People who want to start shooting products often think the first purchase is a camera. It is not. Most of the look comes from the set and the light, and both can be cheap.
The list
- A roll of white seamless paper, about 53 inches wide: around $45
- Four sheets of foam board, two white and two black: around $30
- Six spring clamps and two A-clamps: around $20
- A sheet of frosted acrylic or tracing paper for diffusion: around $15
- A second-hand continuous light with a reflector: around $80
That comes to about $190, and every piece of it is still in use at our studio.
Putting it together
Clamp the paper roll to a shelf or two chairs and let it curve down onto a table. Put the light to one side and hang the diffusion between the light and the product. Use the white boards to bounce light back into the shadows and the black boards to take light away where you want a darker edge.
Then spend on light
When you are ready to spend more, buy a better light before a better camera. A light that holds its colour and power from shot to shot improves every picture. A new camera mostly improves the ones that were already good.
Mateo LindPhotographer and founder of LeanIn
