How's my lighting?

[tevo]

(Feel free to move this to the appropriate subforum if this is not the proper place)

So I MIGHT have gotten bored and done a shabby attempt at product lighting. I was also too lazy to walk all the way out to my car and get my other strobe and trigger so I used one speedlight and one can light with a white tshirt wrapped around it. Only post work was adjusting the WB. How did it come out?

#1

Also, here's a picture of my professional product lighting studio setup

 

[tirediron]

Not bad, but your laziness shows! There's a large dark area around the motor-drive grip, and hot areas on the top plate nearest the light. I think a couple of pieces of white posterboard as reflectors would have helped a lot.

 

[tevo]

Not bad, but your laziness shows! There's a large dark area around the motor-drive grip, and hot areas on the top plate nearest the light. I think a couple of pieces of white posterboard as reflectors would have helped a lot.

Ah, I hadn't noticed that dark spot. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Derrel]

If you look at your setup shot, you can see the pentaprism on the light side is burning out, and the left side of the camera, where the MD-12's grip is looks much darker. Also, the front element of the lens is a "black hole"...which tells us two things. One, the lighting ratio is VERY high. WHY? The small light is very CLOSE to the set; so, the rate of light fall-off is VERY steep...burned out on the right hand side of the shot, and much darker on the left hand side of the camera. And 2) the lighting could use some more front-lighting...some kind of light on the front element of the lens would make the shot look better.

Basically, the light is 1) too close and 2) too small and 3) coming in from too much of a side-lighting direction.

Just moving the light around in a counter-clockwise direction to about 5 o'clock would help with 1) the degree of fall off over the camera and 2) the lack of light on both the front element of the lens, and on the grip area.

 

[tevo]

If you look at your setup shot, you can see the pentaprism on the light side is burning out, and the left side of the camera, where the MD-12's grip is looks much darker. Also, the front element of the lens is a "black hole"...which tells us two things. One, the lighting ratio is VERY high. WHY? The small light is very CLOSE to the set; so, the rate of light fall-off is VERY steep...burned out on the right hand side of the shot, and much darker on the left hand side of the camera. And 2) the lighting could use some more front-lighting...some kind of light on the front element of the lens would make the shot look better.

Basically, the light is 1) too close and 2) too small and 3) coming in from too much of a side-lighting direction.

Just moving the light around in a counter-clockwise direction to about 5 o'clock would help with 1) the degree of fall off over the camera and 2) the lack of light on both the front element of the lens, and on the grip area.

So I should position my lights at lets say 45 degrees to either side of the subject?

 

[Derrel]

Imagine Due NORTH on the clock...you know, 12:00. Then due EAST, or 90 degrees, or 3 o'clock. Then, move around the clock face to the 5 o'clock position, which is
around 145 degrees on a compass face. Put the main light in that general area, and see whatcha get...

 

[Village Idiot]

Plus you have two different color temps from the lights. Blue on the left and warmer on the right.

 

[tevo]

Plus you have two different color temps from the lights. Blue on the left and warmer on the right.

Yeah, one was an improvised softbox with a regular lightbulb so it was much warmer than the strobe. I didn't think to put a cto on my strobe.

 

[fjrabon]

I'd have also tried a polarizer to cut down on some of the glare in addition to all the great comments you've received already.

 

[tevo]

I'd have also tried a polarizer to cut down on some of the glare in addition to all the great comments you've received already.

I actually hadn't thought of this, great idea. Thanks!