03 February 2011

Making a DIY table top studio



From the outset it was my aim to make a table top studio while spending as little money as possible.

First stop was Argos.  They had a sale on their GU10 spotlamps at just £1.99 each.  I bought 8.

Next stop, Wickes to get some wood.  I needed a little bit of help from the boys and girl at Wooden Tiger to chop it up into 10cm squares.  Next was to stick the blocks together so I either had light stands 2 or 3 blocks high.  After a quick sanding and varnishing all that was left do it was to drill a hole for the cable, and attach the spotlight.

I already had a bunch of GU10 LED bulbs left over from a previous project so I didn't need to buy any, but they can be had now for around £5 each.  I have them in a variety of colours, green, blue, orange, red and of course white.

The backdrop is just a simple bit of white card.  Granted the lights aren't going to win any awards for beauty, but they do the job.

Shopping List
GU10 Spot Lights x 8 @ £1.99 each = £15.92

Wood = £5.99

Electrical Cable 50 metres (way more than required) £10.99

Plug Sockets x 8 @ £0.92 each = £7.36

GU10 LED bulb x 8 @ £5.00 each = £40.00

So for a shade over £40 (£80 if I'd have had to buy the LED bulbs again) I have myself a table top LED light studio that I can use for photographing small products.

My next DIY project is already half way assembled, a 100cm x 60cm light box.

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