How were these shots done?

[john_merrill]

Can anybody tell me what lighting was used to get the photos in this ebay listing:<br />

<A HREF="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5798007044">http://

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5798007044</A><br />

They seem very clear and clean, probably leading to a good auction result.<br /><br />

John

[hakon_soreide]

Looks like good old daylight to me.<p>

Hakon Soreide<br>

Bergen, Norway<br>

<a href="http://www.hakonsoreide.com">www.hakonsoreide.com</a>

[maroark]

Well since the products are sitting on an indoor wooden floor, I'm guessing it's not daylight. Probably just normal tungsten house lights. Of course, not everybodies house is lit this nicely.

[richard_cochran]

It's very broad, soft, diffuse lighting from above. There's no

obvious color balance problem, so the light seems to be well

matched to the film/sensor used. Since the products aren't

moving, it's hard to say whether the photos were taken with

flash or continuous light, but if it was continuous, it was either

very bright or the camera was on a tripod, since there's no motion

blur. On-camera flash was NOT used. For this fact alone, the

photos look better than most auction photos.

<p>

If I wanted to reproduce this kind of lighting cheaply and easily

in a typical home, I'd point a light or two at a white ceiling, to

illuminate the ceiling as broadly and evenly as possible, and let

the broad, even illumination of the ceiling bounce onto the

subject. The light is similar to what you'd get with a couple of

halogen torcherie lights. Strobes would make the job easier,

because you wouldn't need a tripod and the color balance is

typically a bit easier to deal with, but tungsten could do this

job, too.

[._._z]

Aiming a light toward the (white) ceiling, shoot with a digicam and adjust the white

balance to eliminate color casts.

[kevin_hundsnurscher]

Looks like a bounce flash off the ceiling.

[maureen_m]

Well, Sean (the eBay seller) appreciates the interest, and responded to an email:<p>"The photos are taken in my living room, which has large windows to the left and behind the camera. The windows are covered by sheers (scrim). The room has a white ceiling. They were shot with a Nikon D70 on a tripod using the self timer, generally a 1-3 second exposure. The built in flash is used for a small amount of fill and a specular highlight. In the top photo you can see black velvet used to eliminate the reflection of the floor on the dial glass."

[maureen_m]

<i>They seem very clear and clean, probably leading to a good auction result.</i><p>Sean says "...yes, photos make a tremendous difference in the final bid amount. "<p>Since the pic won't be available to view on eBay for very long, Sean has OK'd its use here (I downsized it to fit photo.net's size limits, hopefully quality hasn't been compromised).<div></div>

[johns1]

I agree: nice shots.

 

My guess: three strobes. Two in the background bounced off a normal-height

ceiling. The one lighting the front is laid on the floor and has a sock on it.