After seeing a post via Zite on how to make a homemade light tent I decided to have a go:
I don’t have a macro lens, but have bought some rather nifty macro filters from Polaroid to have a little play with close-up stuff. To stick to this on-a-budget theme I decided to spend a couple of hours making my own light tent. The shopping list (and costs) were:
- collapsible laundry basket – £2.99
- single white bed sheet – £1.79
- white card – £2.39 (overpriced in my opinion – damn you Staples!)
- needle/thread (already owned)
First up, I removed the existing mesh sides to the laundry basket to leave the bendy metal frame – although I did leave the base one there as it would be covered by card. In the post I saw, they stapled the cloth to the frame, but I decided to sew it on securely. Firstly, I am not a fan of staples – crude and spiky (and they overcharge for card!) – and secondly, it went against my ASD need to have it all white 
Nice stich work for me:
That bit did take me a while, but I was happy with that given the look and feel of it. Needs an iron though! I kept the little pouch on it so that I could still collapse it for storage.
I then cut the card so it fitted the base and curved up the back forming a continuous surface.
So when it lays on its side there is a good amount of room to shoot little Lego Dr Who dudes professional style product shots.
I know that with this extremely cheap option shots are going to be very rough when compared to a material that diffuses the light perfectly, and the macro lenses are a poor substitute for a proper (out of my budget) lens, but from the one test shot I squeezed off I am more than happy with what was produced.
This was only lit by natural sunlight shining through the conservatory windows/plastic roof too, hence the greyish tones in the background. Next step is to get some desk lamps (which would suit my budget style further) on either side to see if they will produce a cleaner, brighter white or if not, see if some lighting options are needed.
Far from perfect, but cheap and a buzz to achieve something without resorting to the easy retail option.
