Where can I get a bead stand?

[stewart castle]

I'm looking for a bead stand that I can use to photograph my beads. By this I mean something that I can slip a bead on to and the bead will be held up vertically.

Any suggestions. I need something functional.

Thanks for the help.

Leslie

[NKL]

Marcy had a tutorial linked for one here: http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...stand+tutorial

[Keith_H]

The best thing I found is an old mandrel, and something to prop it up.

A few years back Frantz Art Glass had a "Anything Goes" Bead contest. I just started working there and I had to organize and photograph a ton of beads. And they were all different styles, sizes and shapes. In order to take the photos of all of them I had to come up with an easy set up to prop the beads up.

I used one of the boxes someone shipped there bead in and stuck a bent paperclip through the bottom. I used that to support the beads. It worked okay, but it was still a hassle. I didn't like the shadows and it was hard to get enough light on the bottom of the bead with out getting getting to much light on the top.

Later I came up with an idea I still use when I take photos for Frantz Art Glass. The idea was to prop the bead up high enough so the light can equally light the top and bottom of the bead. Suspending from a wire took too long because I had to wait for it to stop moving. And if anything hit the table or moved the air it would start swaying again. So that why I prop beads up with a used old bent mandrel. It solves all those problems.


It works great because you can just slap the bead on, twist it to show the side you want and it stays fixed.

What you do is take a used mandrel and bend the tip at a 90 degree angle with some needle nose pliers. Then bend a "C" type shape in it like in the photo. Make sure the tip is pointing up. This shapes works for 2 reasons. First the "C"Shape prevents the bead from sliding down the mandrel and allowing you to easily place it how you wish. Second, due to the shape of the wire, the bottom of the wire will be out of focus. This is due to the Depth of field of the lens. So the blurry wire is out of focus and less distracting.



Oh, it does one more important thing, it raises the bead to a more comfortable level to shoot. Causing less strain on your body. I use Tinker Toys to hold the wire up. I explain how Tinker toys are the bead photographers best friend in my tutorial. They make my job so much easier.


And if you want, you can then use Photoshop or GIMP to clone out the wire and touch up the photo.


Ever since I came up with this system my photos have look a lot better, I have a lot more control of my photography and I get more done.
For some examples you should check out my online gallery.

[ewdb]

i just use polymer clay or plasticine and mold it to prop the bead upright from an angle that doesn't show to the camera

[GlassyEyedGirl]

I used a piece of sterling. Could have edited it out *if* I were better with photoshop. Sigh. Maybe someday!

[Cosmo]

I have a little 1" square piece of wood that I drilled a hole into and stuck a mandrel in. Then painted the wood black.

[Moth]

You can make one out of glass. I have a freebie tutorial for it on my site.

www.marylockwood.com/tutorials

Here is a direct link to the actual pdf file:

http://www.marylockwood.com/files/standtutorial.pdf

[Bluejeangirlnc]

I've loved the ones I got from Aimee at Polychrome Beads. Here's a link to her store: http://www.polychromebeads.com/catal...9dee33cf0acaed

[beadgal]

Me too, I just ordered more last night. Her bead stands are great!!

[Moth]

wow, those are SWEET! I had no idea anything like that was available and such good prices too.

Love the sphere one and the arch makes me wish I made sets!

[debim]

Amazingly fast shipping and service from Aimee! I love mine.

[Bluejeangirlnc]

I don't see it on her page now, but I ordered an arched stand from her that allowed me to hang the bird beads I did on it without having to wrap them as pendants.

Here's a pic of the bird hanging from it, I thought I had one of the stand... apparently not.

[PolychromeBeads]

Hi everyone - thanks for saying such nice things about our stands!! We are pretty behind on getting some of them back in stock after we moved, and the Crescent Moon stand (the one Wendy mentioned) is one of those that requires a bit more workspace. Here's a pic:


We're also waiting on some parts that get shipped from the East coast.

Thanks for the support!


Aimee

[Bluejeangirlnc]

I love the crescent stand because the ball chain length is completely adjustable and it makes it so much easier to photograph beads that need a place to hang.

Thanks again Aimee!