As usual, my day started by perusing a mile long list of blogs and feeds to see what was new and awesome on the interweb. Never one to disappoint, MAKE blog linked an article that explains how to make your own photo studio for less than $100. Although the finished product is impressive, my first reaction was $100? Surely there must be a cheaper way to take professional looking digital pictures for selling items online. OK, I was also trying to picture myself locating the seemingly long list of items necessary at Home Depot & Joann, and getting prematurely bored with the whole idea.

After a little more searching I found the Tabletop Photo Studio from Hammacher Schlemmer for $79.95. I almost always advocate the DIY method, but when the store-bought alternative is cheaper and easier, I’m sometimes forced to whip out the Paypal card. C’est la vie.

From my barely PC-literate relatives to my dot-com e-commerce buddies, I almost can’t think of anyone in my life who doesn’t sell items online at least every now and then. And since better pictures always equal better sales (and/or higher auction end prices), I’m thinking home photo studio products like this are going to become popular, and would make a very useful gift. Making a more proper photo studio for Mable’s headquarters is on our to-do list this year, but I’m still undecided as to which route we should go. If you have a solution that works well for you, please share in the comments!

UPDATE: MAKE does it again with the $10 DIY Photo Studio!

Taged as: DIY, Hammacher Schlemmer, photography

Posted by Lauren in Unique, Gadgets