Budget Photographic Micro-studio

A simple, low-cost setup for small item pack & product shots. It smooths the lighting, gives a white background and is very easy to make.

Get your eBay or Instructables photography looking good, for next to nothing. Or shoot those expensive jewellery items quickly and easily, for your home insurance policy records.

Example photograph shown here: a bakelite Bilora BOY camera, made in around 1952.

Step 1: The Whole Thing

A good, clear picture sells items, whether on eBay or elsewhere. You really don't need to spend hundreds on professional studio equipment just to make quick snapshots of small items, as you can see here.

A translucent plastic storage tub placed in the shade, plus a sheet of smooth, white paper, with a plastic clamp to keep it curved, are all that's required to isolate the background, even out the lighting and give a clean looking product shot -- all in under five minutes, and for less than the price of a digital photography magazine.

Change the paper for a coloured background if you need one.

If you don't have a clamp, use a clothes peg (pin), sticky tape or Blu-tak.