friday's featured resource - shedding a little light on the subject

Crafter goddesses, foodies, Etsy shop mavens, this post is for you. Well, you and anyone else who finds it frustrating to get a decent shot of objects in the dark of these winter months. Unfortunately for many of us, by the time we get home there’s no pretty evening light streaming in through the windows casting its lovely glow on our subjects. I miss so much that magical fall evening sun. Sigh. Well, until the sun starts to cooperate again, we’ll just have to make some pretty light of our own. Light boxes are a great way to generate soft, even lighting that can really make an object pop.

A food blogging friend of mine recently posted her desire for a light box but confessed she didn’t have the space for a bulky box in her small Boston condo. She had been researching some wonderful collapsible light tents, but they can get pricey. To aid her in her quest, I set about designing a light box that was collapsible, affordable, and easy to assemble. The cost of this light box totals about $5 and consists of 4 pieces of foam core and a piece of poster board, all of which I purchased at the dollar store.

The detailed instructions on how I made my light box are over on my blog.

 

As you can see, I didn’t have professional lighting or light stands, so I took a couple clip lights, screwed in some daylight bulbs, and clipped them onto some book ends that I had on hand. This made it easy to maneuver the lighting exactly the way I wanted it.

Once I got the lighting the way I liked it I tried to keep in mind the following:

-First I made sure that my camera was white balanced. This is something that is easy to forget, but really saves time spent adjusting images in Photoshop.

-I also tried experimenting with a subtle pattern below my object. I looked for something that wasn’t too distracting but that added color and interest to my subject.

-Last, I set a nice shallow depth of field so that my subject was sharp and the pattern below softened.

I’ve got so much more experimenting to do with my light box, and like many of you, I’m constantly hungry for tips and tricks to improve my images. Please share with us images that you’ve taken with a light box of your own and any thoughts that you might have on achieving a stellar image. Happy clicking!

Pictures and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Amy Kingman. Amy is an artist extraordinaire and can be found over at her blog Drawings in Motion.

lensbaby - a resource and a giveaway

I am beyond giddy to tell you that we are giving away a Lensbaby today.  I know, you're jumping up and down too, aren't you? isn't it so exciting?

Ever since I heard about the amazingness of Lensbaby Lenses it was instant infatuation. And then I got my hands on one and it's everything I had hoped for and more; the ideal photography partner of the most fun and creative kind. Each time I use it I am delighted by beautiful surprises and irresistible unpredictability. I can only liken it to photographic poetry. Look at that bokeh up there. Are you swooning yet? And what about how well it translates to black and white? Sigh. I even take my baby on vacation with us. That's how much I love it. I'm just sayin'.But you don't have to take my photo word for it. It seems there are some Lensbaby fans in our Flickr Pool too. Check out these gorgeous images by Lifeography, Jamza, Donna and work2snap. Wow!

Of course, a lot has changed since the birth of theLensbaby a few years back. They have a brand new site that is a pleasure to explore and a variety of babies too. Not to mention cool accessories. Everything you ever wanted to know and more about what Lensbaby is all about is offered at the site. If that's not enough to have you yearning for your very own baby, I'm sure today's giveaway will.

One incredibly lucky reader will get a $270 credit to spend at the Lensbaby web store any way they'd like. It's heaven I tell you. Just leave a comment here to be entered in our random drawing.

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And for another slice of heaven, pay a visit to Design Mom today. She's featuring Shutter Sisters as she kicks off her 12 Days of Christmas and hosts a giveaway that's near and dear to our photography hearts.  For a chance to win a Shutter Sisters Flash Bulb Necklace or an All in One Wireless Printer by HP click over and leave a comment there as well. It's like the best pre-holiday celebration ever, isn't it?

What's Inside

Well my fellow photographer extraordinares...you asked for it, you got it. The Sisters and I have recorded all the photo equipment we use into one massive list. It's chock full of links and everything!  The What's in the Bag list is here to stay (see the new Equipment List option in the left sidebar) so don't fret that you have to memorize it. Peruse at will and click around to see what's in our bags and get detailed descriptions via the unprecedented retail resource site that many of us know and love B&H Photo.  If there's a glitch here or there, do let us know...things might not be totally dialed in quite yet.

I plan on pooling up some of the favorites from all of you (the ones you so kindly listed in the comments the other day) and listing those as well. I'm pretty sure we'll soon be adding something like a wish list too. What the heck, right? We can dream big if we want to. I know I am currently looking to upgrade my cute little Rebel soon so hopefully I'll be adding something like this little number to my list-fingers crossed.

How about you? Have you got your sights on a little something special of the photo kind?