more than decent pics when you consider the low light power! :thumbup:
 
Thanks,

It'll probably be a week before I can get another light.:grumpy:

But I've got a good base to start with.
 
actually, his light power is just fine. more than I use. light power is only marginally important as that can be compensated for via exposure.

you want the light coming from behind so that is good and keep doing that. More lights just create more problems. remember, there is only ONE sun.

I'm not familiar with the camera but I only use the Nikon Coolpix 995.

Here is a photo that I have never posted before and it is the only image I took of this knife just the other night. Placed the knife on the background focused and took the photo (I always use the self timer)

standard.jpg


1/21 sec @ f 3.6 exposure

all that was done in the image editor was to crop it as was suggested re the photos presented above by shappa.

may I also suggest that if you are using something to prop up knives when shooting, cosider getting some plastecine from an art store or maybe a store that sells scrap booking or childrens play things. Easy to mould and manipulte and size and much easier to hide and it will compress and hold a knife in place when needed.

Those using blue bulbs have hit the major problem -- as they age, the power and color temperature changes as do other types of bulbs.

Daylight flourescents are the best thing to use.
 
Murray White said:
actually, his light power is just fine. more than I use. light power is only marginally important as that can be compensated for via exposure.
Click to expand...

I forgot a very important factor: his light hits the tent directly, my light hits the ceiling and reflects back from there on the knife (like ambient light). The inverse square law still rules :)
The fluorescent lights might also be more efficient, my halogen eats 500W of electricity but I have no ideea how much of that is radiated as heat. I guess quite a lot.
I definitely need to find a source for good lights arround here, shooting with yellowish light is tricky even when the white balance compensation is good.
 
2 quick questions:

1) How does one do the multiple views of a knife within one pic?
2) How do you do those nice borders with titles & names?

I use CS2, but I suppose the methods are pretty standard...

Thanks,

JD
 
How's this? Just about perfect lighting and great detail. I wouldn't improve this shot. :thumbup:

Coop
 
I wonder, is the handle supposed to be green or is it really black? I ran the image in my editor and hit the "auto levels" and got a black handle but the rest of the blade looks good. The blue background goes a bit deeper when the handle is black. Can you tell us the real color of the handle? If it is black, then perhaps a levels adjustment might improve the image.
 
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