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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 4:49:04 GMT
Highly encouraged by the recent works of Rob Mars-bar ;D, I decided to try it out myself:  Nikon D70, 50mm lens, ISO 200, f/22 at 0.8 second. My main light source is a 60-Watt REVEAL light bulb on a 24" X 24" plastic film (white garbage bag) at a 45 degree angle from the plate. This is only my first try and I guess it worked! ;D I will definitely study this process more to refine the composition and exposure. Thank you very much, Rob for the tips and inspirational work.  |
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Post by Kit on Nov 2, 2011 7:44:54 GMT
How much pp did you need to do in this Jiro? Looks pretty fine to me. I like the very sharp objects and the soft shadow effect. And is that light a particularly pure, white light?
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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 9:50:32 GMT
How much pp did you need to do in this Jiro? Looks pretty fine to me. I like the very sharp objects and the soft shadow effect. And is that light a particularly pure, white light? Hello, Kit. I'd say it's about 80% camera, 20% PP work as the light is not that strong so I have to boost the contrast and clean the image in PP (old plate and spoons). ;D. I fond the REVEAL light bulb to be a very good modeling light as it does not flicker that much. I can also easily color correct it compared to other bulbs I tried. Hope this helps, Kit.  |
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Post by robmarshall on Nov 2, 2011 11:12:50 GMT
My main light source is a 60-Watt REVEAL light bulb on a 24" X 24" plastic film (white garbage bag) at a 45 degree angle from the plate. So, what did you use to empty the cat litter tray into yesterday? My nice soft-box?  Well done, Jiro. It certainly works. You have a very nice soft and even light there, with the big shadows (under plate etc) where you want them but without any hard edges.. When you say you used a light-bulb, what was it located in? If you make a soft-box and cover the end with the garbage bag, you could also try lining the inside of the box with aluminum kitchen foil which will bounce the light around more. But yours seems to work very well, whatever you used. |
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Post by robmarshall on Nov 2, 2011 11:20:11 GMT
... as the light is not that strong so I have to boost the contrast and clean the image in PP (old plate and spoons). ;D. The power output of the light-bulb shouldn't affect the contrast so much - a stronger light will just light up the shadows more as well as the bright areas, but it will affect the ability of the camera to get a good exposure in a given exposure time. Although, if you are using a tripod and nothing is moving that shouldn't matter too much. What does the WB of the light come out like? |
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Post by chrisc on Nov 2, 2011 11:37:15 GMT
I just experimented with an "OTT-LITE" last night. Cannot be conclusive until I do some PP, but it seems to mimic a north mid-day sunlight on the histogram. It is a lovely color of 'white."
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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 12:10:09 GMT
My main light source is a 60-Watt REVEAL light bulb on a 24" X 24" plastic film (white garbage bag) at a 45 degree angle from the plate. So, what did you use to empty the cat litter tray into yesterday? My nice soft-box? Well done, Jiro. It certainly works. You have a very nice soft and even light there, with the big shadows (under plate etc) where you want them but without any hard edges.. When you say you used a light-bulb, what was it located in? If you make a soft-box and cover the end with the garbage bag, you could also try lining the inside of the box with aluminum kitchen foil which will bounce the light around more. But yours seems to work very well, whatever you used. The light bulb is about a foot behind the plate. I used an ordinary table lamp fitted with the REVEAL light bulb as the main light source. I was supposed to use my softbox as my light source firing on the 24" X 24" plastic film but I can't find a way to firmly hold it (the softbox) since I am using a sync cable. The tension on the cable changes the angle of the softbox so I decided to use a table lamp just to test the idea. I will try to use the softbox next and see if it will give me a better result. |
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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 12:19:33 GMT
I just experimented with an "OTT-LITE" last night. Cannot be conclusive until I do some PP, but it seems to mimic a north mid-day sunlight on the histogram. It is a lovely color of 'white." Once you converted the image to b&w I think the color cast is not that trivial, Chris. Only when we want to preserve the colors that the WB would matter. Post your work later if you may. |
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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 12:21:24 GMT
... as the light is not that strong so I have to boost the contrast and clean the image in PP (old plate and spoons). ;D. The power output of the light-bulb shouldn't affect the contrast so much - a stronger light will just light up the shadows more as well as the bright areas, but it will affect the ability of the camera to get a good exposure in a given exposure time. Although, if you are using a tripod and nothing is moving that shouldn't matter too much. What does the WB of the light come out like? The WB on the SOOC shot came out with just a small amount of yellow tint on it and that's it. Pretty easy to correct in LR with just one click.  |
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Post by katynoelle on Nov 2, 2011 12:28:42 GMT
This is great, Willie! I have a question, though - a silly one....from a person who's never seen this all done, before. When you say "sync cable", it confuses me. I've always been assuming that the light stays on the whole time. It doesn't go off like a flash, does it? If so, how do you know that you've got the light and shadows just how you want them? But, I've always assumed that they were a constant light source - once they're on - they stay on. Yikes! Am I making sense? There's no point in hiding that I seriously can't wait to try this, in the deep winter, but am a complete novice. This is what's been making me excited about the possibilities... annawilliams.com/#/P%20O%20R%20T%20F%20O%20L%20I%20O/F%20O%20O%20D%20%20%20I%20I/3/I've been spectacularly interested in how she manages her light, since the summer!!! I mean extremely, highly, really, seriously want to know how she gets her look!!! Part of it is the styling. I LOVE her colors....but there's a lovely soft light in her images.... and what does she do for pp? Want to know! Reason for Editing: punctuation, don't you know... |
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Post by jiro on Nov 2, 2011 13:08:00 GMT
Sorry to confuse you, Katy. I made an explanation that IF I am going to use my softbox with the flash inside instead of the REVEAL light bulb on a table lamp housing I would find it hard to keep the angle of the softbox since my flash sync cable is short putting a lot of tension on the softbox unit for me.
As for looking on the light, since I use a "modeling light" (continuous light source), it's easier for me to see how the subject reacts to the highlights and shadows. That's the reason why the expensive lighting equipment has a modeling light on the center of the fixture surrounding the strobe lights so the photographer can have a pretty good idea on where the shadows would fall, how hard the light would be, and how long will the shadows traverse the subject. Once you tried using a light source it would be easier for you to understand and "SEE" how the light behaves in relation to your subject.
As for Anna Williams, her main lighting source is a big window light. Since its big, it creates this nice soft light on her table top shots. It's pretty easy to see it in reverse, Katy. Soft, muted shadows = big light source. Hard, very defined shadows = small light source. The only way you can easily comprehend all of this is to dive in and try it. In less than a week, I'm pretty confident you can go head to head with this spoon shot. ;D
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Post by katynoelle on Nov 2, 2011 17:53:27 GMT
Thanks, Willie - I had a heart attack, there, thinking, suddenly, that you guys just knew this stuff magically, somehow...  (Just how I felt in preschool - I didn't know how everyone just magically knew when to go in to nap time - lost, I was.... ) I'm glad that I've got that cleared up. I've wondered if Anna Willliams used natural light or studio that looks natural. I read the first five chapters of Light: Science and Magic, last winter, and have put what I learned on the back burner and tried to apply it since then. I didn't go on because I felt that I needed to reread it all again. (and it was March and I was depressed.) The shiny part of my reflector can be taken off and there's a nice, sheer, piece of fabric to use to diffuse the light. I've used that a bit. Mostly, though, I just use cloudy days. I'm sure that when you say that Anna Williams uses a window light - that's not the same as light from a window. I need to experiment with those angles more.... Anyway, I'm always trying to watch the light and adjust my subject to it, instead of being able to, somewhat, adjust the light to the composition - oh, that would be so handy!  Thanks very much for the response. I'm glad that I finally asked. |
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