Quick and Dirty Sweep by Johnfilmboy
(Tuesday, March 15, 2005)
| | For those of you new to or unfamiliar with studio photography, a "sweep" is any kind of paper that is draped in a quarter circle. Usually you have these two things called autopoles that are like large shower curtain rods with hooks on the middle of them (adjustble for height). They are placed vertically between the ceiling and the floor and another rod is placed horizontally in between these two autopoles, on the hooks. Then you can tape or clamp a large sheet of paper on that horizontal rod, and "sweep" the paper down and toward the camera until it drapes along the floor. Why do this? Because it is a way of getting a consistent background with no corners. Because of the gradual sweep of the paper, you can have shades of light changing with elevation in a gradual pattern that is very pleasing to the eye. Sweeps when you get down to it can be made very huge and expensively (if you are shooting pics of the new Maybach), or can be made quick and dirty and small for table top shooting (like I did with my flora shots). So how did I do this? I have attached pics to this thread that should help you visualize my setup. In a nutshell, I am using a 3' x 3' sheet of paper (in this case, matte board), that I have curved into a 1/4 circle and supported so that it won't pop out straight, as thick board has a tendency to do. I was looking for anything around the house to do this and happened to find a small drafting table (lap top kind of small), which I used to hold down the top of the matte board. This worked very well, but I ended up using a small sandbag to help keep everything in place. Again, see the attached pics for more info. I placed the whole thing onto my large drafting table, but any table will do. The reason I used a drafting table was because it has a small adjustable lip on the end of it to keep pencils from rolling off onto the floor. So one end of the matte board is propped up against this lip. Don't have a lip? Use a pair of pony clamps. These rubberized clamps can be obtained at any hardware store and are very inexpensive. For lighting, if you want to do long exposures or don't have a flash or have slower lenses, you are going to need "hot lights", which are just regular color-balanced lights (tungsten or daylight balanced). If you can't afford ARRI, then be resourceful. Use a reliable desk lamp, one that can handle some extra wattage, and buy some nice bulbs. The attached pics shows some of the bulbs I have in my overhead fixtures. I got them at Handy Andy or Menards (US hardware stores) for about $8USD to $12USD. The beautiful thing about these bulbs is that they have a small fresnel lens on the front of them. Not adjustable or anything, but they come in different softnesses, different angles of light projection (from 20 degrees to 180 degrees approx.), and are clearly labeled on the box as to the kind of light quality you will get. They are very clear, easy to use, and built like a $12 lightbulb should be. Very very rugged. In the past, I have placed these bulbs in various fixtures and have gotten very different lighting effects with them. $12 might seem like a lot of money to spend on a bulb, especially since you will need more than one to get different lighting effects, but they are a lot cheaper than buying a nice ARRI or Mole light with a fresnel on the front. Plus if the bulb burns out, replace it for $8 - $12 instead of $20-$200. You are way ahead of the game. Again, these lights are best for table top shooting. I wouldn't show up to do a room scene with a table top lamp. Not gonna work as well. And not too impressive to a client. But I did use these lights to shoot armiture animations when I was in college. People were very impressed with the quality of the images, and asked me what kind of pro lights I had rented to do the shooting. he he he. So I hope this helps you guys out. Some of us out there are just scraping along and can't afford the newest Nikkor $1500 lenses. And we have to make do with our imagination and resourcefulness. I come from a background of shooting independent films and low budget/no budget videos where this kind of resourcefulness is not only necessary, but welcomed. The world of photography doesn't seem as open to these sorts of "cheap alternative ideas" but I think it should be. It seems like the moment that "pro" or even "photographic" is applied to an accessory or an instrument, the price goes way up. I saw a level that attaches to your hot shoe. All it does is tell you if your camera is level. Cost like $24!! Should have been $0.24. So stay resourceful! And best of luck to you guys out there. Thanks for the interest in my shooting techniques. If I can think of anything else, I'll post it. Now, if you would like to buy my Professional Photographers Home Sweep Kit, please send $400 to...Just kidding.
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Posted in Posted by cheewooi at 7:02 AM
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