{"id":5096,"date":"2011-09-12T10:11:49","date_gmt":"2011-09-12T14:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/?p=5096"},"modified":"2017-07-13T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T17:48:09","slug":"behind-the-scenes-my-new-photo-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/behind-the-scenes-my-new-photo-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"behind the scenes: my new photo studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you entered my contest<\/a> to win your choice of Vanna’s Choice yarns and a PlanetJune pattern? It’s open until Thursday – don’t forget to get your entry in!<\/em><\/p>\n

I thought you might like to see my new photo studio and a glimpse behind the magic (ha!) that goes into my crochet pattern photos. Things have changed for the better since I last showed you my light tent setup<\/a> and tutorial photography setup<\/a>. My photo setup in Canada included 2 swing lamps and 2 goose-neck lamps (all with daylight bulbs) and my light tent:<\/p>\n

\"craft
\nLight tent in the good old days<\/em><\/p>\n

It worked well, and I was happy with it. The only problem was when I made something too large to photograph in the light tent (e.g. Reepicheep<\/a>, dinosaur group shots<\/a>): then I had to fall back on the (thankfully) good natural light in my craft room and wait for a bright, overcast afternoon to give me the right conditions to shoot in daylight.<\/p>\n

My new craft room has no natural light to speak of – our house is on one level, the windows are small, and there are trees right outside my window, so it’s dim inside on even the sunniest day. (I’m sure this will be a blessing in the heat of the South African summer!) <\/p>\n

\"craft
\nPretty view, but dark interior<\/em><\/p>\n

As I couldn’t bring my old lamps with me (wrong voltage), I had to sell them all before I left and buy everything again at this end. There’s no IKEA or equivalent here, and 4 lamps and 4 bulbs at South African prices was not an appealing prospect. I also couldn’t find those daylight-coloured bulbs anywhere…<\/p>\n

All these factors made a perfect excuse to upgrade my setup and invest in some professional lighting. I found an excellent local photographic shop, Studio22<\/a>, who helped me to find a pro lighting solution that was within my budget. I bought 2 light stands, 2 fluorescent lamp heads (each with 2 sockets), 4x38W daylight bulbs (expensive, but they should last for years), and 2 translucent white umbrellas.<\/p>\n

\"planetjune
\nThe new setup<\/em><\/p>\n

And oh, what a difference! <\/p>\n