Building a DIY studio for Clothing Photography

[mystillwater]

I've been jealous of some of the awesome photographers out there taking great shot of their clothing and thought i'd see if i could figure out how to step up my game. i have a decent camera (Nikon D100) and some decent lenses. i've got plenty of room in the house and was thinking i might try build a DIY Photography Studio. I figure i'll need a few square feet that i can cordon off and use exclusively for the studio.

Anybody have any tips for building such a beast? i'd like it to be big enough for a dress form or a small table.

any info you've got or websites you can point me to would be clutch. thanks!

 

[Strombollii]

I don't really work any studio photography at all, so I have very very little setting up a studio. However, I came across this site a while back, and a lot of their suggestions are legitimate:
http://www.diyphotography.net/

 

[VKK3450]

Someone here once posted a description of a mini home setup. You might search in either B&S or General.

If you find it let me know, I'm interested

K

 

[mystillwater]

alright... i decided to wing it. i found a few semi-useful articles via google search and am kind of blending a few of them together to make my creation.

i made a hardware store run and got a few lengths of pvc, some contractors lighting and some white sheets. i'm going to build a white diffusion tent and shine the lights in. it'll take a little trial and error with the bulbs but i think it'll be a good start.

i might need to cop a more specialized lens. maybe a wide angle. not sure. i like fixed lenses (i have a 50mm 1.8a) so i might go that route again.

 

[MetroStyles]

Taking SF too far?

 

[mystillwater]

says the guy with 9000 posts...

my answer... of course i am. whats wrong with that?

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by mystillwater

says the guy with 9000 posts...

my answer... of course i am. whats wrong with that?

Nothing wrong with it at all. Just might be taking it a bit too far. But if you want to do it, don't let an internet naysayer stop you.

 

[mystillwater]

glad that's settled. some guys will say anything to boost their post count.

i'm planning to put everything together on monday. i'll post pictures and details then. stay tuned.

 

[milosz]

Halogen worklights are no fun to work with, FYI.

 

[mystillwater]

Originally Posted by milosz

Halogen worklights are no fun to work with, FYI.

because of the heat? or the color? or another reason?

 

[VKK3450]

Word is you should pick up some daylight bulbs or at least tune your white balance settings to tungsten to get the right colours.

That, and I deffo recommend a tripod and using your timer or a remote shutter

K

 

[milosz]

The heat is ridiculous in a confined space and they'll burn the **** out of you if you touch the wrong spot.

 

[milosz]

Fluorescent and LED worklights seem like a decent option (if you shoot RAW and adjust color balance), but it takes such a large bank of them to put out much light I'm not sure how they'd do for directional lighting. And they're far more expensive than halogen, of course.

 

[VKK3450]

Originally Posted by milosz

The heat is ridiculous in a confined space and they'll burn the **** out of you if you touch the wrong spot.

You mean the daylight bulbs? I'm a total moran at photography, but my understanding was that it was the best (economical / easiest) way to get constant white light.

K

 

[milosz]

Halogen in general. Halogen puts out a ton of light with small, cheap bulbs, at the cost of being stupid hot.