“Back in the day” when I was in the lighting business we used to address both professional and non-professional lighting requirements. One of the biggest issues with professional lighting equipment was the cost. That should be no surprise. In many instances there were, and still are, methods for lighting objects for photography using common equipment that could be found at home or in the local big box stores.
Recently an artist asked me about lighting sculpture for photography without breaking the bank. Calling upon by ancient knowledge of the trade I created the document that you see below. It might be useful for others interested in taking pictures of sculptures, models, or other small objects.
A word of caution: Note that this document discusses using everyday objects that are not originally intended for photography. Be very careful and use common sense. Don’t do anything that could cause injury or fire.