Photography Sells on eBay copyright 2010 by Peter Lerman
Simplify...(continued)
Eliminate the distracting noise from your product photos. This is what my table top setup looks like:
It's a 4'x8' piece of high-pressure laminate that most people know as Formica. Formica is a particular brand of this material and there are many competing brands that are equally well-suited for this purpose.
Very nearly all the shots I do are on this very versatile material. It's neutral white with a matte finish and costs from $50 to $85 for a full sheet at your local building supply store (like Lowe's or Home Depot). It is usually a special order item that you pick out from a sample book and get in a week or so.
It can be used again and again by just keeping it clean. It's easy, with a paper towel and some household surface cleaner or window cleaner. Treat it just like a regular old counter-top!
It has zero rigidity so you need to support it on something. I use an old hollow core door I salvaged (free!) and two sawhorses I bought at the home center for about $20, the pair. Make your own and save $15 of the $20. Use a big, old table you already have and save the whole $20. Or, use a 4' x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood.
The big advantage offered by the flexibility this material is that you can curve it up in the back and elimiate the "corner" or "crease" you see when you put something on a flat surface that, in the background, meets a vertical surface (see that pottery photo on the previous page). I have it curved up to a big fat dowel (curtain rod) and held in place by some cheap "A" clamps. You could also just curve it up the wall and hold it in place with duct tape.
The fact that this material is durable, flexible and lightweight also makes it very easy to store when not in use. It rolls up to about a 3' diameter roll that's 4' high. Or you can slip this sheet of plastic behind something or on top of something. Use your imagination.
Do you like the idea but don't want to spend any money at all? Then go get a white flat "top sheet" from the linen closet. Do not use a contour sheet. Iron out the wrinkes and creases. Push the dining room table over across the room so that the shorter edge is against the wall.
Now tape the front edge of the sheet to the front edge of the table and run it back towards the wall and up. See the shape, above, that the plastic sheet takes and use that as your guide. You may need to fold the sheet lengthwise so it is not wider than your table.
The bed sheet has some texture that the Formica does not have but that's not so bad. It wil also tend to bunch up and not lie flat without constant attention from you, the photographer. But still, it's free and not too hard to do. If you started right now you'd be ready to shoot in 30 minutes with no out of pocket expense.
When I shoot something light in color that needs to visually separate from the background I use a large, dark muslin backdrop that I lay on top of my Formica. You could also use a big blanket or bedspread. In this case the item is in front of the background, not sitting upon it. That allows me to keep the background out of focus and lose whatever texture the backdrop might have.
How about some alternate ideas for when you get more advanced? Sure! Let's try a couple more to see what else can be done.
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