Macro Photo Studio 1.1

Last month, in my blog “Making my own Macro photo studio”  I mentioned a few changes I would make to my studio and environment to improve the macro photography experience.

Updated Macro photo studio

Revision 1

1.) I opened up the front bottom of the Macro photo studio.  This allowed me to place the object in the studio without the problems of maneuvering it over the front lip of the box.

2.) I increased the lighting source from 40 watt to 75 watts for each bulb.  Each bulb outputs 830 lumens.

3.) I added a third light source to the top.  I improvised with a mechanics drop light.  In the future, I’ll probably get another goose neck lamp, so I can control the light direction from above.

NOTE:  in this version, I did not add velcro for the backdrop.  The backdrop I’m using which is poster board, seemed to work fine for these photos.

My Zen Garden photos

I took a few shots to see how well some of the modifications did.  I’m pretty happy with the results.  Of course my camera, Olympus C-3000 Zoom, did a pretty good job.

Zen Rock Garden (Angle shot)

Zen Rock Garden (Length shot)

Changes for Revision 2

A few more modifications I plan to make in future revisions of my Macro photo studio:

1.) Remove the floor panel, so the studio can be rotated 90 degrees for taller objects.

2.) Make side and top light diffuser walls into configurable light diffuser panels.  So, I can quickly change the light diffusing material as needed.

3.) Apply white primer to interior to improve reflectivity of light source.

Final thoughts:

 My 3x optical zoom camera didn’t do too bad with my Revision 1 Macro photo studio.  I’m sure with a 10x optical zoom the photos would have been even better.  I can’t wait until prices of digital cameras with 10x optical zoom fall into my desired level of less than $150.

How do you like my Miniature Zen garden pictures?  Please post a comment.