Photo products


Hey guys! I wanted to share with you what products I use to take my photos. I'm extremely frugal, I like to spend as little money as possible with the most outcome. Right now I am extremely happy where I am photo wise. So let's just get right into it. 

My camera is a second hand camera I bought from Kijiji, it's basically a Canadian Craig's List. The camera is a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V. I personally love this camera. Sadly it does have a chip on the left side of the lens so when I take nail pictures, I keep my hand to the right side. Which is fine since I square crop my photos for instagram anyways. 
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V

I thought I could never do marcos because of the camera I have. However I figured I'd buy some cheap macro lenses from Amazon & just try it out. The ones I ended up purchasing are the Neewer 58MM Macro Lens Set, which contains 4 lenses. I actually decided to screw them all together & use them that way. So what I actually do is zoom in a bit on the camera, so there's no shadow from it, & hold the lenses there, while pushing the button at the same time. 
Neewer 58MM Macro Lens Set
Neewer 58MM Macro Lens Set
Neewer 58MM Macro Lens Set
Neewer 58MM Macro Lens Set

And for the reason above I decided I needed a tripod so I got the Targus TG-GT6010 Grypton Tripod specifically because it was the cheapest. It works great, can't complain. 


Next is the lights, I use currently use four different lights, because we all know different lights show things differently. So I have been trying out a ton of different set ups & lights, so here's where I'm at. 

Set up #1:
Two ottlite lamps, here's the exact two lamps I have. I position them so they lights are beside each other, that way I have a line of light on each side of the nail or kind of beside each other, they show multichrome shifts well. Reference photo below.
Two ottlite lamps
Two ottlite lamps

Two ottlite lamps
Two ottlite lamps

Set up #2:
This one I bought due to a recommendation by Simone from @whatonegirlloves. This is the Philips LED PAR30L Daylight bulb. It's extremely bright, & shines sort of like a spot light, so I recommend having it about 15-20 inches away from where you hold your hand. Absolutely fantastic for holographic polishes!

Philips LED PAR30L Daylight bulb
Philips LED PAR30L Daylight bulb
Philips LED PAR30L Daylight bulb


Set Up #3:
It's just a regular Ottlite bulb in a desk lamp, I like this one for creme finishes, creme finishes with particles in it, it's also decent for holographic finishes. Also fantastic for when I do macro shots. 
Ottlite bulb
Ottlite bulb
Ottlite bulb
Ottlite bulb

Anyways... I hope all of this helps you! It's taken me a long time to figure out the set up I have now. I extremely happy with where I'm at photo wise. So maybe it'll help you in some sort of way or even make it easier for you, in your "nail photography" career!

Thank you so much for reading!!

Anita xo!

3 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I found this. I started an instagram for my nails but I've been roadblocked by the picture quality. I have no means to spend big money on a camera and lights so this really helps me a lot! Thank you! I do have one question: do you take the pictures within a lightbox?

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    1. I am pleased to hear this! Thank you for expressing your appreciation. I do use a light box, however it's just to keep the light in. It's rather big so my Ottlite lamps go inside it. & since the ottlite lamps already have thin plastic to defuse the light I don't have to put them on the outside.

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