set up for table top studio?

im planning on getting more into stock and microstock shooting since i dont have much time away from the house to shoot. it'll give me something to do while stuck in the house. i have multiple sized light tents but am unsure on how to light them. i dont want to spend much in case i dont stick with it but want to be able to take some good shots. i have some speedlights with umbrellas and stands from my strobist setup (that i didnt stick with:o) not sure how well that would work? i'd really like to have some sort of continuos lighting even if it is just some flourescent clamp on's if that would work. when i use the off camera flashes and all that i spend more time setting up and dialing in than i have to shoot so i end up setting up for an hour and shooting for 10 mins. what can i get by with for a small 18" light tent? how many? also what are people using for backdrops in these things? the backdrops mine came with are trash.

i've also got a 430ex and a mr-14ex ring flash if that matters.

Hi
Have you got anything to trigger them?
If so go here and read through.
https://photography-on-the.net …281524&highligh​t=lightbox
I knocked up a quick one and got pleasant results.

How hard can it be? Shoot with one light at the side & see how you like it.
Shoot with one light at each side & see how you like it.
Shoot with one light at the top & see how you like it.
Try other variations. When you find a set-up that you like, back off & take a shot of it so you can remember what you did.

And if the tents don't give you what you want, look at the knife & Browning threads here for some more interesting lighting:
FAQ - Studio Lighting
One of them shows an example using just one light source.

It sounds like the knowledge is really lacking, not the equipment. Practice with what you have before you buy more. Two speedlites and stands and a light box is more than enough to do some simple product stuff. I prefer to shoot the speedlites through an umbrella / softbox. I use the cheap Steve Kaeser brolly boxes, ~$38 for two.

Ideally you want another speedlite for the back as well, but it's not necessary.

Have you ever shot microstock before, or tried to sell microstock? It's pretty difficult. Don't think you can just take a photo of cereal in a light tent and mark it as "breakfast", and microstock companies are going to approve it. They're very picky about what they accept, and with a everyone and their brother doing microstock, they get to be that way.

There are also forums dedicated exclusively to microstock shooting, so I'd definitely read up there. Why not start out using what you have, and then when you get your first couple shots accepted by a microstock site, look into purchasing new gear?

+1 for that solid advice Brandon!

i guess i should have worded my post better. i wasnt asking where to put the lights but more what sort of lighting i should use to start out. for speedlites i have a old sunpack 383? i think it is, a 430ex and the macro ring light but im guessing im not going to want to use the ring light?

as for the stock photos are hard thing. im not expecting to make much if any money from this. its just a reason to keep me shooting. with my life im stuck at home alot and dont get to shoot as much as i'd like. having the photos accepted is enough for me and so far i've gotten accepted at alamy. this is a hobby for me and i havent been shooting enough to justify the equipment i have to myself.

Honestly.
Go through the advice. The look is upto you. Take a photo in a lightbox with top light and fill from the front and see.
The thread I mentioned is dedicated to that.
I would say try the advice then post.

ok so i sat it up and what would you know there had to be atleast one problem and this one happened to be my ebay trigger's battery is dead and is a weird one so i gotta wait to buy one to use the 383. i didnt let that stop me though. i set up a lamp with a 26w flo bulb above the tent pointing down, 430ex off to the right front corner of the tent pointing through the side aimed at the top of the tent set as a slave. on the camera i used the 60mm 2.8 macro and m4-14ex ring flash using the ring flash to trigger the 430ex. 430ex set to 1/4 power, mr-14ex set to -3 camera settings were f11 1/250s iso 100 awb handheld. on the camera lcd im very happy with the results ill post a couple when i upload. for now im looking for more stuff to shoot with it. thanks for the advice

forgot i used the junk white wrinkly shiney textured backdrop that came with the tent but used computer printing paper to set the items on to get rid of the texture.

ok here are the first shots from the tent. these are cropped and/or resized only other than that they are straight out of camera.

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I do not know if you have seen this DIY Lightbox but it may be beneficial to you as well.

Take a look here: http://www.youtube.com …qGgHjNc&NR=1&fe​ature=fvwp and here: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=EQBVSGBBiNk

In fact in you go through the first few parts of the channel you'll get lots of very useful tips. Last year I made some tabletop stands just as he described.

a couple more

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Really? In #1, the blacks in the nozzle aren't black & overall contrast is low.