Home-Made Photographic Copying Stand
Secures Good Light on Small Objects
The difficulties of bad lighting on small articles can be entirely avoided by the use of a suitable support for the camera, the object and the background. For illustrations it is often an advantage to show an object with a perfectly plain background and no deep shadows. When using the stand as illustrated this is a very simple matter. Figure 1 shows the side, and Fig. 2 the front view of this stand. The stand is very easily constructed from pipe and pipe fittings. The main pipe of the stand will need to be of proper length to suit the focus of your camera. This can be determined by finding the length from the lens to the object after the bellows are extended to their full length. The arms holding the glass, as shown in the sketch, should be set at a point about the middle of the main tube. The cross that holds the middle arms should be 3/4 in. one way and 1/2 in. the other. This will allow for adjustment of the glass table. A small set screw provided in the back of this cross will hold the table in any position desired. The pipes and other connections are all 1/2-in. and the lengths of the pipes are made suitable for the size of the camera. When a small object is to be photographed it is placed upon the glass table and the background fastened to the board. In this manner small objects can be photographed without any deep shadow on one side. The bottom cross and ells should be corked so as to prevent any slipping and damage to the floor.