Photographing all white objects with harsh light

[matrosov]

Ok so I am trying to take a picture of my kids' science fair project in work in process and problem I am having is that all the materials in it are white foam board and on top of that I want to turn on the heat lamp that is part of that project. Any suggestions on how to make it work?

 

[Derrel]

Try manual Kelvin white balance in the 2,500 to 2,700 degree range, see if that helps.

 

[matrosov]

Should I use a flash to fill all those shadows and maybe close aperture? I was trying to shoot it at 5.6 supposedly sharpest for the lens I am using.

 

[Derrel]

Try whatever you can think of. I would not worry about being at f/5.6....use f/8, or f/11, whatever works.

Flash will look best with Flash WB (white balance) and the heat lamp will show up as being warmer in color. The trick is to balance the power of the flash with the ISO and f/stop used, and the heat lamp will also be affected by ISO, f/stop, and the speed of the shutter.

My GUESS is flash full-power bounced off ceiling at ISO 400, camera at f/11, and shutter at 1/30 second. Start there.

 

[Designer]

What's wrong with the picture you've got? Looks fine to me. If you use a flash, aim it toward the wall BEHIND you. The flash will wash out the color of the heat lamp, so I would probably not use flash.