My Cheap Photo Set-Up

[richsantaclaus]

Use a opaque pickle bucket with a big hole cut into the bottom of it that is the size of your camera lens.

I use my Macro lens on my Canon camera.

Go outside IN FULL SUNLIGHT to shoot your pix.

Set-up the shot (I use little blocks of wood for height inside the bucket, a white felt cloth, and sometimes, a marble stand.

I put this all on top of a little work table that matches my height for ease of shooting.

Here are some visuals for you to check-out.

I got the opaque pickle bucket at Smart and Final (a store in California).

[david Chamberlain]

I must be dense but I do not get it. You mean you are photographing the marble that is inside an opaque bucket through a lens size hole in the top? How do you get sunlight on the marble? David

[richsantaclaus]

The natural sunlight that generally is very bright and leaves light spots on the marble.

This bright sunlight is filtered into soft light so there is an even covering over the marble with no light spots whatsoever.

This same light spot effect shows when people use lamps to brighten-up the shot.

The opaqueness spreads the bright sunlight evenly over the objects that are inside the bucket.

After you use the materials to set-up the shot (picture 3), you place the bucket (picture 4) over the set-up (picture 1) and stand over the hole with your close-up lens over the hole in the bucket (picture 2) and take the shot (of course after focusing your camera...lol.

You are NOT dense, just asking a very good question!

Rich

[david Chamberlain]

O.K. I get it. I was just lost at the point of the "opaque bucket." So, it is not fully opaque; maybe only semi-opaque or a semi-translucent bucket. I was figuring "opaque" as being rather absolutely opaque! Otherwise I was with you where ever that was. David

[ryan]

thanks for sharing. would you mind posting a few pics of some marbles taken with this setup?

ryan

[richsantaclaus]

Tomorrow in the full sun, I'll take pix - fun stuff!

[richsantaclaus]

Here are 2 of my handmade marbles, one I took 3 pix of getting closer and closer using my cheap photo set-up.

There is no sun or light bulb shining on the glass surface of the marbles.

I shot this in full sun at 11:15am, close to noon sun too - bright light is the beat.

If you try this system using light bulbs, the light is not as evenly spread as in full sunlight.

[ryan]

Hey that's really nice. Thanks for sharing. I thought it would be near impossible to get a pic with that kind of detail without the spot reflections.

[onemorepatty]

Well hell....since you put it that way, it makes it seem so easy that even I think I can put this one together. Thank you for sharing...what a class act:)

Me