DIY Light Studio Tutorial

I am no expert on photography, but starting up this blog has encouraged me to tinker around with the camera. During the dark days of Winter, I wanted to have the freedom to take photos in the evening when little natural light was available. We decided to read up on making our own do-it-yourself light studio.

Mr. SixBalloons ended up building two models, one of which is made of salvaged plastic white sign board material. We simply taped together the pieces with the white backsides as the interior walls of the photo studio.

Another common style is made with an ordinary cardboard box with the sides and top cut out, covered by some translucent white material. I used some white fabric purchased at a thrift store to diffuse the light.

Taking my Kathie Winkle Corinth Teacup as a subject, I tested out the various lighting situations in the cardboard model as follows:

Light Studio with Diffused Light

Natural Light Only (Evening)

Natural Light, with Camera Flash

Clearly the first photo taken without flash in the diffused light situation worked best at mimicking natural lighting and showing the true colours. The light bulbs do create some glare spots, but it might be worthwhile experimenting with say, two layers of white tissue paper instead of the sheer cloth I used.

Because of the bright and reflective surface of the plastic signboard, I prefer the plastic light studio over the cardboard model. I feel that the light bouncing off the smooth white surfaces diffuses the lighting further, reducing shadows and creating a more natural look. The Primary Bowls below can perhaps show this.

If changing backgrounds is important to you, the cardboard model makes it very convenient and versatile. The table runner I often use as a backdrop to my photos lays easily through the cardboard opening at the top of the box.

The bottom line for me? You just can't beat natural light for freedom when taking pictures. However, I love having a simple home-made alternative that lets me take photos after sundown.

This was a fun DIY project for us, and rewarding because we saved money by salvaging and re-using. The adjustable desk-clamped lamps were collected on various thrifting adventures for about $3 each. We decided it was important to get proper lights and purchased these Philips Compact Flourescent bulbs which output 100w while actually using 23w of energy. We know these will last us a long time.

Vintage Canon A-1 SLR Manual Camera

One of the first items we purchased off ebay was a vintage manual Canon film camera. Mr. SixBalloons is a bit of a camera buff, and he thought it would be nice to experiment with an old classic.

The Canon A-1 was introduced in the 70s, and was eventually sold between 1978 through 1985. It was a popular seller at the time, and remains a collectible vintage camera today. The A-1 originally sold for $635, which I would imagine was a princely sum at the time.

What I love best about this camera is that it produces photos with a slightly yellow hue... it reminds me of my childhood family photos taken in the 80s. Speaking of photography, we have set up a light studio at home and have been playing around with taking some shots in it. I took these white-background photos with the light studio setup.

We purchased this camera for about $40. The Canon A-1's were very durable and popular, and as a result there are still many of them functioning today. These cameras contained no plastic gears and were built to last.

We were also able to pick up some vintage lenses recently at a Salvation Army 50% off sale, so that will give us an opportunity to experiment further with this camera and our new DIY light studio!