Set-up to photograph for sale / auction

[Jac@stafford.net]

I retired to a tiny home. I can make photos outside when it is not raining, but there is no natural background that is acceptable to remove the background which is a chaotic garden.

The largest items I have to sell are within the dimensions of 8x10 cameras (Century 1, Deardorff, Calumet). I guess I need a tent-like affair with translucent sides. I watch the big auction site and I'll bet our members do, to. Any hints and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Jac Stafford

[xkaes]

If you have a bed sheet you can hang it over a clothes line or drape it over a table or fence. That's basically what my mini-studio is!!

[AtlantaTerry]

I retired to a tiny home. I can make photos outside when it is not raining, but there is no natural background that is acceptable to remove the background which is a chaotic garden.

The largest items I have to sell are within the dimensions of 8x10 cameras (Century 1, Deardorff, Calumet). I guess I need a tent-like affair with translucent sides. I watch the big auction site and I'll bet our members do, to. Any hints and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Jac Stafford

Jac,

Do you have any Kroger grocery stores in your area? (Kroger has related grocery stores under their corporate ownership.)

The reason I ask is because my local Kroger has some 10x10 foot canopies on end of season sale for US $18. It has a white top (not a colored one) which should be great for a light source that won't contaminate the colors of the subject. The four sides are open.

Camping and outdoor stores such as REI might also have end of season sales.

For a long time, I have been a fan of Irving Penn's large format photographs of people. He and his crew transported a black flat-sided tent around in which to photograph his subjects:

As you can see from the above photo, Irving's tent top could be opened to the sky.

I plan to start to create some similar work starting with writers at a book fair this autumn.

Since the 10x10 foot canopy I bought has four open sides, I plan to affix a dark background to one side and possibly diffusers on one or both sides when I am photographing my subjects. That way I can control the source of light. My total budget should be about US $50.

A website about an exhibit of Irving Penn's Ethnographic Studies:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections...s/ethnographic

[Jody_S]

What's wrong with the commercially available (and cheap) pop-up photo studios? Mine is 30x30x30 and came with 3 colors of background. Bare bulb or flash through the sides and/or top, folds down to the size of one of those lighting discs.

[AtlantaTerry]

What's wrong with the commercially available (and cheap) pop-up photo studios? Mine is 30x30x30 and came with 3 colors of background. Bare bulb or flash through the sides and/or top, folds down to the size of one of those lighting discs.

LOL! I totally missed what Jac was asking about! PRODUCT shots, not people shots. DUH on my part!

[DrTang]

LOL! I totally missed what Jac was asking about! PRODUCT shots, not people shots. DUH on my part!

I thought he was trying to sell his cameras at a backyard auction

[scm]

I use a folding table that has a white plastic top with a sheet (32x40") of foamcore for the backdrop. The table is 30 inches wide, plenty for most of what I need to photograph, serves a number of other purposes and stows behind a bookcase when not in use.



The lighting is just natural window light, there is a window behind me and one to the right in the room I use. I control the light with the horizontal blinds, the light from behind (main light, if you will) is bounced off of the ceiling. The camera I use is a Canon Rebel, the lens is a 15-85mm. There isn't a lot of light, the exposures are usually from 3 to 15 seconds at ISO 800 and f/22, a tripod is always used, obviously.



After final cropping and some cleanup in PhotoShop, I have an image that is as good as 99% of what you will see on eBay, etc. I've used this setup several thousand times (sometimes with some modifications) for cameras, computers, motorcycle parts and guitars.

[Goldman]

Hi,
Where did you buy the pop-up studio? 30x30x30 inches?

Thanks
Bill

[Jody_S]

Hi,
Where did you buy the pop-up studio? 30x30x30 inches?

Thanks
Bill

This looks like a newer version of what I bought. Mine is a square.

[xkaes]

I'm a lover of Irving Penn's work myself. Now I know how he did it!! Thanks.

For my mini-studio, a have an old, white, rough, bed spread that I got for $2 at Goodwill. Any sheet would work just as well. It is nailed to a wall, and the bottom is draped over an adjustable drafting table -- but any table would work.

For lighting, since it is indoors, I have flashes for the front, top and sides that I can move, remove, or diffuse -- as needed (through white rip-stop nylon, but a white sheet would work) and white & silver umbrellas. It can be pretty elaborate, but it could be completely simple, especially with available light.

My biggest problem is all the black cat hair that mysteriously shows up. So before shooting, I need to run over the bed spread with a lint roller! THAT'S the BIGGEST expense!