Cabochon+ Photography Station
Jul 17, 2020 17:47:19 GMT -5
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Fossilman, RWA3006, and 10 more like this
Post by victor1941 on Jul 17, 2020 17:47:19 GMT -5
This is a moveable, DIY, cell phone photography setup for taking pictures of your rocks on the cheap. To create this setup, I dismantled and modified an old tripod and added a cell phone mount to stabilize my camera while taking photos. The modified tripod is attached to a 12x24in board which acts as the platform for the rock and tripod legs.
The yellow axis can be customized to determine camera distance and angle towards the board.
The blue axis is used as a pivot point and stabilizer for the red axis.
The red axis lets me move the camera closer or further from the board.
By extending the red legs and the yellow tube, I can make room for larger subjects between the camera and the board.
These three show how the different axes are connected to each other to allow movement of each single axis freely. The legs can be configured up and down in any pattern to create the desired camera position and angle.
To hold my cell phone (a new iPhone SE) that I use as my camera, I purchased a cheap cell phone tripod adapter. This is the model I use: www.amazon.com/Vastar-Universal-Smartphone-Horizontal-Adjustable/dp/B01L3B5PBI
This is how I use the setup to achieve well-lit photos with consistent framing. I manually adjust the light (OttLight brand) based on the reflections of each rock so that glare can be avoided. I choose whatever material I want as the background, which generally is a microfiber cloth, but you could use anything. In addition, I put a small spacer between the rock and the board, creating depth so that the camera can focus on the rock.
Above are some photos taken with my setup. All three are from Engle, NM from the Aleman Ranch.
This project is very easy to do and would require $20-$40 depending on your material at hand.
