How to lazily light your figures

Lazily. That's the operative word for this guide.

If you can't afford (or haven't bought) a decent lighting setup yet, then I guess this is also the guide for you.

In other words, this is a cheap solution in setting up your figures for a decent photo.

This is the setup I almost always use when I do not want to bother arranging lamps and other stuff for about 20 minutes just to take an image. Yes, lazy.

Here are the things you'll need:

1. A table where you're going to set your lights up. If don't have a free table around, you can use the floor. Just be prepared to lie on your stomach for quite a bit.
2. A bristol board or any large sheet of paper (you can use cloth/textile) to use as the base and background of your figure.
3. A 32-watt fluorescent lamp.
4. A couple of rods.
5. A couple of boards or large boxes to serve as light reflectors.

A tripod is not required, but it certainly can be a big help, especially for those with shaky hands.

I'll skip the narratives on how to set this up and just show the pic --

For the complete notes, just click on the image above.

Here's the result --

By the way, secure the lamp and aluminum rods safely to the boxes on the left and the right. I made the mistake of not fastening them at all. As I was adjusting the background for a different angle, the lamp fell and broke into a gazillion pieces. That happened within an hour of taking the photo above. Oh well, great luck!