Speed Lights inside the Product

[resevordg]

I was doing a shoot for a company that manufactures boxes that control the movement of rare gases for the production of microchips.

As I was shooting the boxes it occurred to me that my work was really sucking. The interior of the box was way to dark!

So I came up with a fix. I placed a 580exII inside the box and used a wireless receiver and PC cable to trigger the flash and put the flash into manual mode. The outside of the box is lit with some 360w/s studio lights. One light had a shoot through the other was direct.

Always good to have some speed lights laying around, even when you dont think need them. I now carry 2 580exII strobes with me just in case.

The two shots that are W/B well were used in the company catalog. The warm one is just here to show the wire going into the box for reference.


Let me know what you all think. How would you have tackled this problem?

 

[resevordg]

One problem that I will note however is this.

My studio strobes are daylight ~5200K The speed light is flash~6000K

You can really see the mixed light in these photos. Especially in the on that I did not work on. Though in this shoot the mixed light was cool effect and worked out, I do need to remember to pick up some daylight gels and keep them in my bag. I have some tungsten gels and I have to say, when I need them they are a life saver.

Or perhaps I can get some cooling strobe colored gels and keep them in my light kit.

Either way

 

[Big Mike]

I won't say it's a completely original idea...but you get points for thinking of it on the go. Nicely done.

 

[Christie Photo]

I won't say it's a completely original idea...

Yeah... I've been doing this for 30 years. The only thing I can add is I sometimes line the interior of the product with white paper in an attempt to get more even lighting. Stainless can be a bugger too. I let the seamless extend beyond the edge of the table, toward the camera, and bring the end up close to the lens... either with stands, or simply taping/clamping the paper to the tripod.

Good goin'!

 

[ThePhotoRebellion]

I would have made a separate exposure for the interior and one for the exterior then blended the two images together photoshop. It's a lot faster, easier and will look 1000x better.

Tip: To eliminate fingerprints and oil streaks on stainless put some light "Old English" on a paper towel and wipe the surface. It works every time.