Lightbox

[Crollo]

I'm starting to get into lightbox photography, or as I like to call it 'background that doesn't exist', and I was wondering if you guys had any tips for an absolute beginner.

Obviously one thing I need down is lighting, anybody have any suggestions? I have no reflectors, and using natural lighting is difficult as it's getting into winter now which means there isn't going to be much sun for a while... I have two 100watt tungsten bulbs but not much else.

 

[Crollo]

Can you show me an example? I don't follow.

 

[kundalini]

Can you show me an example? I don't follow.

Setup:

Product sitting on an upturned wine glass:

Wine glass removed in post:

 

[Crollo]

I prefer to keep the soft shadows on the ground plane, but thanks anyways.

 

[kundalini]

I prefer to keep the soft shadows on the ground plane, but thanks anyways.

More like this?

 

[Crollo]

Yeah, shadows being a little bit softer but just like that.

 

[kundalini]

The first product shot was used for a company's trade show in Japan. The image was integrated on a large poster with the company's sexy selling graphics and text. Shadows were not allowed. I think I wound up with 21 stacked images so that the device was in focus from front to back.


I agree that having some slight ground shadowing gives the subject a visual anchor for the viewer.

 

[Crollo]

For your first shot, the setup, you're using black fabrics... For what? What I find is if I use a black umbrella [Only one I have] I can't do anything useful with it, at least lighting wise.

 

[kundalini]

For your first shot, the setup, you're using black fabrics... For what? What I find is if I use a black umbrella [Only one I have] I can't do anything useful with it, at least lighting wise.

Modifiers. 15" softboxes left and right, 24" on top and a 45" umbrella behind the camera. Nikon SB800 speedlights fitted in all of them.

What problems are you having with your umbrella?

 

[Crollo]

For me the idea of using an umbrella is two things: It diffuses the light, and it also reflects it, softly and evenly which basically IS diffusing it anyways. When I use a black umbrella it doesn't reflect it... It's black. And it doesn't diffuse light, it just lets less through.

 

[kundalini]

That's news to me as I've never encountered such an animal. Most umbrellas are either shoot through, reflective or a combination of both with a removable outer layer. For the life of me, I cannot see the need for a black only umbrella, unless it is a fashion statement for something to keep the rain off my head. Black subtracts light. Can you provide a link to your umbrella? I am curious now.

 

[Crollo]

It's not a lighting umbrella, it's a real umbrella.
What I'm asking is because the fabrics you are using are the same [Completely flat black, no reflective surfaces] how can they possibly be useful.

 

[kundalini]

So you're keeping your head dry.


They (lighting modifiers) will usually have reflective material on the interior. Softboxes will have at least one baffle to diffuse the light and better ones have an inner baffle to further diffuse the light. The black outer is meant to constrain the light within the modifier and throw the light forward.