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Light tent

A

AllenN

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I have one of these. The backgrounds are impossible to remove the creases from so I use paper instead. I have replaced the bulbs with LEDs. The camera support is a waste of time, but the light tent itself is OK. The whole thing folds up rather like a briefcase and I have used it to photograph lace work on location. Fine for pens I have found. There are better light tents but for the price these are OK.
 
Terry

Terry

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I had one of these and gave it away as it was useless. The lights are poor and so is the camera stand.
You are better off making one out of plywood and buying some decent lights and getting a decent tripod Dan !!!
 
Phil Dart

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Is this product shots you want to do Dan, or pens? A light tent is completely useless for high quality product shots in my experience I'm afraid.
 
Jim

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For a few quid extra you would be better buying one of these Dan .. It is small enough to leave behind the settee when not in use and ideal for small objects .. :thumbs:
 
TaylorsMirfield.co.uk

TaylorsMirfield.co.uk

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Jim said:
For a few quid extra you would be better buying one of these Dan .. It is small enough to leave behind the settee when not in use and ideal for small objects .. :thumbs:
Click to expand...
I like that one. I have a craft fair lined up. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Paul M on the way home from Cornwall last week and really liked the way he presents his pens for sale.

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B

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what is needed for top quality pen shots, suitable for a website (rather than blown up to A0 on a gallery wall)?
 
Dalboy

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All I have been using is some white studio photographic backdrop which I got a 10ft roll and cut into manageable pieces and a cut down cloths hanging rack. With the correct camera setting and no lights I can now produce photo's like the pen one below with no or very little photo editing
 

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Dalboy

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Walter said:
I agree with Derek

I have a pair of decent quality lights and a sheet of white painted hardboard. Light tent = waste of money.
Click to expand...

As you may remember I also looked into light tents but ended up with this set up and now very pleased with the result.
 
Vic Perrin

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Don't go there Dan ! The lights are a complete waste of time. I got a similar set up to that and the lamps were U/S. Terry put me right on this score and I brought some cheap lamps with E27 fittings and some proper bulbs 5500 K photography bulbs. The difference in my photos was unbelievable.
 
Phil Dart

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Bigblackdog said:
what is needed for top quality pen shots, suitable for a website (rather than blown up to A0 on a gallery wall)?
Click to expand...

There are others here who are much better a light tent photos than me, but to answer your question Mark, if you want to go top notch, then Derek is on the right track. which is how I take my product pens. But I still use a bit of lighting - Dereks nib section is quite dark.

If you want to go even higher, then you have to remove the subject from the background (I mean physically, not photo shop), then light the background to get it whiter then white, but its quite a faff and involves quite an investment in lighting and booms etc. You don't get any shadow that way either, which may not be the effect that a lot of people want.

Light tent
spalted rhodo 7.jpg

Infinity background a la Derek (but reflective in this case)
the_lady_whisky_cask_fountain_pen_a.jpg

Removed from lit background
shop.jpg
 
B

Bigblackdog

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which light tent do you use Phil? I like the idea that a tent can be stored away, so I wont have issues with dust, dog hair etc the second time that I use it. I can just imagine a sheet of photographic background would be ruined by the time I next needed it. The natural light is not particularly good here, and I like the idea of being able to do a quick shot and bung it on the forum rather than having to wait to do a batch to make it worthwhile.

I would be happy with any of your 3 shots, more than happy. I have no real need to remove them from the background. If I am honest, I would rather not have to spend too long on photoshop either if I can avoid it.
 
paulm

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I like that Amazon setup, it would give excellent results I'm sure but I just don't have room for it where it would be handy so I just use a piece of a4 paper and an led desk light. I crop the photo and adjust the levels and thats it.
 

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paulm

paulm

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And this my setup for the picture above. There is an LED desk lamp above it that I didn't get in the picture
 

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rayf6604

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TaylorsMirfield.co.uk said:
Before I buy this has anybody got any other recommendations?

Portable Photo Home Studio inc. 4 colour Background, Tent, Tripod, 2 Lamps & Soft Carry Bag https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0064MRG64/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_j6KWvbHRXCTE8

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Click to expand...
I've got this one and it pretty shite. The halogen lights aren't white enough and I ended up replacing them with mini Sun led bulbs and I gave up with them. I just use the tent with my dslr camera and a speedlight flash gun. Obviously it takes a bit of time to play with the exposure settings as well.
 
Penpal

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How many times I tried to by showing simplicity for pens / small products I use a 50mm foam core base conduit frame 11 by 14 inch photocopy paper (one ream for twenty years so far not 1/4 used) one light either side one on top sits on the conduit frame no covers of any sort. My pics take me 5 mins set up 10 minutes on the net camera worth 100 dollars. Repeatability works for me I am not looking for an acadamy reward.

Peter.:fingers:
 


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