WEEKLY LIGHTING THEME: Controlling Specular Highlights............

[k_townsend]

This is one of my favorite bottles (in one of my favorite colours, no less). I don't get to use it very often, though, so I thought I'd at least take some pictures of it, since it seemed like a great example for reflections on glass, etc. It was a very hard one to light, and I wasn't entirely happy with any of the photos, since the reflections were a bit all over the place. This was (without photoshop editing) the best of the lot, I thought ... you just have to ignore the small ugly highlight in the inner right-hand side. ;-( With shapes like this, I see why people think glass can be hard to photograph well.

 

Can anyone suggest how I could have better controlled that particular highlight on this difficult shape?<div></div>

[k_townsend]

I like this champagne more than I like this photo (Dom Ruinart is also the oldest champagne house in France ... I'm saving the bottle for my daughters first birthday, though) ... the light is ok on the side highlights, but I couldn't find a way to get the light onto the label without showing the reflection of the mirror in the rest of the bottle. This was the same problem I had with other bottles/tests. <strong>Can someone suggest how I could have dealt with that, without having the mirror/reflector in the bottle?</strong><div></div>

[k_townsend]

Silver was a bit harder, since it is so highly reflective when smooth, but much less so where heavy 'texture' is present. Not sure how I should have dealt with both types of reflection. Any ideas?

 

Sorry for the lines in the backdrop. Again, I didn't want to spend the time ironing it, since the point was just to learn.<div></div>

[k_townsend]

Single cup from the above photo.<div></div>

[k_townsend]

I took this for my wife, since she just bought the ducks and thought they were cute.<div></div>

[ericf1]

I made a softbox based on the Jennifer C's post on this thread, which is a great tutorial on lighting. The following is my first attempt at setting up a still life and I was reasonably happy for a first attempt, but I'm not sure how to take it to the next level.

 

The setup was a 18x24 homemade softbox about 8" from camera left, a background light (could probably stand to increase a touch) and a foil covered cardboard reflector just to the right of the tea cup. (Couldn't lay my hands on actual relfector last night)

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Eric

[garry edwards]

Eric,

 

For a first attempt at still life, I think it's outstanding.

 

In terms of suggested changes to your technique, the background could have done with a lot more light - it looks almost black on my monitor and black backgrounds, although they look dramatic, take the depth out of the photo.

 

And I would have tried a white card reflector instead of a silver one. Silver ones can be a bit harsh, and are sometimes a bit too efficient - white would have been slightly less efficient and I feel that it would have been better - but that's just a matter of personal opinion.

 

I would have had a white reflector immediately below the camera too, which would have pushed a bit of light under the saucer. In theory it wouldn't, because the light isn't aiming towards the reflector, but in practice there would have been some.

 

Other than that, the limitations are with your softbox, which could have done with being bigger. In theory it's almost big enough but the cup, which is quite a long way from the softbox anyway, has fairly complex shapes and it really needs a bigger one. And a bit more diffusion, to spread the light more evenly and hopefully get rid of the hotspot, would help too. Tracing paper and white shower curtain material both work well.

 

Hope this helps

[ericf1]

Gary,

 

Thanks for the feedback, I'm quite certain I couldn't have come close to this effort without first reading this thread.

 

I have put my hands on my lite disk and hope to ease the hot spot on the spoon and will bump up the background light. Seeing what one can accomplish with the homemade softbox, I am definitely inclined to make the investment. The nice part about a hobby is you don't have to worry about a return on investment.

 

Thanks again for the input.

 

Eric

[wvtg]

Okay . . . I see that I am a bit late to the party but here are my attempts with three lights in succession please....don't laugh:)

 

keep in mind I am using my 18-55 kit lens I have a 1.8 coming soon!

 

1st pic

1 24 x 24 soft box high and in front of subject

 

2nd pic 1 soft box from side

 

3rd pic 1 SB in front and side

 

4th pic 1 SB in front, side and slight bare strobe in rear

[wvtg]

here is pic 2<div></div>

[wvtg]

pic 3<div></div>

[wvtg]

pic 4<div></div>

[joe_ratulowski]

I know I'm super late, but a thread this good deserves to be bumped once in a

while.<BR>

<BR>

This is the best shot of my attempts. a softliter to the left and slightly behind the

bottle with a xs softbox forward right of the glass. The softbox has been diffused

further by a shoot through screen. No light at all, obviously, on the background.

The bottle is cut off because I didn't notice I was off from square a bit.

Straightening took off the top. <BR>

<BR><a href="http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a85/neuropolitique/?

action=view&current=IMG_3319.jpg" target="_blank"><img

src="http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a85/neuropolitique/IMG_3319.jpg" border="0"

alt="Photobucket"></a>

[sherle]

I know this thread is long been put to rest, but I must say it was invaluable to me this past week. I had to photograph wine bottles, various still life's involving wine bottles, glasses and other reflective objects for a client and was struggling a bit when I stumbled across this thread. My client is very happy now and so I am very grateful to you for this thread. .....Sherle

[sherle]

I do have a question, is anyone is listening... I need to photograph 4 different types of wines in one shot and every time I set it up I get the reflections of the neighboring bottles in the one wine bottle. While this can be interesting, I would prefer not to have the reflections. Is there any lighting setup that I can do that won't allow for the reflections? I have two white lightning 800's and a 2x3 and 3x4 lightbox. Right now I only have a continuous light for the backdrop. Any help would be appreciated. ....Sherle

[excelguru]

Sherle,

 

Use a tripod and photograph each bottle independently (alone), being sure to place each bottle in it's own spot. Do not bump anything between the shots. Then layer the shots in PS and use layer masks to make each bottle appear. Since each bottle was photographed independently, the reflections of the other bottles will not be present. Lighting must (should) be identical in all four shots. This assumes you're not trying to place any one bottle partially in front of another.

[excelguru]

Strongly inspired by Kevin Townsend's work shown above, I humbly submit the following...

<p>

<img src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u114/excelguru/CCC%20Photos/MA51ChessEXIF.jpg"></img>

[daniel flather]

This thread delivers.<div></div>

[stephen_facciola]

<p>I came across your very informative thread but couldn't find any information on using these techniques with natural sunlight. Any suggestions?</p>

[garry edwards]

<p>Stephen,<br>

Most of us use flash in preference to daylight because it's easier to control as well as being available whenever we want it.<br>

But daylight will work, the principles when using daylight are exactly the same, you just have to use different tools.<br>

Instead of using a softbox to diffuse an enclosed light, you can use a silk to diffuse the daylight. A silk is just a sheet of diffusing material (such as white frosted plastic) that goes between the light source and the subject, just as the diffusion screen of a softbox does. In some countries, the U.S. for example, you can buy them fitted to frames. In other places, if you want a large one, you make it yourself from ripstop nylon or plain white shower curtain or similar.<br>

The good thing about using a silk instead of a softbox is that it's a cheap tool. The bad thing is that you have to find a way of placing and keeping it in position.<br>

Depending on what you're doing, you may also need to use flags (black material) to stop light going where you don't want it to go and to create a dark 'edge' to the subject. This applies with artificial light too, but can be even more important with the uncontrolled light from daylight.<br>

Moving on a bit, you may need extra, harsher light too. Mirrors can work wonders when it comes to changing the direction of light and harnessing it, or you can use flash, which can be combined with daylight</p>

[stephen_facciola]

<p><img src="../photo/8411474" alt="Spiceberry Jam" /><br>

 

<p>Garry,<br>

I'm using a solid background of construction paper and a diffusion round to soften direct sunlight. The photos of cans, bottles and packaged foods are for an encyclopedia. I'm looking for functionality not artistry. One problem that crops up on all the photos is the specular highlight that runs up and down each edge. I'm posting an image that illustrates this. On this image I'm also unable to get the proper saturation for the red background behind "Spiceberry Jam" without using PS. Why do you recommend a silk rather than an umbrella, which would be easy to keep in position. Is the silk material more desirable for working with direct sunlight?<br>

Stephen</p>

</p><div></div>

[garry edwards]

<p>Stephen,<br>

Sometimes a silk is the absolutely right job for a specific job, please see the lighting theme on Creating diffused specular highlights.<br>

But not for your purpose. I suggested a silk because it's cheap, easy and suitable. You can make them up very easily from ripstop nylon or from a plain white shower curtain, which is generally around 6' wide. In your case, this is exactly what you need to do because the problem with the specular highlights in your example photo is caused by having a light source that is far too small. Convex subjects (in particular) need <strong>very </strong> large light sources.<br>

And I repeat my earlier suggestion that you use black flags each side of your subject to absorb light on the edges and darken them. The flags need to be just out of shot and should follow the line of the subject, which is in this case is tapered.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>

 

[stephen_facciola]

Garry,

 

Is this the type of equipment you're suggesting I use?

 

<a href="mhtml:{F77BD9C5-67A3-4171-81D4-62BE79BC1170}mid://00000018/!x-usc:http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/weme42114stw.html">

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/weme42114stw.html</a>

 

<a href="mhtml:{F77BD9C5-67A3-4171-81D4-62BE79BC1170}mid://00000018/!x-usc:http://www.adorama.com/MT169042.html">http://www.adorama.com/MT169042.html</a>

 

I've been using a white diffuser that is 30" by 40".

The bottom part of the background is 24" wide x 15" deep;

How large do the flags need to be? Will 2 free-standing black flags fit on the bottom of the background?

[garry edwards]

<p>Stephen,<br>

It wasn't clear to me from your links what I should be looking at.<br>

You'll just have to experiment to see how large a diffuser you need and how close it needs to be to the subject - all that I can be sure of is that it's too small/too distant in your example shot.<br>

As for flags, again, whatever works. Mostly we make them up using blackwrap (sold under the trade name of Cinefoil) which is a roll of thick alluminium cooking foil coated black - ideal for the job and in fact ideal for many jobs in the studio.<br>

Still life shots are 99.something %setting up, and time spent getting it perfect is always time well spent. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to explain exactly how to do things, all that anyone else can do is to explain the principles. You then need to experiment and see what works best with that particular shot.</p>

[cannockwolf]

<p>Hi first post but been learning loads on the lighting tutorials here so thought i would post my attempt from the techniques i have found here.<br>

Equipment:<br /> 2 x SB-800's<br /> 1 on a stand with ezy-box<br /> 1 bare with stofan diffuser<br>

I placed the softbox above and forward slightly, from the right side, and the bare flash with the plastic diffuser front left acting as fill light, the statue was on a black cloth draped from a kitchen cupboard<br>

f16 1/100 ISO200</p>

<p><img src="http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/flash_test-5690.jpg" alt="" width="532" height="800" /></p>