Light Tent

I've been interested in doing isolation shots and still life for a while. I was really interested in using a light tent to do some of the work. Way too much money, though. I wanted to shoot fairly large objects, say a vase instead of a watch, but the light tents I was interested in ran to 350-500 dollars.

I've been reading a lot of photography web sites. Favorites are studiolighting.net and strobist.com. If you haven't checked them out, you should.

One of the valuable lessons gained from these sites is that you don't have to have the expensive equipment to make a good photo. You just need to get a good photo. Strobist.com even has an entry about making your own mini-macro studio tent. I checked it out, googled a bit more and decided that I, too, could make it myself.

I tried using the cardboard box, but ultimately was unhappy with the results. They were okay, but still hard to get a good photo. Ironically, the hardest part was getting a box of the right size. Any boxes were either too big or too small. They also didn't wear too well. Not a problem if I had endless access to boxes. Another thing about the box-- a coworker of mine who used to be an exterminator told me that cockroaches love cardboard boxes. They make the perfect happy nest for the roaches when they are in their nymph stage. I hate having cardboard boxes in my house. I don't want them in my house--not even for a photograph. I decided I would make my own light tent from PVC pipe.

I love DIY but because there is no HomeHardware store in Tokyo, DIY isn't so cheap. Tokyu Hands is a fun store, but things are really pricey. I guess because most things come in little plastic bags rather than tossed in a bin. it turns out that PVC isn't so cheap and it's more bulky than I guessed. But mostly, it isn't so cheap. Also I couldn't find any handy connecting pieces.

Enter the store called UNIDY in Lazona Mall in Kawasaki. I had been there a few times and it has a fairly decent DIY section. It is nowhere near the paradise of the big orange store but it's cheaper than Tokyu Hands. I had the burning desire to take another crack at building a light tent and went in search of PVC poles hoping the price would be more reasonable. Didn't find such an amazing section of PVC pipes, but I did find some nice aluminum pipes. The most useful size measured 60cm long and cost about 150 yen. The store also had an amazing amount of little plastic connecting pieces in a huge variety of shapes and purposes. Yeah, baby. THIS is what I'm talking about.

I was able to make the light tent structure for 4200 yen. The diffusing material would be made from garbage bags or drycleaning bags. Perfectly cheap or free. I also have the option of making the tent in different sizes later on by buying different sized poles.

Then I got ambitious. I also wanted to have a light stand. Light stands tend to run about 10 000 yen. I have been trying to improvise various way of putting up the lights I use and it all looked like an accident waiting to happen. I bought a longer pole for 900 yen and the big expense, a little holder for 1500 yen. It needed to be attached to a piece of wood to make it stable. I looked around the store for a suitable piece but didn't find anything in my size range (about 35 cm square) or in my price range (less than 500 yen). Still, I had ideas, so I purchased the stuff. I happily went home and put my bag down and left it for a few days. And then the final piece came into my possession.

Near my house is a local hardware/wood/building store. It is owned by a woman and I always wonder how they stay open. I found out that they make their living by opening early and catering their business to carpenters and builders. This store is a no frills shop. I've enjoyed walking past that shop because they sell a lot of lumber and often one can smell cut pine. Lovely!
I've been in that shop for various things-- a plunger, a screen, a knife/saw to cut a pumpkin, wood and screws to make a drying rack for my futon.

They were selling small pieces of wood in various sizes most of which were the size I was looking for. Best of all was the price--starting from 50 yen and up. I went home, grabbed the pole holder and went back to the store. I found a good size and the shop keepers helped me get the appropriate sized screws.

The last stage was to buy some velvet for photos with a black backdrop. I tried the black paper. I don't like the color I get. There's not really enough space to get the background to be a lot blacker than the subject. Yuzawaya was the place to get the velvet. I got a nice piece, that almost seems to absorb light. It wasn't cheap. The velvet costs 4750yen/meter. I was able to save a little since I only needed a length of 60 cm because the width was 110 cm.

Today, I put it all together. So far, so good. I'm still testing and working out the lighting thing.

Photos to come!