... that really isn't professional at all~

Hihi everyone! Now, I've been asked a few times by various people and furs about what my setup is or what my photo studio is like since I guess I take some really nice pictures or something, so I promised to take a picture of what I use to show just how cheap a setup I run!

I will start off by saying that no, this is not everything, but it's almost everything. What you can't see is the second light/diffuser setup or my camera, which should be obvious as to why. XD

Camera: Panasonic Lumix ZS19

Usual Camera Setting: Set to SCN mode, then HDR. Then I hit the Q.Menu button on the bottom right of the camera, go to White Balance and set that to Incandescent

Lighting: The always super important lighting! Which is about as cheap as you can get! I use 2.. I think they're 8" clamp lights I bought at Walmart. Don't recall the price, but they were less than $10 each.

Light Bulb: I use GE Reveal 100w light bulbs. You can use other bulbs, but the important part is to use "real," "daylight," "full spectrum" or whatever else they're calling it these days. Usually not cheap bulbs, but they're super important for showing true color(s) of whatever you're taking pictures of.

Light Diffuser: Now the real deal light diffusers aren't cheap, or at least I couldn't find any that were. Which is what lead me to snooping around the net to see if there was a cheaper way, and there was. This was also put up on many different forums/areas/web pages so obviously it's not just a fluke: pantyhose. Yes, pantyhose. White pantyhose to be specific. Now there are many makers and types of pantyhose, but what's important is that they're white. This is only just the first part, though. Next, you need something to use as a form. Something big enough to cover your light. For me, I used a couple old badminton rackets to which I unstrung them, cut the handles off, and reshaped to be more of a circle than an oval. Then I just stretched/slide a leg of the pantyhose over it and cut off the extra. Then I bought a tube of those lil plastic clamps at a discount store (was Marc's up here in Ohio, but the clamps are cheap and can be found most places) to attach the diffuse to the rim of the light. See? Simple and cheap! =D

Tripod: Another Walmart purchase was a tiny lil tripod. Now, I have a full sized tripod as well, but this is just easier to get out and store. But in all honesty, you don't really need one if you have steady paws, which kinda don't for the most part. =/

Backdrop: Something so simple, yet often overlooked is a backdrop. You can use just about anything for this, and sometimes it's best not to use one at all (like if you're outside or various other instances). For me, I just used a piece of Monterrey Mills White Fox faux fur I had lying about (still have about ~10 yds of it in a box too) from back when I was trying my paws at making ears and tails for people~

Well, I hope this helps at least a few out there. Granted my setup is far from professional, but it was cheap and at least for me, it works! What more could you ask for?

>^.^<