Small Photo Set-up

This is the set-up I use for photographing small pieces such as bracelets and bead sets. The camera is on a tripod, and the lens pokes through the small opening in the tent. The two tungstan lights are 250 watts each. The lights are on a copy stand. This allows for easily moving the angle of them without having to deal with light stands. The support for the tent is one half of a 12 inch plexi cube (open on front, bottom and back). Something found at a garage sale. The fabric for the tent is pure white cloth that sails are made from. In the shot above, I added two layers of tissue paper to further diffuse the lights. The background paper in this shot is a smooth white paper. The open bottom and back allow for easy changes of background. The lights are plugged into a rheostat (in box at right of photo). I always use them at full power, but being able to turn them down without actually turning them off prolongs the life of the bulbs, and the switch is within easy reach..

Below is a shot of the set-up with the cloth and paper pulled back to show the plexi cube. This is by far the simplest and most useful set-up I have created. I plan to build a medium sized version for work that doesn't need the largest tent I have but is too big for this one..

In the photo set-up above, I am using a 50mm macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D digital SLR camera. I set the camera for aperture priority and close the lens down for best depth-of-field. I can tell the camera to automatically bracket after I set what I believe will be the best exposure. I use the "custom white balance" feature to get a good white balance. Even though the camera is on a tripod, I use the delayed shutter release option so that I am not touching the camera when the photo is taken.