[mapguy]

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Hi...

As a sort of project with my niece, she wants to sell some things on eBay and we are looking for setup that we can take photos of things that will give it a good neutral background and look more professional. Most of the things are book sized, but this is more of a fun project she is interested in and I figured having some kind of box setup would be better than taking pictures on the dining room table. I have to admit that I could down size a lot more, and if this worked out I might be taking pictures of my stuff also. (Don't worry any used pentax stuff will end up on here :-)

The camera is my k3-II and I have two AF540GZ's, I have the proper synch chords. I have a tripod for the camera, but nothing for the flashes.

Any suggestions on how to get started on this inexpensively and something that doesn't take up a lot of room when not in use?

[enoeske]

Hi...

As a sort of project with my niece, she wants to sell some things on eBay and we are looking for setup that we can take photos of things that will give it a good neutral background and look more professional. Most of the things are book sized, but this is more of a fun project she is interested in and I figured having some kind of box setup would be better than taking pictures on the dining room table. I have to admit that I could down size a lot more, and if this worked out I might be taking pictures of my stuff also. (Don't worry any used pentax stuff will end up on here :-)

The camera is my k3-II and I have two AF540GZ's, I have the proper synch chords. I have a tripod for the camera, but nothing for the flashes.

Any suggestions on how to get started on this inexpensively and something that doesn't take up a lot of room when not in use?

why not a roll of paper? Super cheap and stores in a corner. Neutral and smooth.

[pcrichmond]

I often use a piece of either grey or black flannel from the fabric store, depending on the contrast i want. Can be laid across a table, hung behind an object, easy to roll and store and washable to clean. Also gives some texture to the backdrop. For speed lights I usually use a cheap light stand but for table top items I have laid them on a stack of books or even hung them by a shoe string from a curtain rod. You can get very creative for off camera lighting for little to no cost. Have fun with the project.

[bigted]

I bought a piece of black polyester fabric that I picked up in a fabric store just for product/cataloging photos.

[pschlute]

If your objects are not too large then these are ideal. Cheap, foldaway, and work very well. Fire the flashes with manual control through the fabric at the sides/back. You can invest in some cheap flash stands too. If the white backgound covers most of the frame then make sure you overexpose, use the histogram.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/90x90x90cm-Professional-Photography-including-Backd...raphy+backdrop

[Wingincamera]

When my wife decided to replace one of our flannel bed sheet sets I grabbed it just for this purpose. It was gray in color. I kept the bottom sheet and one of the pillow cases which I cut open. They both worked pretty good for different projects. Only complaint is that the sheet has some wrinkles but not enough for me to want to iron the sheet.

[MikeStnly]

If your objects are not too large then these are ideal. Cheap, foldaway, and work very well. Fire the flashes with manual control through the fabric at the sides/back. You can invest in some cheap flash stands too. If the white backgound covers most of the frame then make sure you overexpose, use the histogram.

Phot-R 90x90x90cm Professional Photography Photo Studio: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

This is only 12 inches, but cheaper. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XG5B7Y8/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1 Might be on different counties Amazon stores too.

[BarryE]

Wallpaper samples ? Most suppliers will permit a length (or few) to be torn off a sample roll. Thrown out of focus, they can be effective ...

[marcusBMG]

Background is easy. Anything that emphasises the subject and doesn't distract. Something white like a pillowcase is a simple default to use with most things. High key (light coloured) subjects might benefit from a darker background.
Harder, and more important, is the lighting. I use my conservatory, acts as a natural light box with good even light, which is what you want. Bounced flash can work quite well in there too. You can get cheap collapsible light tents to use with eg light from a window or a halogen reading lamp etc. Trial and error...
An accessory I use a lot with my 14-42mm + lumix G1 (a camera i acquired very cheaply ages ago that I use as a grap and go p&s for things like this) is a close focus filter.
Since you don't need big pics for ebay (I post pics resized to 1000px) I just shoot 4 or 6MPx jpg's for these purposes, and I use faststone for quick resize/crop/pp.

[stevebrot]

I have been using a curved slab of white foam core board for about a decade. That and a roll of brown butcher paper and a bank of north-facing windows are about it. Lately, I have been tempted to get a large light box to use with the couple of speedlites I recently acquired. Those are cheap enough.


Steve

[mapguy]

Thanks for all the replies, I had no idea all that stuff was out there. I may go for a visit to the craft store with and pick something out we can make. This will give me a chance to play with the flashes.

[Lord Lucan]

... we are looking for setup that we can take photos of things that will give it a good neutral background and look more professional.

Thee was a thread on here about buying ebay stuff, with the advice not to buy anything where the pictures looked too professional, especially with plain white backgounds, because they might be stock photos and not photos of the item you are buying. The advice was to look for a homely background.

As keen photographers on this forum, we are capable of making professional looking photos, and to sell items they certainly need sharp and well lit pictures. However for ebay I generally use a background that looks a bit improvised, like a tablecloth or even the floor carpet. I do keep clutter out of it though.

Incidentally, I bought a cheap (12 GBP) ring flash from ebay specially for these photos, used with a Pentax-M 100mm Macro lens

[LeDave]

I go to the Dollar Tree and buy 4 hard foam paper boards or whatever they're called, then form a box with one side open, then boom, there's the product box.

Here's something I made from Dollar Tree papers. It's about 6 dollars to make as I bought 6 items to make this.

[SpecialK]

Paper towels worked pretty well for the small stuff. Natural doorway light and a hand held paper towel reflector.

Larger and heavier paper (Such as shelf-paper, or butcher paper, could be clamped on a dowel which is duct-taped across the head of a tripod and adjusted for a nice curve.

[mapguy]

Thanks, the last two posts made things much clearer.