Building this studio was a great experience. At first it seemed difficult to find space and calculate where exactly to put the blank piece of paper. It was a good thing i found large pieces of paper stored in one of my old bags. I placed one big one in front of my closet doors and the other is placed on top of the other paper. For my lighting i used a desktop lamp and also a regular lamp to aluminate the room and object.

For this assignment I picked my child’s rain boot. I thought it was a nice pick because of the bold colors. I took lots of pictures and I’m still not quite happy with it. I know I could do better. I will try to experiment more during the following week with different lighting, backgrounds and manual settings but for now since this is due this is what I got. I can’t wait to see everyone’s shoe looks like 🙂

The quality of the light you use determines how the subject appears. This subject was a shoe. As I changed around the lighting, the shoe would stand out even more or fade away, taking away the importance of it. I mostly used front and side lighting, and I was on and off using a white foam core. When I put the light closer to the shoe, it gave it the shoe a more pleasant tone. As I moved the light to one side, more shadows were casted on the opposite side. When I used the foam core, the photographs came out cleaner.

For my shoe, I chose my high heels I wore for my prom in my senior year of high school. As I changed the position of the light of my shoe, the shadow made the most changes throughout my shoot. My light sources are not that bright, but there are some pictures where the light shines directly on a certain spot which makes the shoe sparkle even more in that certain spot.

The studio it was a challenge because the small space in my apartment. At first I was thinking to buy a small set online but then I realized that the purpose it was to have the experience to create one from scratch. So I wnet to the hardware store and I bought the materials except the box and this is the result that I have at the end of my small studio.

For my do-it-yourself studio, I was able to use a small low table. I put a white board on the edge of the table to use for the surface. I found that the clamps where ruining my table. I didn’t want to use the clamps to ruin the table because it isn’t personally my own. Until I get a different table that will be easier to use the clamps on for the studio, I used two items to use to hold up another board instead that is used as an example for how the background will be display while I use my do-it-yourself studio. I will also use another board where I will cut out a square opening in the middle and then replace the space with parchment paper. I have a stand alone lamp that I used for the use of light. The light that is used is Tungsent light. I also have a florescent light stand as well that I can use if I’m interested in playing with the light. The lamp can be positioned in any way possible because the stem of the lamp is flexible I am able to walk around the table and move the lamp around the table and use my do-it-yourself studio. It is not displayed in the picture but I also have a small mirror for reflecting light and black foam core for blocking light. I also can use a tripod for my camera to take the photos. I am still working on it to make the studio look better to my liking but this is so far what I’ve got.

The experience I had building my DIY Studio was fun but a little stressful. The most tense time I had was when I went to Home Depot. I decided to create light stands by using 1X2X6 premium pine. Then I found the clamp lights I would use, but I had a difficult time trying to find what bulbs were appropriate. I bought several bulbs and decided to buy a sensor, because it might help me “set the mood” when taking photographs. When I finished buying some supplies. I walked out of Home Depot, my mom was in the driveway and we almost drove away, when I suddenly realized that I had forgetten the premium pine! A worker already knew I had left it and was there by the cash register, but it made me really tense because I had been walking all over Home Depot looking for supplies and then the thought of me going back to find my future light stands made me a little hectic. I later went to Best Buy and Staple. In Best Buy, I bought my very first tripod and I found it really cool because I could also use it as a monopod. I felt like trying to find the supplies made me crazier than building my DIY Studio.

When I got home, I decided to place my DIY Studio in the laundry room. There was more space and I dont have to take it apart. I set up my lights with my light stand, I used a metal zig zag to keep the light stand table and put something heavy on top. I used tracing paper and my dad helped me make a frame. I found my experience fun, my parents got to help me and it was a great bonding experience!