Hi so I finally have decided to move on to using a photography stand for cons. But I am having a really hard time finding one that can actually fit in a suitcase and is sturdy enough to be reused. Are you still using the stand that you recommended in your original post? The amazon reviews seem to suggest that with most of these stands its a crapshoot coin flip of either getting a functional or non-functional stand. Or that it breaks after 3 uses. So just wondering what you suggest. Thank you!
Yes, I’m actually still using the photo stand I suggested in my original tutorial post (it’s been about 2 years of 5 - 6 cons a year) but I have to say it’s starting to fall apart a little! Specifically, the lower crossbar no longer screws together firmly because I wasn’t careful about keeping my feet off of it when I first got it. Thankfully, since it’s not actually holding any weight, I can still fit the lower crossbar parts together without screwing it together and it seems to be stable enough.
The case it came with actually fell apart much sooner than the actual poles (the zipper on the case is garbage and the seams came apart) so I had to duct tape the bag all over and use a simple yoga mat strap like this one (affiliate link) to carry it and keep it closed. In addition, the stand doesn’t fit in a suitcase, so I have to take it as a carry-on when I fly to conventions.
My rough plan for when it inevitably falls apart is to fashion my own stand using PVC pipe – not the kind that sits on top of clamps to the table, because they seem to fall over easily – but one that is free standing (maybe something like this). The trick will be figuring out how to cut the PVC small enough to fit in a suitcase without making it unstable when it’s put all together… or maybe it’s good enough to make it small enough to fit in a small yoga mat bag or something. The other thing I would want to figure out is how to make the stand adjustable in width to accommodate different table sizes (though that might just be a matter of bringing a couple of different pipe lengths just in case).
Hope that gives you some ideas!
