Build An Indoor Toy Photo Studio For Less Than $30
You may have seen some of my more elaborate toy photo setups in my home studio. I have about $20,000 worth of gear. BUT…
If you really wanted to do this super affordably, you can do it with less than $30.
(This assumes you have a camera — even if it’s just a smart phone that will work. This also assumes you have a kitchen table, work desk or other flat surface measuring at least 4' x 4' feet.)
Start with a light source:
You can use any old lamp but this one is less than $6.00 and I know at least two photographers who use it and love it. It’s available on Amazon and despite the long name, it’s easy to use — it’s the Energetic Desklamp with Clamp, Non-Dimmable Clip Light for Bed and Desk, 4000K Cool White, 3.5W 240 LM Flexible Gooseneck lamp.
Then add a set of bounce cards:
Light Reflector Cardboard 2 Pack 11x 16 Inch Photography Light Diffuser for Food Product Still Life Photo Shooting, Black/ Silver/ White Thick Paper Board
It’s important to note that these bounce cards come with black, silver and white sides. This allows you to construct what looks like a tent (tipped on its side) and that small space within the “tent” is your studio.
Then all you need to do is take your desk lamp and bounce it into one of the white or silver bounce cards and back onto your subject. Play around with different angles. Move the light closer for soft light or further away for more directional — harsh light.
If you have a way to steady your camera (this can be something as simple as a book to sit it on) then you don’t need a lot of light and your images will look just as cool as mine because at the end of the day it’s all about how you use the light — not what it costs.
In the example I am showing here — I happen to be using a LumeCube 2.0 directly above the subject but it could just as easily be the desk lamp I have linked to in this article. You can see how I set up the bounce cards to control the light.
CONCLUSION
Toy photography is supposed to be fun. It can be educational as well. If you work with the setup I’ve described here, you can move the light and the bounce cards in thousands of different configurations to get many different looks. Give it a try. If I can do it you can do it.
And remember, toys are joy.
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