Cookies, A Bird & A Chinchilla

I will post later with more details on the photos below. Brief details on the subject are: cookies (Chewy Ginger) snapped inside my new light box with hot pink poster board serving as the background, Chinchilla (Signore Chino da Bambino) posing on his chaise for an oh so adorably fuzzy shot and our lovebird (Princess Flying Watermelon) inside her cage. Yes, I was especially proud of being able to capture Princess Flying Watermelon inside her cage with the bars showing! And Greg, if you're reading this, I will never again mix up shutter speed and ISO :-p Stay tuned for photos of Baron Winchester the Lionheart

DIY Light Box/Light Tent/Macro Studio

My interests in photography are two fold 1) to be able to take photos of my family and my adventures while utilizing a DSLR and 2) to take photographs of my products for the e-commerce site that will soon be going live.

With that said, and with a bout of insomnia this weekend, I decided to figure out #2. In the past, I have looked into purchasing a light box/light tent/macro studio (whatever you would like to call it, we will refer to it as a light box from here on out). However, even on amazon, the smallest and chintzy light boxes are $50 minimum, once you figure in tax and shipping. Since I know I will need more than one light box in the future, I decided I had to figure out an inexpensive way to make one. A quick search online yielded several excellent websites.

First, here's an early sample of the photos I've been able to take with my brand spanking new, DIY light box. I will then share with you the light box itself, a couple of useful websites and a list of materials that I utilized.

The Tiara

This is an Erica Koesler tiara that I purchased for the fabulous bridal shower that my bridesmaids threw for me in June. It was Breakfast at Tiffany's themed and everyone knows that its just not Tiffany's without a little bit of glitz and loads of glamour. I absolutely adore the delicate details and the dark aging on the metal.

The Gift

The gift below is for one of my favorite clients of all time. She's a wonderful client who has become a wonderful friend. Her birthday is this month and I found a vintage English bone china tea cup and saucer at this month's Long Beach Antiques Market. I covered a decoupage chipboard box with some haute couture paper.

The Slave

Initially, I used my husband as the holder of the third light from above. Luckily for him, I eventually figured out that the light could be clamped on to the top of the box.



How to Do-it-yourself

Since the whole point to this is to save money, the first thing that you should do is look through your home for materials.

The ingredients:

1. A box or something to use as a box like structure of at least 12" x 12" x 12" (I used a styrofoam box liner I had lying around)
   
2. Material to diffuse light, I covered mine in 1.5 yards of white muslin sold at Jo-Ann for $1.49/yard (you can also use any thin white fabric, tracing paper and even cut up white t-shirts
3. 2-3 lights that can accommodate 60w bulbs and at least 60 watt full spectrum bulbs
   
4. Posterboard, paper or fabric to serve as your backdrop.

How-to? Check out these links below to see the instructions.
Strobist
Digital Photography School

Happy Shooting!

P.S. You may want to keep a fire extinguisher handy just in case you let those bulbs get too close to the fabric.

CSULB Japanese Garden

I had been meaning to visit my old alma mater to shoot photos of the Japanese Garden. When a homework assignment came up that required shooting in different lighting situations, I decided it was the perfect opportunity. My mom was my model for the afternoon. I paid her in koi fish food.

In The Shade



In The Light



On The Bridge




Koi Fish

Although the first photo might seem peaceful. In actuality, these koi fish were rabid and behaved as if they were never fed. In actuality, they're fed all day long by patrons.

In The Garden

In all honesty, I didn't work on my layering skills very much during class. Perhaps it was the fall in the air and the delicate smell of the eucalyptus leaves wafting through the air. I just couldn't concentrate. That afternoon, as I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a ripening red pomegranate. I decided that a tour through the garden was the perfect way to practice layering and composing my shots.

Candy Apple Red Pomegranate



Pink Plumerias

At School

Last week, Greg took us on a tour of the campus to test out our skills with textures, layers and composition.

Laughing




Girl By Wall




Blue Sky

My First Photos

One Hot Dog

Garden Flowers

Hermosa Beach, CA

I visited Fiesta Hermosa this Labor Day weekend and decided to practice a wee bit o ISO.