Open Forum

Hello,
The museum I am interning at has decided to purchase a photo studio box so we can have higher quality photos of our objects. We are a small museum that does not have a large amount of space and, therefore, would require a smaller, tabletop/portable model. Although the Gaylord set up looks nice, it is out of our price range since we would need the lighting kit as well as the basic kit (each cost about $380, totaling $800). Our budget ranges from $200-400 for the entire set up. I would appreciate any recommendations or feedback from museums about which type/brand they've had the most success with or found to be lacking!

Thanks,
Mallory

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Mallory Provan
Graduate Assistant/Student
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC
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Here's an interesting, low-cost alternative. Start with the fact that photo lights and boxes have two characteristics: the light is at a certain temperature, and the boxes diffuse the light. Today, with the develop of LED bulbs, you can find LEDs in the same temperature as photo flashes (I bought a whole box of generic, correct-temperature LED floodlights at Costco). And since these bulbs don't get hot, simple gauze-type cloth can be used as a diffuser as long as it's at least a few inches from the bulbs.

I have an old track light that holds three of the bulbs, and I shopped garage sales for a couple of light fixtures on arms -- the type of light used on desks or drafting boards (remember those?) -- which gives me side or back lighting that enhances the visibility of 3D shapes.

Background? I prefer a curved surface (i.e., no seam or hard corners); so cloth from a bolt can be used. Or, Home Depot carries a flexible white plastic wall board (4' x 8' sheet) with a lightly pebbled side. Cut it with a box cutter knife if it's too big. Clip it to the edge of a table and to something to hold up the back. Roll it up (loosely) when you're done. Spray paint it if you want more matt finish or a different color. This setup can clearly handle fairly large items.

Are your items highly color sensitive? Many cameras and software programs (e.g., Photoshop) have white-balance settings. Put something white in the photo area, adjust the camera setting, then starting taking pictures of your items.

Hope this helps!

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Greg Moss
Museum Planning Committee
International Society of Antique Scale Collectors (www.isasc.org)
Pittsburgh, PA
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Amazon has a lot of great and inexpensive options ($20 - $50). You don't need a huge set up. I use a small pop-up light box with two regular side lights, but Amazon has some great LED options to go with the light boxes. I use a black curved backdrop, but you can use whatever color you like as long as you are consistent. These small setups work great for small to medium objects.

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Amelia Whitehead
Collections Manager
International Museum of Art & Science
McAllen TX
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Hello Mallory,

We have recently decided the same thing so we can prepare for an online collection. Since we are also on a budget and not professional photographers, we opted for the cheap option. So far our pictures look great. They are not quite perfect, but definitely better quality than what we had before. 

We bought a pop-up light tent from Amazon. It is white cloth and folds down into a circle like a wire laundry hamper. We are limited on space and have other projects going at the same time, so this is great because it is easy to set up and take down. This one is a bit big, but it is good for those medium size objects. However, it does not work so well with clear glass objects, so we recently purchased the 12" x 12" version and plan to back light for better results. The bulbs that come with it are a bit too bright/white, so we purchased daylight LED from Target. 

https://www.amazon.com/Excelvan-Photography-Backdrop-Continuous-CP-C003/dp/B01MFELTSK/ref=pd_sbs_421_51?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01MFELTSK&pd_rd_r=WYTZB9P83HQBMMN3KSNB&pd_rd_w=MCj7U&pd_rd_wg=rJt2o&psc=1&refRID=WYTZB9P83HQBMMN3KSNB

For books and flat objects (paper, jacket patches) we use a copy stand like this with adjustable desk lamps. 

https://www.amazon.com/Albinar-Macro-Stand-15-75-Release/dp/B004SFGPLQ/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1517338215&sr=1-9&keywords=copy+stand+for+digital+camera
 
We use a Rebel series Canon on a tripod. You just have to play with ISO and Aperture a bit until you get the results you want. I tend to turn the aperture up or down a few clicks and leave the shutter speed alone. If your camera has an auto or Program mode, you can start there and adjust the settings as you see fit. 

Good luck!


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Christina Bulow
Assistant Curator
Pacific Aviation Museum--Pearl Harbor
Honolulu HI
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