A Still-Life Studio in a Small Space and on a Budget

Michael Erlewine

I have a large studio about one block from my home, but I am too lazy to walk down there, heat it, turn the lights on, and spend time there. It is also just a little “lonely” for me there recently. I prefer the cramped tiny room I have right where I live.

My mini-studio is 9x14 feet in size, but that is misleading because I have shelves or cabinets on all walls, which makes the working space more like 6x12 feet, and even that is not symmetrical. It is complicated, but the idea here is that my working space is small.

Because it is so small, I have had to think carefully about what I can jam in there. And I spend enough on lenses, tripods, tripod heads, and so forth these days, so that I didn’t want to put out a small fortune on the rest of my studio equipment.

I am talking here about the various diffusers, reflectors, lights clamps, stands, and various what-not needed to do macro still-life photography in a studio.

The expensive stuff I will not go into here, but for completeness sake I am using either the Nikon D800E, the Nikon D4, or the Nikon D7000 in the studio, but mostly the D800E.

In the studio, for a tripod head I use only the Arca Cube-1, which outperforms any ball head I own. When I use a camera with a focus rail or bellows, and have a long lens like the Printing Nikkor 150mm f/2.8 APO lens, I need a very strong head. Since I frequently stack 100 layers, that head better not shift even a millimeter. The Arca Cube-1 does not move from where I set it, unlike my RSS ball heads, which always sink a tiny bit when I lock them down. For studio work, the Cube-1 can’t be beat. In the field I still usually use the RRS BH-55 ball head or sometimes its little brother, the BH-40.

I feel the same way about tripods. I have a bunch of tripods, mostly Gitzos, but in the studio I use the RRS TVC-33 Versa Series-3 tripod, with 3-sections per leg. It is sturdy enough for anything I need to do.

As for bellows and rails, I have a bunch of them, but Ionly use the Novoflex Castel-L rail and one of the two Nikon Bellows, PB-6 (with extenders) or PB-4. That being said, here is how I have solved the equation for all the other stuff I need to control light. Most of you probably already have your solutions, so this is for those just getting into it who might benefit from saving some money.

My mini-studio is based around this tall double (Anderson-style) window. I have some doily-like curtains over the lower half, but they are very sheer. I then have a 72-inch tall ¾-stop diffuser that I pretty much leave up all the time. You can see it in the photo leaning against the window.

Between the 72-inch diffuser and the subject I then have any number of smaller round diffusers, mostly Imade myself. I buy the cheap opaque diffusers off of Ebay, cut out the opaque center, and have my daughter sew on some sheer fabric I pick up at a fabric store, often Walmart. I then position these to further cut down the light.

And last I am pointing out here some sheer fabric pieces (draped/clipped) on the tips of the fiber-optic light guides, either with or without colored gels.

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Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:57 am Post subject: Studio

This view shows my three fiber-optic illuminators sitting on an inexpensive ladder-like put-it-together-yourself kit I picked up at a local shopping area. Each iIluminator is at a different height, so their light-guides can reach toward the subject areas.

Each illuminator has a dual-tip light guide. I have the option to put a colored-glass disk inside the illuminator, but I generally opt for my own little invention of using Velcro to attach small colored gels as filters. That article is here:

http://nikongear.com/live/index.php?/topic/46096-easy-way-to-use-gels-with-fiber-optics/

The tips of the light guides may or may not have sliding lenses that narrow or spread out the light bean, and to make it even more complicated I hang little pieces of sheer fabric with clamps off the light tips.

Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:57 am Post subject: Studio

A inexpensive diffuser stand is shown. As a base, I use common microphone stands with a weighted metal base that take up very little space on the floor.

I stopped using light stands, whether C-stands or the less-expensive stands with spread-out legs. They both took too much precious floor space and got in my way. The microphone stand goes straight to the floor and has a small predictable footprint. When I am moving around in the studio, I know where it is, unlike the spreading 3-point legs that can be anywhere and always in way.

On the top of the microphone stands, I have a little adapter that provides me with dual male microphone threads. On top of these I screw on inexpensive flexible goose-neck extensions, so I have two flexible arms.

On the ends of the goose-neck extensions I have small microphone spring-clamps that hold diffusers or whatever else I need. I have two of these dual stands, each with flexible arms with clamps.

Notice on the floor and for my subject I have various plastic wastebaskets and pottery crocks that I stack on each other to achieve the different heights I might need for the flowers, etc.

In the background you can see the three fiber-optic illuminators I use.

A real help are the embroidery hoops shown on the stand. These are wooden hoops that clamp together holding any kind of diffuser cloth I wish. I found very inexpensive hoops at the link below, and bought several of the 14-inch, 10-inch, 6-inch, and 3-inch hoops. Then I picked up some sheer white and black cloth at Walmart, cloth that you can see right through and lets ample light through.

Next I just made a hoop with a single piece of sheer cloth, and a second with a double layer of the cloth. I did this for all my hoop sizes and both in white and black. I then just clamp these in the stand shown above and I have two flexible arms with diffusers. As mentioned, I have two stands, so that gives me four arms. This works very, very well to limit the light on the subjects.

Embroidery Hoops
http://www.createforless.com/search/results.aspx?txtSearch=hoops

On-Stage Microphone 19-inch Gooseneck $7.95
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080KNG8/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

K&M Microphone Bar $20.37
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G43G96/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00

On-Stage MS7201B round Base Microphone Stand $21.95
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MJTZ8/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i00

On-Stage MY200 Universal Microphone Clip $5.90
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00347A44I/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i01

Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:58 am Post subject: Studio

I have a very nice (and expensive) set of Arri lights, but they are too hot, too easily burn me, and are generally a PITA, so I removed them to my main studio, which I seldom ever use.

In their place I am now using the Lowel Blender (three of them), which each have two dimmers, one for Tungsten light and the other for daylight. The two dimmers can be combined to make any mix of the light types of light I might want.

The “Blender” is small, light, cold, and easy to use. I can place gels or drape diffusing fabric (as you see here) to achieve different effects. I don’t plan to be working with hot light again anytime soon.

Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:59 am Post subject: Studio

Here are my three fiber-optics illuminators positioned on their ladder-like shelf. On the top of each one I have placed a brick wrapped in paper to help balance the light guides which reach out into the room. Without the bricks, the illuminators can get tipsy, which is not a good idea in this crowded space.

On the right you can (dimly see) the Nikoin D800E, sitting on top of the Nikoin PB-6 bellows, sitting on top of the Arca Cube-1 head, sitting on top of one of the more sturdy RRS (Really Right Stuff) tripods.

Rosco The Strobist Collection, Strobist 55 Piece Cinegel Filter Kit, 1.5x3.25" $14.68

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SWIOOM/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

Fiber-optics illuminators and dual-head light guides are available on Ebay all the time. They cost several hundred dollars for a rig and are very useful.

The fiber-optics focusing lenses for the light guides (which are not necessary) are also Ebay items, and sometimes can be had for as little as $20 each. I use Dolan-Jenner fiber-optics illuminators that take LH-755 lenses.

I have a whole slew of spring clamps. I find that the best clamps (IMO) are Wolfcraft Needle-nose precisions spring clamps (# 3431). I found them in quanity on Ebay for $4.90 for two of them. They are preferable to many other kinds of clamps since they do NOT have self-adjusting ends and have more space behind the nose to clamp around diffusers, and so on. I use these all the time.

Himself · Expire: 2013-05-30

Great set up Michael!
Excellent ideas using the mike stands and the goose neck. What clamp did you use for the goose neck?
That Arca Cube is a marvelous piece of engineering but costs more than a leg. Nothing else to sell around me to match that price.

Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject:

The clamp on the gooseneck is a common microphone clamp that can hold (by clamping) a microphone. Inexpensive. The clamp then can hold whatever we want it too, reflectors, diffusers, etc.

twinquartz · Expire: 2013-10-29

Impressive!
How about showing a photo of that yellow flower
using this exact set-up?

Michael Erlewine · Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject:

Nikon D800E, El Nikkor APO 105mm, Zerene Stacker

twinquartz · Expire: 2013-10-29

Thank you!

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

A great article! many thanks to sharing it here!

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Thanks for sharing Michael! (That dwarfs my dinky setup by magnitudes... Wink

)

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Thank you for sharing.
Awesome setup ! Shocked