Tips and Tricks

Tips and tricks for all our fellow photographers out there.

Studio Lighting at Home:

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. A cardboard box you can use to cut a piece from.
2. A roll of aluminum foil, it’s easier with a wider one.
3. A piece of tracing paper of at least 20 inches in width and 3 feet in length orany white, no color, translucent material that you have around the house.
4. One 6 inch spring clamp.

• This is one of those times when bigger is indeed better. Cut a flat panel from the box that is much bigger than the thing you want to photograph. Make it as big as you can but not so much that it becomes unhandy to move around.

• 1. Cut a piece of foil a bit larger than the cardboard. You can use several pieces of foil to cover the board if you need to.

• 2. The duller side of the aluminum foil will give a softer light than the shinny side – the shiny side will reflect much more light . I used the dull side for this picture.

• 3. Fold around the cardboard and tape it.

• 4. Congratulations! You just made a reflective card.

• Move a table as close to a window as you can. Make sure that the top of the table is higher than the window sill.

• Tape the piece of tracing paper to the window. Use a single piece to avoid seeing seams and put the paper so it goes down well below the top of the table.

• Put a long piece of aluminum foil on the table, place your product close to the window.

• Fold down the foil to have a clean edge.

• Use the card so the light coming in from the window bounces back to the bottle.

• Play with the angle of the card to find the position that puts the most light on your product.

• Once you find an angle you like move the card as close as you can to the product – without showing it in the picture.

• Now you are ready to take a picture! Take many. Try taking a few too light pictures and some too dark too. Try different camera angles as well. You can choose later the one you like best.

Source: HandmadeSpark