This year’s indoor photoshoot was based on an idea by Derek Muller, inspired by a video on toy photography:

John, Steven, Jennifer, Joe and Liz brought in examples of their home studio setups, while members were asked to bring in small toys, vases, flowers, mirrors, rocks, shells, glass decorations, and other interesting things to photograph.

• John West brought in his photo studio tent and his collection of paperclip figures. He also showed us examples of how he sets up his studio at home with LED lights and a curved piece of card to make an infinity curve.

• Steven Beard brought in his small portable light box, which has built in LED lamps and a selection of coloured backgrounds, a dimmable LED torch and a glass globe. He also brought a selection of close-up lenses, which can be used as an alternative to a macro lens. In particular, the budget lenses can distort the edges of the frame and mimic the effect of the lenses shown in the “toy photography” video.
• Jennifer Davidson brought a lined box with backdrops, torches and lights, together with a large selection of flowers and objet d’art.
• Joe brought in some objects which cast shadows and showed how the plain white wall of the room could be used a backdrop to create some stark-looking images. Steven’s torch turned out to be useful for casting the shadows.
• Liz Sowler showed how you can make a simple, home-made light tent out of a laundry drier covered with a sheet. Objects placed inside the tent could be lit with torches shining through the entrance. Liz had brought a glass eagle which we discovered looked best when lit just by the ambient light.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. I hope our members have had the opportunity to learn from the different setups and take home a good selection of still life images.

• Next week we have our first competition of the year. David Ferguson will be visiting us to judge our Digital Projected Images competition.
• Next week is also the hand-in date for entries to the colour print competition. Please bring in 3 mounted prints and give them to George. Don’t forget to send JPEG copies of your 3 images to George as well.