I have been working with Japan Cameras in Victoria to get their portrait studio running. However for some private commercial work, it is easier to build a set at home where I can come back to it over some time.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to clean out my second bedroom to convert it to a permanent studio so I used my bed as a table for the shot…

[spoiler style=”fancy” title=”click for more detailed info about the setup.”]

If you take out the camera (and lens), I have under $500 invested in this setup. Take out the lights, and I have very little money tied up. 

The “table” is an old piece of white acrylic{{1}} I picked up at a junk store. The background consists of two black display boards like those found in office supply stores for school projects. I also used a couple of pieces of poster board to fine tune the background and reflected light.

Tthe lighting consists of a couple of $100 softboxes (similar to this ). I use Yongnuo RF-603N Wireless Flash Triggers to set off the lights (I have a couple of Yongnuo YN-560 III Speedlite Flash on order, but until they come, I am using cheap used flashes I picked up for about $100). This is a completely manual setup, but the advantage of that is control. I can get the light to do exactly what I want…

[/spoiler]

PS you can buy these mugs from Janise Oleandros

[[1]]I originally got the 3′ x 5″ white acrylic for a large light table I used to sort slides (ask your parents what slide film was…). I have long since disposed of the rest of the light table, but kept the acrylic for just this purpose. There are a few scratches on the acrylic that are a pain to retouch out. Maybe one day I will try repolish the surface, or maybe I will just toss it and find something else…[[1]]