how to use a photo light to avoid shadows

edadmartin

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Hi , I photo small items for my Ebay store listings and web page.These guitar accessories are small around 1" long and maybe 1" wide. Ive been using my cannon power shot and shooting them right on my desk top with a mat background behind them.I had to move my desk and now natural light is coming in more directly in front of me instead of behind me. I have been using the cameras macro setting set 1200 x 1600. I was just given a telescopic photo lamp but I just cant get rid of the shadows. I feel that when I moved my desk I lost my best natural lighting.I need suggestions please.
 
To eliminate shadows, the light needs to be "diffuse"...it can not be "hard light". Diffuse light is coming from multiple directions and it is "scrambled". Hard light is coming from one direction, and is mostly aligned in its direction of travel. The BIGGER the source of light is, the more likely it is to be diffuse. Soooooo, you need something to act as a diffuser...like a large sheet of tracing paper, or an old, very thin, worn out white t-shirt stretched on a frame, as a "diffusing panel" or "diffusing frame". You can also use window screens, which cause the light to come from many,many,many slightly different directions,and prevent the light from coming from one,single, specific point of origin.
 
Hi , I photo small items for my Ebay store listings and web page.These guitar accessories are small around 1" long and maybe 1" wide. Ive been using my cannon power shot and shooting them right on my desk top with a mat background behind them.I had to move my desk and now natural light is coming in more directly in front of me instead of behind me. I have been using the cameras macro setting set 1200 x 1600. I was just given a telescopic photo lamp but I just cant get rid of the shadows. I feel that when I moved my desk I lost my best natural lighting.I need suggestions please.

One approach would be to light your object from both sides (two lights) one light source can and usually will create a shadow .
I some times lay an object on a background flat on a table , use two speed lights and two stands, one light on each side...I shoot in manual mode and tweak the settings until I get the look I want...now they make lighting tents for work like this too....I haven't used them , but if you do this all the time ,you may want to look into them....most camera stores have them if you want to take a look.Hope this helps :wink:

RJ.
 

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