D-SLR - Improvised Studio Shots Part III

This was a shot I took a relatively long time ago, over the summer. I wanted to do a shot similar to the type you'd find in advertisements. After several takes, and 2 milk cups later (I had to drink the milk, I didn't want to waste it), I finally got the shot below.

This set up was pretty basic. After a painstakingly long search for an acorn that still had its cap attached to the main body, and hasn't been chewed out by a squirrel, I decided to bring it home to have a better controlled environment to take my shots in.

I set up a black bristol board, and used my tripod and some artists tape to keep it up. I then took my shots, which you can see below..

D-SLR - Improvised Studio Shots Part II

I never thought I'd need to make a "Part II" for these posts, but it turns out a few days later, I learned how to set up more improv studios around my house. I made another setup, which was based around my desk:

Here, I have set up a model of the solar system, on a black bristol board as a backdrop, and the fluorescent lamp for lighting. I used side lighting mainly here, to show contrast, and to easily make out the planets and the sun in the model, defining shape. From this setup I got these shots:

Afterwards, I decided to use a wooden set of a study and an airplane as my subject. However, the side lighting proved too harsh on the wood, the contrast being too high. Instead of getting a reflector, I used a piece of white bristol board instead, ending up with this setup:

And from it, I procured these pictures:

Lastly. as I was putting the wooden sets away on a shelf, I realized how good the composition was. However, when I tried to take a picture, the lighting was too strong, so I decided to try and get even lighting all around. After a couple of tries with two pieces of of white bristol board and lots and lots of tape, I was able to set up a poster board, the kind you use for school presentations. Even then, I had to use a lot of tape, some sticky tack, and a couple things falling down. The end result and setup are shown here:

I finally got the nice even lighting in the end, although it wasn't the best. But with a few post-production tweaks, one could be able to fix it.

D-SLR - Improvised Studio Shots

Recently I've been practicing more and more with my D-SLR, and I realized that a lot of my subjects would be a lot better and well framed if I had a studio to work with, to choose backdrops and to change lighting around my subjects with. But since I'm not interested in buying any professional grade equipment any time soon, nor do I have the means to, I decided to settle with an improvised low-cost studio that I easily set up in my own bedroom.

Pretty much what my studio was.

I took a couple of practice shots with my new ability to change backdrops, but since my space is severely limited in my apartment, I doubt I'd be able to provide backdrops to anything larger than what would usually be considered macro or small subjects. Below are a few shots I gleaned from my short time with this small studio.

The last one was a bit more abstract, and even a hint morbid almost, but I'm sure it won't ruin anybody's day. It's a portrayal of electronic life, how the plug is "hanging" itself with the wire, and you can make many different messages from this picture. I hope it's thought provoking for you too.