Simple collapsible product photography rig

Here's an easy table saw project that breaks down into a set of flat panels for storage and transport.

Materials:

- 1 plastic light panel as a flash diffuser, available at your local hardware store or TAP plastics
- a 2 foot by 4 foot piece of white flexible plastic from TAP for the continuous backdrop
- (optional) 2 foot by 4 foot piece of adhesive-backed anti-reflective black flocking material, to stick on the back of the white plastic, making the backdrop black/white reversible
- about 2 feet by 5 feet of 3/4" cabinet-grade plywood

Table saw blades are about 1/8" thick, which is perfect to create the slots for the diffuser panels. I cut a slot about 1/4" deep to hold the upright piece of plywood. That slot has to be just the right width in order to hold the upright rigid. If you want something more secure, it's easy to cut two 1" wide, 2 foot long strips and put them on either side of the slot to effectively make it much deeper.

I used solid birch for the top and front slots that hold the backdrop in place, but plywood would work just as well.