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flamin lib

(14,559 posts)
Mon May 25, 2020, 10:36 AM May 2020

Remember the table top 'studio' I made?

Well, it's been raining for two days and cabin fever is setting in, so I broke it out.

[img]?1[/img]

[img]?2[/img]

One of the assignments I had in college was 'a black cat on a coal pile at midnight'. Otherwise known in portraiture as low key. Well, I don't have a black cat but I do have a lump of coal.

[img]?1[/img]

Ya' gotta love black velvet. You can almost hear it suck up all the light when the flash goes off . . .

16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Remember the table top 'studio' I made? (Original Post) flamin lib May 2020 OP
Simple and Wondrous at the same time. blm May 2020 #1
Thank you. Less can sometimes be more. nt flamin lib May 2020 #2
Yes! I'm ordering some black velvet for myself -- I'm going to do this so I can take a pic Nay May 2020 #3
Good for you! nt flamin lib May 2020 #4
Hope you share the result with us. flamin lib May 2020 #5
Can you show us the setup? edbermac May 2020 #6
The basic setup is here: flamin lib May 2020 #7
--- but how'dja get the cat to sit still? 3Hotdogs May 2020 #8
Ha! flamin lib May 2020 #9
Those are nice! But the one of the pepper make my lips tingle csziggy May 2020 #10
I really like the way subjects seem to float in space against the flamin lib May 2020 #11
The peppers are pretty but if I touch them I get blisters csziggy May 2020 #12
And the essence of at home imaging. nt flamin lib May 2020 #13
Great work lillypaddle May 2020 #14
They're wonderful! Congrats on pulling off your vision! Karadeniz May 2020 #15
Love the OKRA! Wawannabe May 2020 #16

Nay

(12,051 posts)
3. Yes! I'm ordering some black velvet for myself -- I'm going to do this so I can take a pic
Mon May 25, 2020, 11:28 AM
May 2020

of my grandson's dog for him. I'd do the grandson, too, but we're distancing.

flamin lib

(14,559 posts)
7. The basic setup is here:
Mon May 25, 2020, 01:37 PM
May 2020
https://www.democraticunderground.com/103675502

My subjects are mounted on stands or taped to stiff wire like a coat hanger. I use double stick tape and florists clay to stick them to the stands and sometimes just stab them like I did with the vegetables.

For lighting I park it next to a window to get soft unidirectional light. I can make the light more directional by putting a cover over the box closing off any extraneous light from above. Then I place reflectors as needed to get highlights and separation on the shadow side.

I have reflectors of various sizes and brightness as you can see in this pic:

[img]?1[/img]

Supports are coat-hangers and I use hook n loop to attach the reflectors or gobos as needed.

Oh, and if you want the light coming from the other side of your subject, just mount it upside down.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
10. Those are nice! But the one of the pepper make my lips tingle
Mon May 25, 2020, 04:22 PM
May 2020

I was just thinking about your setup the other day. Right now, nearly everything I own is in storage as we are putting on an addition. In a month or so, we will be unpacking everything. I want to take pictures of each piece and write a short description and history of the ones that have history (a lot came from my family, some through many generations).

So I was thinking about your mini-studio. I even went looking online for velvet. Good thing I saw your post today - I had almost decided on some crush velvet but the texture of the velvet would compete with the object in the foreground. Good thing I didn't order the crushed velvet.

Do you solely use black for the backgrounds? Some of the object I have are very dark so I was thinking of both black and an off white velvet for the backdrop. I did see your egg picture, so I suspect the answer is yes.

flamin lib

(14,559 posts)
11. I really like the way subjects seem to float in space against the
Mon May 25, 2020, 04:34 PM
May 2020

velvet. Like I said, if you listen real hard you can hear it suck up the light.

I decorated my kitchen with peppers of various kinds. I fell in love with the gray walls and the red from the peppers was a natural.

[img]?1[/img]

That said, I tend to extremes. High key or low key. I do use other backgrounds--sheets, towels and shower curtains or whatever strikes me but the extremes call to me.

When I mat and frame I keep it equally simple; white mat with thin black sub-mat in a black frame. That's just me, YMMV.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
12. The peppers are pretty but if I touch them I get blisters
Mon May 25, 2020, 04:44 PM
May 2020

If I eat them, the blisters continue through my digestive system. So I avoid them.

I do have some nice old white sheets with a very washed, soft texture. Maybe I will try them, but I will have space to store a couple of different options for background drapes.

Ages ago I was selling stuff on eBay and found that a good picture got higher bids. When I sold a model of the Millenium Falcon, I used a charcoal cloth with some metallic threads as the backdrop and it probably increased the sale price by 20%. I would have used black, but didn't have any budget for anything. I'd set up a folding chair, drape it with some cloth or sheets or twoels, and use a halogen light that was too hot for my needlework. No reflectors, just direct light. It went up quick, used things I had on hand, and was effective - and free.

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