Need advice on a small studio setup please

Hi all! I'm going to need a studio setup soon to get photos for selling stuff on eBay. My beloved is not going to be eager to spend money on it, so it needs to be pretty reasonably priced. I'll need to convince her that this will help make much more money than it costs!

My friend @wud asked a great question on the cheapest lighting thread, asking why lamps weren't mentioned or used in those setups? I'm curious too!

Also those setups look like they need updated, since the flashes mentioned have had new models added to them!

Here are the types of items I need to get photos of, to help in planning for the lighting! Guitars, knives, high end fishing poles and reels seperately, and likely a whole lot of niknak stuff of my beloved's. Also likely 2-3 camera lenses.

If it wasn't for my guitars, and fishing poles, a small tent box might work for most. But there will likely be other odd sized items as we go along.

Not too easily breakable please, or I'm sure to break it! Lol

Bill, build the frame out of PVC. I didnt glue mine so I can adjust it for the size needed. I think I spent 10.00 on the frame and around 15.00 on the backdrop material. The product shots I played around with was one flash, so you can do it with basic gear.

Hey buddy, did you post the shots? I'd love to see them! I figure I'll be doing a ton of product shots before I'm finished, so the setup will likely stay setup. Lol
Not sure if I'll have the time,room,or the energy to make my own though buddy.

I think my beloved will be coming home in the next 2-3 week or even less, and I got to get stuff ready, and I'll have to take over taking care of her when she gets home. She still has a lot of healing still ahead of her.

But a 1-3 flash idea appeals to me depending on what I can manage!

Krs_2007 said:

Bill, build the frame out of PVC. I didnt glue mine so I can adjust it for the size needed. I think I spent 10.00 on the frame and around 15.00 on the backdrop material. The product shots I played around with was one flash, so you can do it with basic gear.

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I don't think you need to go crazy with a studio setup to sell stuff on e-bay. Maybe a lightbox and an external flash, and a backdrop? Probably gonna need a D700 as well.

Lol I wish I could pull that off! Lol

Blacktop said:

I don't think you need to go crazy with a studio setup to sell stuff on e-bay. Maybe a lightbox and an external flash, and a backdrop? Probably gonna need a D700 as well.

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Yes, more would be better. But you should be able to achieve what you are wanting with room lights and a flash.




Here is the frame with material laying on its side to give you an idea of what I did. You could make a larger frame that you can take down, the possibilities of PVC is endless. This was taken with an iPhone, sorry its so crappy. This size would work for small things and then for the guitar size you could just would just unfold this and suspend it. Been thinking lately about a garage size backdrop, just haven't built it yet. But you can do anything with PVC.

I'm not looking to do it up big or nothing. But I do know, the better photos help get much better prices! A bad photo got me a $100.00 knife on auction for $20.00! The photos can make a huge difference, and I don't want to fight with anything too much to get those shots. I'll be taking a lot of shots for sure. A lot of stuff, and several shots per item. So I'm looking for a compromise, between extremely cheap and a bit less cheap that will work with the different sized items.

Awesome! What did you use for material buddy?

Krs_2007 said:

Yes, more would be better. But you should be able to achieve what you are wanting with room lights and a flash.

Here is the frame with material laying on its side to give you an idea of what I did. You could make a larger frame that you can take down, the possibilities of PVC is endless. This was taken with an iPhone, sorry its so crappy. This size would work for small things and then for the guitar size you could just would just unfold this and suspend it. Been thinking lately about a garage size backdrop, just haven't built it yet. But you can do anything with PVC.

Click to expand...

Can even just use a chair and black cloth alone and 1 flash angled right. For bigger things, maybe tape that cloth to a wall just to get the shots in. Else unless you really want to build a product portfolio, I really wouldn't worry too much about ebay of all places. Having a decent camera and even a flash to take any kinda shot already puts you ahead of 80% of the sellers.

Yep, so many DIY options out ther. I used a black denim type material from Walmart. You can use a painters drop cloth, sheet, whatever works. If the material is thin you will want to double it up. I have another one where my daughter sewed together a black and white sheet so the flash doesn't go through on the white side. It's multi purposes though, I use it a New Years for an outdoor projector screen.

lots of options, just find you a hobby shop that sells material. Look for partial blanks or whatever they call them and also look for material on sale. Joann's is another place, just not sure what is around you.

Oh sure a chair, pin the drop cloth up on a garage wall, doesn't matter.

Oh, I also use foam project board. It's like 2x3 I think and works great for small items. Just put it on the table and use another one for the backdrop.

everytime I am in a hobby shop, hardware store or walmart I am always looking at things thinking how can I use that. You can also use some cheap squeeze clamps from the hardware store to hold the backdrops.

i bought a bag of various sizes from china at Home Depot for around 10.00, I think there is maybe twenty in the bag. If you have harbor freight or something like it they have cheap clamps. When I say cheap they are inexpensive and durable enough for us.

OK heavy cloth! Thanks guys!