DIY Flat Photography Light Table with Overhead Camera - AKA Styleshoots

<p>Greetings,</p>

<p>I am looking for insight on creating a DIY flat photography light table for product photography. Currently I am using a fluorescent light from home depot hard wired with great result. To illuminate the product from the bottom eliminates a lot of harsh shadows and the like. However this http://www.styleshoots.com/ machine can ease workflow on multiple clothing products that I will have to shoot here soon. Does anyone know anyting that would give me some insight on building the light table?<br>

This video gave me a lot of ideas.<br>

 

<p>Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. God bless you!</p>

 

<p>Joined today, welcome to P.net.<br>

It does raise the suspicion, however, that the post is merely to push traffic to the links.<br>

There is a provision on P.net for commercial advertising, if that is what you are doing.</p>

<p>Huh????<br>

Well honestly the machine from styleshoots is over 80,000 not chump change. The youtube video has some good ideas. Maybe you should read my thread and check my setup at dpreview....</p>

<p>https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4061841</p>

<p>I'd use strobes</p>

<ul>

<li>to have a chance to balance each light to the others within a 5 stops range.</li>

<li>worry less about color / white balancing.</li>

<li>have no stability issues with my camera on whatever gets it that high above the subject. (Or are you going to bolt yours to the ceiling, shoot it tethered and will be able to use a zoom on it?)</li>

</ul>

<p>That being said I'd place a sufficiently sized softbox below a glass table. - I had plastic diffusor tables but am concerned about scratching them and have issues with their stability.<br>

I honestly have no clue what will work in the end. - For me the diffusor table did not since I shot the subjects front and it created hotspots there that I did not like in the images. <br>

I can imagine fabrics shouting for harsh lighting to emphasize their structure and am not aware of a light source that will produce it from fluorescent lights. - YMMV.</p>

 

<p>Upon DIY: You have the great advantage that you don't need the "table" to fit between your upper legs & a food bowl. So you can basically place your tubes on the floor, surround them with a hopefully heat resistant white box build a diffuser into half the way to the table top and a 2nd one above or below your glass plate. - If you can: add a thermometer to check temperature inside your box and maybe a more or less light trapped cooling system with fans. If you are using tin plates as your building material of choice you could give the bottom part a kind of parabolic shape.</p>

<p>Thanks <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=640949">Jochen Schrey</a> for the detailed reply. I guess I am looking for a simple table setup that I can place the items on the table and have the camera overhead mounted to take a quick pictures. The bottom light just makes it easier to cutout and prevents shadows. <br>

I believe that with the Lord's help I will be able to succeed! God bless you!</p>

<p>This is a diy setup using strobes but I wanted more of a continous lighting system. It is interesting to watc though.

Why not save yourself any bother and just buy a

readymade translucent white product table? The

opal perspex (plexiglass) alone will cost almost as

much as a complete product table.

<p>Thanks Rodeo Joe I will look into it put I have found someone with a setup like I would like but he does not underlight it. </p>

<p>https://video-dft4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.1790-2/14885490_1230749796948528_3647518362155614208_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjMwMCwicmxhIjo1MTIsInZlbmNvZGVfdGFnIjoic3ZlX3NkIn0%3D&rl=300&vabr=154&oh=e71f58fe779c8c0159e91866ca558a6c&oe=581AD2D0</p>