Photographing Beer Cans

[Cantageous]

I've come to a point where I'm considering investing a little bit of money into a small portable photo studio kit with lights. I've tried to build my own and had a little success, but it's not very impressive. Does anyone have any suggestions for inexpensive photo box kits with lights? I've seen a few on eBay, but I'm hesitant to pull the trigger just yet. I've seen some pretty nice ones that are over $100 but I'm not willing to go that far. I also want to use it to photograph other ebay items. Please chime in if you have encountered this dilemma and have some suggestions.

Cheers,

Keith


Cantageous

[Canadacan]

I use my tripod, desk and a 99 cent piece of white construction paper to create an endless back ground....and some extra lighting helps too!

You have to play with the lighting but they can come out like this. hope this helps...it's an inexpensive alternative.

[bigcitydave]

Great Ideas.

[Cantageous]

Lighting is my main problem. I'm looking at getting a couple cheap mini tripods that I can attach some LED lights to. I scored some free ones at Harbor Freight that actually produce a good bit of light. I taped them to a desk lamp. Lol. I can buy some cheap mini tripods on eBay for about $5-6 a piece.

Keith




Cantageous

[Randy Karasek]

Home built 10 years ago and uses standard utility light, 60watt bulb. I used this for all my MBC and CSS photography:

http://www.mbcinfo.com/mi/data/Generate ... raBox.html

There are definitely inexpensive photoboxes on Ebay that I would probably use if starting over. Biggest thing, control your light source. You want consistent results, no shadows, and not need to depend on sunny, rainy, that cold stuff smacking the wrong coast, etc.

There are definitely some sweet setups out there, Rand's is amazing, and all the dealers and many Ebay sellers sure have majorly improved from years past.

[Cantageous]

That's what I was thinking Randy, I'm tired of the poster board and inefficient lights. I'm searching for some good ideas. I don't mind building something, but in my experience, sometimes it's better to just bite the bullet and get the right equipment for the job.


Cantageous

[Rand]

Since Randy noted my setup......I have 3 "lightboxes".....big things on stands.....2 on either side and one above.....and a big stand behind it to hold the giant roll of paper.....and of course the tripod. Kinda tough to take pictures of it.....but here it is:

[Cantageous]

Thanks Rand


Cantageous

[Cantageous]

Here is a nice set up called the "My Studio MS20". You can get the details from Amazon.com. It costs $175

Here is what it looks like


This is a photo taken with the My Studio MS20


I tried to recreate the backdrop out of poster board that is about 1/8 in thick that I got at the dollar store. It came out pretty good. It's the lighting that is the main issue.

I'll post a picture of my set up tomorrow.


Cantageous

[Canadacan]

I like how it refracts the light back down. So it has some light filter to soften it?.....yes the lighting is the tricky part!

[Cantageous]

I built this set up for $3 and got these led lights from Harbor Freight for FREE. You have to find the coupon online or in the paper. These little lights have 24 led and pit out a good bit of light, but they are really only good for spot lighting. I'm looking at getting a 24" led shop light to hang above the backdrop


Sorry for the dark image. It's late and the porch is not well lit.

Here is a pic of the harbor freight led light




Cantageous

[Cantageous]

It looks like my negative reputation has been positively rectified. Lol. :)


Cantageous

[Daev Larrazolo]

I painted a cardboard box.

[Cantageous]

I used cardboard boxes for many years with great success. I would take a liquor bottle box, line it with white poster board and cut o whole in one end. But, lighting challenges drove me to search for another way. Lighting still remains a challenge.



Cantageous

[golf_lover44]

I have a 24 inch square lightbox I bought at a photography supply store. I then bought 3 work lights with clamps that I attach to 2" x 4" bases to light the box from the sides and top. I read on the Internet to use 6500K light bulbs since they're supposed to best represent natural sunlight. I use a white project posterboard purchased at Office Max for my background. However, the lights seem to bring out the gray in the posterboard. For my tablet database it's okay, but for pictures to send to fellow collectors I wish the background is brighter. I went back to the photography store to see if I could get a backdrop made out of the same material the lightbox uses, but that was a no-go. Since I use a point-and-click digital camera I don't have any way to make adjustments.

The other problem I keep running into is getting a bit of reflection of me on the can directly facing the camera. Even though I use a panel that came with the lightbox, pushing the camera underneath it for the shot I still get the reflection on some cans. (The panel has a pre-made slit, but it's way too high up to use for taking can shots.)

[Cantageous]

You can try diffusing the light or maybe switching to a light that is in the 5500k range. That will be a whiter light and less yellowish. I'm no expert on photography, but I have some experience with lighting. In the past I've done a little bit of indoor horticulture and maintained a reef aquarium for a number of years. I prefer a whiter light myself, but you should experiment with light placement and color to obtain the best image possible.


Cantageous

[Cantageous]

On a side not. Phillips has developed a lighting system called Phillips Hue. My friend got a starter system for Christmas and it is one of the coolest things I've seen since I got my first iPhone or Walkman. The unit consists of a wireless bridge and three LED bulbs. The bulbs have three different color LED lights which gives it the ability to change the hue of the light and the whole room. All this can be controlled with an app through a smartphone or tablet. Before you form an opinion, find a friend who has one or go to a store and give it a test drive.
I think it would be very helpful for photography but a little pricey right now. Starter systems run about 200 for the bridge and 3 bulbs. I plan on getting one soon just because I like that kinda stuff. Check it out online


Cantageous

[golf_lover44]

My main concern is that the white posterboard I use for the background comes out gray - sometimes light if I let the lights warm up for a half hour or so, but mostly a mid to dark gray when I give the lights 5 - 10 minutes warm up time.

I'd love to know how to get the posterboard to actually appear as the white background I want it to be, or at least come out lighter than gray.

[bigcitydave]

It may be a setting on your camera for the type of light you are using (flourescent, tungsten, halogen) Also it may be the lighting is not bright enough.

[beercanman]

Depending on your camera, you might need to adjust "white balance". Look at the instruction manual on your camera and see how to do that. It can make a huge difference in the color accuracy of your photos.