How To Create Your Own Studio Background Cheap

In this series of weblog posts, I will cover three DIY production photography specific topics: a simple home photography studio setup that uses a white backdrop and natural window light for DIY photography lighting; how to take advantage of your camera settings to shoot in "manual" way; and how to edit your production images to optimize your online store.

In this offset mail service, I volition teach you how to set upwardly a photo studio at abode on a bootstrapped budget. Y'all will be surprised to see how hands y'all tin turn your living room (or spare bedroom, garage, etc.) into your own habitation photography studio so that you tin can consistently produce quality white background production images for your online shop. The home photo studio below cost less than $300 USD to set up (with camera!), and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

You lot can use this setup to shoot a range of products such as habiliment, footwear, accessories, jewelry, and more! Permit's get started.

Function 1: Dwelling house Photo Studio Shopping List

Professional photo studio lighting equipment tin can be confusing and expensive. The expert news is that it'due south possible to create the same quality images without the beefy, high-tech equipment about professional person photo studios utilise.

High-end equipment and gadgets do accept their benefits, but they just are not necessary to create great looking production images.

High-cease equipment has its benefits but is non necessary to create great looking product images.

The bare essentials list of at-home photograph studio equipment:

1. Camera ($320)

Everyone has a photographic camera these days, whether information technology'due south built into your phone, an one-time betoken-and-shoot or something more on the professional person side. I am here to say that y'all don't demand the all-time of the best for swell product images.

That being said, if y'all have room in the budget for a quality machine, go for it. Keep in mind that your camera is only 1 of 5 factors that volition affect the final outcome of your product images. Your home photography studio setup, lighting, product styling, and using the best product paradigm editing service all play an important role in the creation of quality product images.

And so don't stress nearly the camera. I suggest that you first endeavour to use what you have at dwelling earlier you go on a shopping spree (hither'southward a guide to smartphone product photography). If you are assault ownership new equipment, I suggest that you purchase a photographic camera that at a minimum has manual settings for exposure and aperture.

What to purchase? Well there are tons of corking cameras on the market, and for the budget conscience Eastward-tailer, I suggest something forth the lines of a Catechism PowerShot SX620 HS, which is more than than enough camera to go the job washed. This photographic camera retails at $230, has manual settings, takes clean and crisp images at 22 Megapixels, and has built-in wifi capabilities. Remember that you lot tin likewise get a groovy deal on used cameras on eBay or Craigslist to bring the price downwardly even further!

$320 - Canon PowerShot SX620

2. Memory Menu ($9)

Don't forget your SD memory menu! This is what your camera will use to store your images on during a photo shoot. Memory is cheap these days and a modest capacity SD card (+16GB) shouldn't run more than $10 bucks. For DIY product photography, y'all don't need to worry about speed class. Without going into detail, speed is more than relevant with video or burst photography.

$seven – SanDisk 16GB SD Memory Card

3. Tripod ($13)

A tripod is an essential part of your abode photography studio because it will permit you to stabilize your camera and work in rooms where the lighting is not optimal (such as your living room!).

In the 2nd part of this mail service, I will testify you how to adjust your photographic camera'due south transmission settings depending on the light in your studio. You lot do not need to spend a lot of money on a tripod, but information technology is admittedly essential that you purchase one. Below, I take listed a cracking budget friendly choice:

$13 – Lightweight Photographic camera Mount Tripod Stand With Bag - 16.5 - 50 Inches

four. Whorl of Seamless White Paper ($35)

To create a seamless white photo properties, I recommend that yous buy a large gyre of white paper to identify behind your product. You can buy rolls of white paper at most office supply and camera stores.

It is important to go a long scroll of white paper, because you lot need to create a seamless white "sweep" (a curved seamless background behind the product), in order to reduce the amount of post-product work your images will require after shooting. There's a reason e-commerce photography is synonymous with white background photography.

The width of the roll of newspaper should be larger than the product y'all are photographing. I recommend a good standard size of 53 inches across. You tin can find ones that are smaller and wider, but this is a great length for nearly product sizes. It may not work for large products similar furniture and equipment, or shooting on-model clothes; in those cases yous will want something wall length and large.

$35 – Roughshod Seamless White Properties Paper 53" wide x 12 yards

5. Cream Cadre Lath ($23)

Use a slice of white cream board ("foam cadre") as your reflector. White cream boards are utilized for "bouncing" light from the window of your studio back onto your production. The purpose of using a foam "reflector" is to reduce the shadow on the side of the product opposite to the window. This technique provides "fill lite" and will give your product an even, make clean wait. Like the white newspaper roll, you tin can observe foam core board at about office supply and camera stores.

$23 – White Foam Core, Pack of 5 16x20

half-dozen. Folding Tabular array ($100)

You lot volition besides need a photo tabular array to allow your white backdrop "sweep" to autumn beyond, so you can position and style your production accordingly. You lot don't want your production too high or also low, because it won't be comfy or easy for you to take photographs of your product. I advise a foldable card table for easy clean up. Y'all can utilise the photo tabular array anywhere, making its portability very convenient as well! You can notice tables like this nether $l at your local hardware store or online.

$100 – Cosco Black Foursquare Folding Tabular array 34"x34"

vii. Duct Tape or Clamps ($9-$22)

You will also want a few rolls of tape or clamps to secure your white paper sweep backdrop to your photo table so nothing moves while you are photographing your product. Duct tape is quick, convenient and easy to detect, while clamps brand for easy clean upwards and reusability. You tin discover both at your local hardware store.

viii. Window ($0)

Last on our list (and nearly of import) is having access to a large window that allows for a lot of natural light. Make sure y'all practise a lilliputian house cleaning and clear some infinite in the room to work around the window. The key is having ample natural light and a workspace that allows you to move around comfortably while taking photographs.

Whatever the size of your product, you volition want the window to be significantly larger. The bigger the window/low-cal source the more even and soft low-cal in that location volition exist. The smaller the window/lite source the less lite and more directional it will exist. If you are photographing small earrings, a smaller window will work fine—but in my case I am photographing shoes, so the bigger and wider the improve.

In most cases, utilize the largest window in your home. The windows I have used are in my dining room and measure out l" by l". Merely call up, when it comes to DIY studio lighting, the bigger the window is the meliorate.

So that'due south it! At present just caput out to the store, and for nether $300 yous will be converting your spare bedroom room into a home product photography studio. But don't tell your spouse that you learned these tips from us! Now that y'all have all the necessary equipment to photograph your products, follow my adjacent steps and get your dwelling house photo studio fix in 10 minutes or less!

Part 2: How to Set Upwards Your DIY Photo Studio

Step 1: Tabular array & Window (1 minute)

Start by positioning your foldable table near your window. Our goal is to accept even, natural light on the product. That beingness said, it'south important to point out that we exercise not want direct sunlight to striking the set. I volition encompass the optimal time to photograph your products in Part ii of this mail. Yous should also be sure to allow yourself enough room to move around the table to style and shoot your product once the properties is ready upwardly. I've learned that existence in a small space can literally cramp your fashion.

Step 2: Seamless White Backdrop Paper & Tape (3 minutes)

Now unroll your white background paper roll and tape it to a wall, ceiling, or something that tin hold it upward (like a large box or a book stand). I will be using my ceiling, because my window is in the middle of the room and this will allow my newspaper sweep to fall nicely onto the photo table. Tape the sides of the newspaper to the table as well, so your setup doesn't motion while you are shooting pictures. Stabilizing the white photo backdrop also helps me proceed things clean and organized which allows me to focus on my camera.

Pace 3: Product (iii minutes)

Before placing your product on the white background sweep, brand sure to clean and prep your object before yous photograph it. This sounds like common sense, only you would exist surprised how many people forget this critical step! Continue in listen that a little cleaning can save yous a lot of post-production work. If you are photographing jewelry, make sure to make clean and shine all your chains and gems.

If you are photographing footwear, make certain to castor, smoothen or clean off any dust or scuff marks. This tin can reduce your post-production fourth dimension greatly, merely don't worry if your product isn't 100% perfect, as it is possible to prepare the remaining defects in Photoshop.

Make certain to make clean and prep your object before you photograph it.

Now place your production in the center of your white properties and directly in front end of where your camera will be placed. I am photographing a pair of women'due south heeled pumps, and I volition be taking multiple images of this shoe to capture as many angles equally possible for my product listing. When you rotate your product, brand certain to keep your tripod, camera, and object in the exact same identify for each shot, so that the product is framed the same way for all images. Doing so will brand your images more consistent and will reduce the amount of mail-product time needed to perfect the images.

Step 4: White Cream Board "Fill Low-cal" (2 minutes)

Depending on the window lite that enters your room and the color of your production, you lot may demand to add actress "make full calorie-free" to consummate your DIY photography lighting with even lighting on each side of the production. Every bit I explained earlier, the larger the calorie-free source the more than light on your subject.

Without Fill Calorie-free

With Fill Light

In my case, I have a bully large light source, just I am photographing a black suede pump and generally blackness products need an extra fill to come across texture and item (because it'south darker). To practise so, I cut a small-scale piece from my foam core board and propped information technology upwards vertically using a ringlet of duct record. You can go creative with what you use for the prop. The important things are that your cream lath stands direct, is positioned reverse to the window, and is the same size as your subject field or larger. When set up upwards, the light coming through the window will bounciness off the bright white board and "fill" the shadows on the left (darker) side of the shoe. Equally you lot can see in my images above, the bounced light fills in the back and side of the shoe nicely allowing for detail to be nowadays.

Pace v: Camera & Tripod (1 minute)

Extend the legs of your tripod and adjust it until the elevation of the tripod is flush with the surface of the table. Make certain your tripod is level because it will exist easier to adjust your camera when it is attached. Now, attach the photographic camera to the screws or clip on your tripod.

Practice: add extra complimentary space on tiptop and lesser

DON'T: too tight effectually product

Information technology'south good to fill your product in the frame of your camera, but make sure to exit infinite around information technology.

Once your camera is secure, start playing with the position of the tripod by looking through the viewfinder on your camera while directed at your product. You will want to fill your product in the frame of your camera, simply make sure to exit extra infinite around your discipline so you lot have room in the epitome.

You lot may need to raise the cervix of the tripod like I have, to ensure the all-time possible view of your product from acme to bottom. If you feel similar you lot're too close or besides far abroad, try utilizing the zoom feature on your camera lens. In my instance, I have a fixed (or "prime") lens, which ways I cannot zoom in and out with it. I volition accept to manually motion my tripod and camera closer or farther from my subject field.

The do good to using a prime lens is that you lot can become closer with a lower aperture and achieve quality images. Merely since we need a higher aperture and won't be using lower ones, the benefit to having a zoom on your camera or lens is that you can position yourself close or far from your product, which allows much more versatility. This may change what you ready your aperture and shutter speed to, but I will explain those in the next lesson!

Then that'south it: ane trip to an function supply store, a $300 dollar equipment investment, and 10 minutes worth of habitation photography studio prep time and you are now set to start shooting great looking product images! That wasn't every bit bad every bit you idea it would be, right? In the second part of this post I will explain exactly how to optimize your images past using your camera's manual settings. In part iii, I'll evidence y'all how to edit product images, if you lot don't desire to use an online photo retouching service.