Testing Out the New Light Tent

[Eric Alan]

Since a few people have asked, here is the rundown on how I am able to get these kinds of results without breaking the bank. Just like everything in life, you have to know where you want to end up and make a plan to get you there. Hopefully this helps you do just that!

The equipment:

• Camera: Nikon COOLPIX L110 (an inexpensive point and shoot I received as a gift years ago)
• Tripod: Brandless 60" Aluminum Tripod
• Light Tent: NEEWER 20" Cube Tent
• Lighting: Fovitec StudioPRO 450W Continuous 5500K Reflector Kit
• Background: Staples White Posterboard, 22" x 28" (trimmed down to 19.5" wide)
• Flat Surface: Totally Bamboo Kauai Cutting Board (under the background to ensure a flat surface)
• Color Balancing Software: GIMP (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Photo Editing Software: Inkscape (yes, there's a learning curve - it's simple once you get used to it)
• Watermark Software: FastStone Image Viewer (yes, there's a learning curve - there's also a thread on this site to help)

The educational tools:

• Reptile Photography 101 by Anthony Caponetto
• Best camera settings for indoor still life photography by Digital Camera World
• Ten Product Photography Tips by Smick.co.uk

The reality:

• I only have auto-focus mode - no manual control at all in these pictures.
• I don't have any additional lenses - just the original camera and that's it.
• The only setting that I can actually fully control on my camera is ISO, which I have set at 100.
• I also have some control over the white balance, which I set to the "Daylight" setting.
• I have almost no control over the shutter speed, but it usually ends up in the 1/60-1/100 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• I have almost no control over the aperture. The camera only allows for 3.5-5.4, and usually ends up in the 4.0 range (which it chooses itself when it focuses).
• Once I have these things "set", I take a ton of pictures and pick out a few that I want to work with.
• Once I sort through the pictures I like, I use GIMP to quickly white balance one of them and then apply that setting to the rest of the shots in the session.
• I then use Inscape to crop the images to the size I want and make sure the background is a crisp 255 white.
• Finally, I add my watermark by batch converting the finished pictures in FastStone.