Low On Budget? Consider A Desk Lamp + Softbox
If you read this blog long enough, you know I am a big fan of small strobes. They are portable, relatively cheap, can squeeze some intense light and great for on the go. Key words for this post are relatively cheap.
While you can buy used SBs on eBay for a bit over $100 or a LumoPro for a similar price, you are still in for more than a $100 for lights.
Just saw photog Andy Game setup which has a great answer to the money issue.
Andy uses an overhead softbox that is lit by a CFL desk lamp. The setup uses a light tent, only instead of using an overhead flash it uses a DIY softbox and a desk lamp.
Being the good fellow that he is, Andy put a sketch together to describe the setup. (Be sure to click it to read the comments, lots of good info there).
And there is an entire set of images taken with this setup here.
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Comments
Nice!
I am really liking the drawing and the results. Thanks for the idea!
So simple and great!
I'll try this out.
My spiderlight softbox will fit nicely on to the top of the frame.
Thank you for this one!
That is cool. Now if anyone
That is cool. Now if anyone has a DIY shrink-ray...
info in comments?
Would you mind adding a link to the drawing and it's informative discussion then, rather than the guys mile-long flickr stream?
re: info in comments!
Hi Anon,
Try clicking the diagram. it should lead right to the thread on Flickr
Nice results!!
Thanks for sharing. I've been thinking about the same idea but didn't consider the desk lamp until know. Appreciate the idea!
Twm
wow
I love it. I just discovered that coriplast is good for much more than sciencefair project boards. It would be a great replacement for the cardboard.
re: coroplast
Thanks for the tip, Robert.
I Love working with coroplast. The only thing is that you have to watch the direction of the little tubes. If they go the "wrong" way the board will bend. so it is best to keep them "vertical" to the bending direction.
'daylight' bulb
Hi,
Diagram says, "desk lamp with 'daylight' bulb". I say, any bulb would do, as long as the white balance is under control.
re: color balance
Hi Amir,
I completely agree. The other thing to note is that color temp in this case is affected not only by the bulb, but also by the semi-transparent material that makes the "softbox".
I'd say it is probably the safest to use a calibration image that you take of a white paper or a gray card.
Oops, I was not the first to point that out..
Buried deep in the image text on Flickr, I found these words by Andy himself:
"Because I still use film cameras I needed a bulb that would give me a good white light. Perhaps with a digital camera that lets you adjust the light balance a cheaper bulb would do."
Brilliant idea
Very creative. It's a great way to solve the need and the result is brilliant. Thanks for sharing, this is really handy.
Cheers
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