You can buy an isolation lightbox off amazon. Mine came with mini-seamless backdrops. The other option is photographing from above on a white surface with a flash diffuser.

Look at www.redwillowfabrics.com for an example of the latter.

I use this lightbox: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_QFT9VPGGG7JPRPDVP6MG

Well that is what I said when I got my first printer. Now I don’t use PLA at all, I print only PETG and ABS and even built a Voron for special materials only printing. If you get into design your own stuff you will find very soon that a 3D printer is a very powerful tool and know what material to use depending of the project and be able of use that material is very important. You will get there, only PLA is a very limiting in many ways.

Btw.. ABS is not that hard to use. Get a photo booth like this one:

Neewer 24x24 inch/60x60 cm Photo Studio Shooting Tent Light Cube Diffusion Soft Box Kit with 4 Colors Backdrops (Red Dark Blue Black White) for Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_GNHYSC9VH7KVGSQC22GJ

Put your Prusa inside and you got all you need to print with ABS.

I had similar issues and came to a solution. Let me take the educated guess, that your lightbox has LED lights in its roof? This led to me to consistent overexposed minis and very harsh shadows. Generally you want to avoid direct light on your mini. For really great pictures you want a box made of a light transparent fabric which diffuses the light and separately one or two very bright daylight lightsources.

Link attached may give you an idea: https://www.amazon.de/Neewer-Fotostudio-Lichtwürfel-Soft-Box-Set-Hintergründe/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=asc_df_B00GKGGICC/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=308747277000&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11138312501859925189&hvpone=&h...

Thank you!! As for the light box I got one from Amazon, it's all white and it comes with different colored backdrops but I just went to Walmart and got a felt one. The material that come with the kit kinda suck lol

Neewer 24x24 inch/60x60 cm Photo Studio Shooting Tent Light Cube Diffusion Soft Box Kit with 4 Colors Backdrops (Red Dark Blue Black White) for Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gylDCbRY8VVMN

I just picked up a cheap light box but I'm struggling to find some poster board that would go well with it. Ideally looking for one white, one black, 24" wide and up to 30" in height, I'd think, to suit the dimensions of the box and to reach beneath the model itself.

Amazon is being... less than helpful, as it's recommending completely unrelated products pr $60 sheets of cardboard. Any recommendations?

A photo tent like this one will do quite a bit :D And it's also really great no matter what to keep drafts off your prints and protect the printer from dust.
Personally I prefer the shower curtain tent because it's easier to access the printer, but to make that you need PVC pipes, magnets and a sewing machine. Alternatively, a real enclosure like a box of plexiglass or something will be even better. You can even put accoustic foam on the "walls" to further dampen it :D

Start with the feet though - you can print those out right now, and PLA is perfectly fine :D

I've been using my Sony A7RII since its my favorite camea witha 24-105 f/4 lens. Its a pricy set up but I've been doing photography for other things. I'd recommend either the sony a6000 or a5100 really good lightweight camera's paired with a 50mm 1.8 You'll get great photo's for a budget. even a good smartphone like the Iphone x or my favorite the google pixel 2 you can get a really nice shot. a photobooth can be simple you can buy one on amazon for ~$20 or get creative and use whats around you for a dynamic setting. Lighting goes hand in hand with the booth setting natural light is great but if you buy the booth off amazon use led bulbs on lamps and shine it through each side of the booth for even lighting.

Just a friendly suggestion:

Try putting your subject inside a light tent like this for optimal shadow free lighting:

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Shooting-Diffusion-Backdrops-Photography/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1526234323&sr=8-5&keywords=light+tents+for+photography

Beautiful.

Here's a cheap lightbox I picked up from Amazon a few days ago. I got the 24"x24" because I'm bad at reading, but there's a few smaller ones that are pretty well priced.

You don't need a fancy lens. You need a light box.

Some high-CRI fluorescent bulbs or off-camera flashes and you're set.

Mod list to make this happen

Mainboard: MKS Gen L V1.3(or any mainboard of choice that can run external stepper drivers, like the SKR board)

Stepper drivers: TMC2208

Hotend and mainboard fans: Noctua 4010 12v. You can serial connect them or you can use buck converters to get to 12v. Keep in mind that serial connecting means you can't enable the auto hotend fan to start only after 50 degrees

PSU fan: This fan cover actually worked really well. Alternatively you can make a control box with the mainboard and the PSU all cooled by a large, quiet Noctua fan(or 2 serial connected)

Stepper dampers: No. Do not install stepper dampers if you run TMC2208s, they are obsolete and you get better motor cooling without dampers. You won't ruin your motos overnight, so dampers aren't a terrible thing, but your motors will theoretically last longer without. Add dampers only if you don't use silent stepper drivers as dampers DO work a lot without the drivers

Optional: If you still want to remove that last sliver of noise, you can print dampening feet for your printer. It looks silly, but they work a LOT. If you don't run an almost airtight enclosure like this one, I strongly suggest these. Just make sure the surface below your printer is very stable, that's why I added a very heavy garden stone below my enclosure

Googly eyes: These will keep eyes on your cooling, making sure your Whimsymeter doesn't drop below "Delightful"

All of the above mods make a huge impact on noise levels, ESPECIALLY the drivers. And to finish it all off, a closed, almost airtight enclosure like the one I built here will remove most of the noise you get from your part cooling blower. I have the 5015 blower on mine and can only actually hear it if I really listen for it. If you don't want an enclosure like this, a photo tent off Amazon works as a draft catcher, temperature increaser and does kind of muffle sound a little. Enclosures are always a good idea, be they LACK table enclosures, acrylic cubes or photo tents

$20 for a stack of cut acrylic? You've got to do a much better job at explaining the value proposition here. Especially when the average person is not going to have any idea what it is you're selling.

Also - pictures, pictures, pictures. The average person will spend 5 seconds on your website tops, read 1 sentence (the heading), look at the pics, and leave. Your pictures look like they were taken in your backyard in the dark. Go buy:

One of these pop up studios: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer%C2%AE-Shooting-Diffusion-Backdrops-Photography/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1474099811&sr=1-1&keywords=pop+up+photo+booth
3 of these clamp lamps: https://www.amazon.com/Woods-8-5-Inch-Reflector-150-Watt-6-Foot/dp/B000HHQ94C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474099983&sr=8-1&keywords=Clamp+Light+with+Grip+work+light+reflector
And a pack of these daylight bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/EcoSmart-5000K-Spiral-Daylight-4-Pack/dp/B0042UN1U0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1474100072&sr=8-3&keywords=daylight+bulb
And download paint.net (or torrent photoshop) to edit your photos. You want amazon style photos - big, bright, clear, no/white background, and great detail.

Also, work on your shopify website. Spend a few hours - its not hard to modify an existing theme to look good. You need some color and a more clean layout. The site does not look professional. Why would a customer trust you if your store front looks amateur? They'll leave before they even look at your products.

If you believe in this niche, great. Make the website slick, get good pictures, think about why YOU would purchase these and write up some good copy, and then go drum up some business by participating in a related forum / subreddit / listserv / whatever. Is this actually a problem people need solving? You'll find out.

P.S. I know those blacklight photos look cool and all, but do your customers actually care? Are you going to use this product under blacklight? If not, you're probably turning off anyone older than highschool age.

P.P.S. Stop referring to yourself as cardistry-cards in the copy. The hyphen isn't doing you any favors. Shorten to CC or Cardistry if you're even going to do the 3rd person thing.

You can pretty much get away with a cheap tripod from amazon, depending on your set-up (cheap DSLR, or even a mid-range smartphone w/ a decent camera).

For lighting, you essentially need about 2-3 desk lamps that are shine at your model. If you do a 2-lamp setup, you set both lamps shining at your kit at a 45 degree angle, have one light closer to your model (main light) and one farther away (fill light). You may also checkout this guide from u/Saint-ism that goes into way more details: http://www.saint-ism.com/2017/08/gunpla-photography-lighting/

Backdrops are important - it keeps the focus on your model and reflect some light back, allowing for more clarity in your shorts. You CAN get away with simply using a white construction paper as your backdrop, but you can also buy a relatively cheap light tent on amazon for ~$20 USD. https://smile.amazon.com/Neewer-Shooting-Diffusion-Backdrops-Photography/dp/B00GKGGICC/ref=sr_1_6_acs_ac_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1534736268&sr=1-6-acs&keywords=light+tent should fit most MG kits.

If you don't intend to spend a lot of money on equipments like these, simply 2 desk lamps should already make your pictures look significantly better. The desk lamps may need a white cloth wrap over it to help "diffuse" the light so it shines evenly on your model and prevents harsh lighting. Feel free to PM me, I am more than happy to help you figure out what you need.

Hopefully the painting lol

BUT, if you're interested in maybe trying to up your photo game, here is a copy/paste about my photo setup:

My photo setup isn't super fancy. In fact the only really "expensive" or "specialized" piece is a DSLR camera with a Macro Lens. My camera is a Pentax Kx. It's was a mid-level DSLR when it came out, in 2009 😆 So you camera doesn't need to be the newest/bestest. I'm using a 100mm Macro/Portrait lens which is the most "specialize" part of the setup. These days, however, you can get away with a nice camera phone in a lot cases.

I'm using a cheap light box and a pair of cheap lights https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKGGICC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8FBZC2

I put the lights about 2 ft from the light box, on the left and right and turn off all of the other lights in room. I set the camera to "Av" mode, lock the ISO low (400ish), and set the F-stop to a level that gives me the depth of focus I want (ie: how much of the image depth is crisp and how much is blurry), usually somewhere between 9 and 14.

The last key element is that I use a cheap tripod and I set the camera to have a 2 second delay between the button push and the time the photo takes. This lets the minor vibrations from pushing the button dissipate before the photo takes.

The exposure time will be long with the low ISO, low light, and likely high F-stop: 2-30s

You'll need to take some test photos to make adjustments. Depth of focus can be adjusted with F-stop. Brightness can be adjusted with "Exposure Correction".

It sounds complicated but, with a little experimentation you'll start to understand the ins and outs.

Here is a pic of my setup (but with the room lights on so you can see it): https://i.imgur.com/OPnO6HP.jpg

when shooting chrome you probably want to aim your flash up at the ceiling and let it bounce. Or put the object in a white box.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Shooting-Diffusion-Backdrops-Photography/dp/B00GKGGICC

I'm using a cheap light box and a pair of cheap lights https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKGGICC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8FBZC2

My camera is a Pentax Kx. It's was a mid-level DSLR when it came out, in 2009 😆

I'm using a 100mm Macro/Portrait lens which is probably the most "specialize" part of the setup.

I put the lights about 2 ft from the light box, on the left and right and turn off all of the other lights in room. I set the camera to "Av" mode, lock the ISO low (400-800), and set the F-stop to a level that gives me the depth of focus I want (ie: how much of the image depth is crisp and how much is blurry), usually somewhere between 9 and 14.

The last key element is that I use a cheap tripod and I set the camera to have a 2 second delay between the button push and the time the photo takes. This lets the minor vibrations from pushing the button dissipate before the photo takes.

The exposure time will be long with the low ISO, low light, and likely high F-stop: 2-30s

You'll need to take some test photos to make adjustments. Depth of focus can be adjusted with F-stop. Brightness can be adjusted with "Exposure Correction".

It sounds complicated but, with a little experimentation you'll start to understand the ins and outs.

Here is a pic of my setup (but with the room lights on so you can see it): https://i.imgur.com/OPnO6HP.jpg

Here is a collage of my results: https://steamforge.net/photos/upload/2020/08/01/20200801132834-0c4db4c3.png

The things I suggest to quiet your printer down a LOT:

Mainboard with TMC2208 stepper drivers(or the Creality silent board as you already ordered that, same drivers if memory serves). Keep in mind, once you install this, you can remove your stepper dampers as they are made obsolete by the new drivers(and you should to keep your motors living longer because they get less hot without dampers)
Noctua 4010 fans for your mainboard and your hotend - remember to buy buck converters to step the voltage down to 12v, the converters are cheap. You need a multimeter to set the voltage right, but you also need one to set your stepper driver VRef right so you probably have one already
A rubber or foam mat to go under your printer. This sounds obsolete but I swear it makes a huge difference. You can get those thin foam mats you put under new floorboards to make them somewhat silent to walk on. A hardware store selling floorboards will also sell these foam mats, but you can also just use EVA foam mats
The PSU cover already linked here(or a larger silent fan to do it further)
These printable dampening feet do more than you expect. You can print them out of PLA no issue, but they will start to die in a couple of months. But they're a super cheap print and they last for quite a while
A tent enclosure is a good idea for several reasons, but it also definitely helps with sound, although not as much as a cabinet enclosure. I built one out of PVC pipes and a shower curtain before my acrylic enclosure, but this photo tent off of Amazon will work really well - it was even suggested by Prusa as a cheap, no-work enclosure in their enclosure blog. Only issue is you will need a spool mount on the side of your printer as the tent isn't tall enough to support the(admittedly also inferior) top mounted spool
Consider your blower fan. It is tempting to look at the Petsfang V2 with the 5015 blower fan and think "Yass, need!!!", but keep in mind that the 5015 blower is significantly noisier than the(inferior) stock one. This is where you decide if better cooling is worth the noise