Speaking of light boxes…
- This topic has 38 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated Feb 16, 2008 at 11:25 pm by
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This is the metadata for the shot that I posted in the thread “Help on taking better close up pictures”; 1/80 f40 ISO 400. And I had the flashes turned down from 1/8 and less. It is not meant to be an artsy shot as it is part of a tutorial but the metadata gives you an idea of just how versatile it is. The flash also helps to freeze everything in the image which gives better focus as well.. I did the tying book shoot with constant light the first 2 times and due to that, I am now getting the result that I wanted, this third time and with all of these strobes. I know your frustration 🙂
Sorry, I missed your last post while writing mine LOL. I see that you got your answers though.. One thing to remember though.. You can also use the SU 800 to trigger your SB600’s on location shoots and not be limited to just bugs. Think of it like also being able to turn your SB600’s into a remote, portable location lights. I used this type of setup for the location shots that I did in Lithuania last month. As a future thought, you can mount these with umbrellas and stands and soft boxes. What I am getting at is the fact that the SU800 opens the door to a sophisticated remote lighting studio. With the 2R200’s you can also have the small item production shots that you want, as well as great macro photography lighting. I know that it cost a bit more but I can definitely vouch for the fact that it has been worth far more than the money spent for me. Also, more SB600’s will also serve you well and then you will only need the SU800. The SU800 IS very easy to leaRN and get used to as well:)
But aren’t the slaves triggered by flash? The SU800 also works up to 66′ away, much like the pocket wizards but everything is built into the flash’s already. What I also like about the R200’s is the fact that I can move them around the ring, on the end of my lens, which gives me far more control over positioning the direction of the on camera lighting.
I won’t pretend that this is a great shot but this is a test shot that I did with just 2 R200’s. I wanted to see how it would blend with a completely different light source in the frame. This isn’t a best example as I purposely shot this at ISO1600. For some reason, the D200 seems to shoot better at ISO1600 than it does at 1000 or 1250.. Odd but I like odd? 🙂
Good idea, Ben.
My main concern is getting enough light on the objects to properly expose with a low ISO setting, a relatively narrow aperture for sharpness front-to-back, and a short shutter speed.
Yes John, I believe that it is… Thanks, I didn’t think about that 😉
Another side note: when using flash; a slow shutter speed may cause everything in the image to be over exposed and extremely saturated. Outside of additional strobes, Davids suggestions are best. Placing the product on white glossy foam board serves as a good reflector from beneath the product as well as the redirecting of side light from bounce boards, as David suggested.
it’s been a really long time since I used this info (like 15 years) but I’m going to explain lighting theory a little for all you newbies out there.
1. light can be qualified as two types; specular (or directional) and diffused.
I received 2 new vices in the mail today and decided to shoot one of them tonight. This was taken with the lighting set up that I described earlier.. Please feel free to critique as that is very welcome as well.
This has been a very interesting conversation!
At the risk of thinking way out of the (light) box – I’m wondering what this type of shot would look like employing HDR techniques?
Hey Zach. This has been a great thread. I especially benefitted from John P’s comments.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned flash exposure compensation yet. I did some test shots tonight and found I had to set FE to +2 on the flash in order to get the background approaching anywhere near the white I wanted.
If this is an option for you on your nikon flashes, you might try it.
Here’s my samples.
Cardboard and tissue paper lightbox
Manual f/11 @1/250 sec, 100 ISO equivalent
580EX II flash as master (+2 exposure compensation) for top lighting through paper
420EX flash as slave with additional diffuser for side lighting through paperThey turned out realy nice Scott.
Again I’m no flash, lighting expert, its far from my area of strength but using + Flash Exposure Comp (FEC) was what I was alluding, suggesting to earlier.
My very basic understanding, is that by setting flashes to ETTL was similiar to what John P said. It really doesnt matter what your camera settings are. The flash is going to meter and then supply the required output for whats its reading as a proper exposure, regardless of whether your at 1/50th or 1/250th.. When Im macro shooting insects, with off camera flash I set my f/stop based on the DoF I want and I set my SS typically at 1/250th. Not to use high speed sync but rather o avoid shake with a 180mm lens. Either way because the flash is on ETTL its going to suppy whatever power is needed to render a “propper exposure”. The only way to blow the whites then is to add some +FEC. You either add the +FEC on your body or directly on the flash.
The other way and probably more consistant way is to set the flash to manual such that its not on ETTL and is relying on the power you set based on the guide numbers. That way your flash power is consistant not matter your camera settings and you can either increase it or lower your SS/ISO and acheive overexposure that way.
Not sure im right as flash isnt my strength but thats my limited understanding.
if your using TTL (+FEC) or increasing the flash power with the flashes on manual
So you did JB.! There’s a lot of info crammed into these posts.
Nice set-up Zach.
One suggestion – your whites on the fly and reel shots are blown out a bit IMO.
That comes from the background being to close to the product.The best way to shoot white is with separate light for the product & the background.
To do that all you need is to roll the paper out more.
I would have the background light bounced into the background so it can be set-up not to throw any light on the product – this will give you better control of the product light.
The best way to get the background light right is to test it with the product in the shot, but not lit – that way you can see when the back is too hot and bleeding into the reel.
When the white is right lighting the reel will be IMO much easier.
The way I light large white background in the studio is to fire the background light into a big white V shaped bounce that’s two door sized styrofoam boards taped together.
The inside of the V faces the background and also prevents any light from hitting the model.
(I use one on each side, but you don’t need that for a small object.)You could make the same out of a couple A4 size bits of foam board (or silver if you want more power).
Why go to all this trouble ?
The main thing is so you can still have some shadow on the product – that’s where the shape comes from.
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A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
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