Setting Up A Studio for Pianos

[Mully]

Imbed it into a photo

 

[tirediron]

Yes Yes

Ahem!

If he removed a direct link.. at least put the link for us to click on?

Normally, if an image is hot-linked than we will simply convert it to a link, but if the image has been uploaded to TPF, then that's not an option.

 

[anmut]

Yes Yes

Ahem!

If he removed a direct link.. at least put the link for us to click on?

Going through a google search right now to try to find that original link.

 

[anmut]

Ahh I found it - against all odds I might add!

1912 Mason & Hamlin BB 19159 | Lindeblad Piano

 

[nycphotography]

Ahh I found it - against all odds I might add!

1912 Mason & Hamlin BB 19159 | Lindeblad Piano

Exactly. Three or four "chinese screens", a couple potted trees, a floor lamp w/ a 15w bulb, and a couple big huge scrims / silk frames.

Much easier than white seamless... and more appealing too.

 

[anmut]

Ahh I found it - against all odds I might add!

1912 Mason & Hamlin BB 19159 | Lindeblad Piano

Exactly. Three or four "chinese screens", a couple potted trees, a floor lamp w/ a 15w bulb, and a couple big huge scrims / silk frames.

Much easier than white seamless... and more appealing too.

I think you're right... looks like I can find some vinyl "wood" flooring at a local Menards, just have to find some screens for the background.

For lighting - has anyone ever ran 4' florescent in a vertical direction and use them to light from the side?

 

[nycphotography]

Do you really want to fight the variable color balance battle of flourescents?

I'd take a bare tube monolight and bounce it off a 4x8 sheet of foamcore clamped to a light stand bracket before I used a flourescent.

Or get a strip box, giant softbox, stand, and mono head from buff.

 

[anmut]

Do you really want to fight the variable color balance battle of flourescents?

I'd take a bare tube monolight and bounce it off a 4x8 sheet of foamcore clamped to a light stand bracket before I used a flourescent.

Or get a strip box, giant softbox, stand, and mono head from buff.

I'm going to have to google that - you just went way over my head with the technical lighting jargon! But thank you for the information.

 

[anmut]

Btw what are the thoughts on buying a portable garage (basically a white tent) as a giant lightbox?

 

[Tony S]

YOu really need a large light source to light the pianos without getting harsh reflections in it. It doesn't matter if you are using strobes or constant lights, if your source is small and any distance from the reflective surfaces you will get the ugly specular highlights in reflections (including with flourescent tubes, then they are long specular highlights). Bouncing light off of panels or even white walls/ceilings is going to effectively enlarge your light source "on the subject". Several tips have been given in this thread on how to make your light source larger.

Take a good look at the photos you posted. There is a good bit of Photoshopping going on in them and some of it not very good. Without proper lighting be ready to work overtime in post processing to get the images to your liking.

Your portable garage idea you just posted might seem like a good idea, but because of the materials used in them you will get odd color shifts and spend time trying to correct those too.

 

[Mully]

Black sees everything so having corners is not going to work ....you need a smooth flat above the piano and about 50% larger than the piano. Bounce light works best. A soft box will only work if it is bounced on the large flat. Oddball lighting sources are not going to give you even light ....even light is what you need.

 

[anmut]

LOL - you guys keep bringing me down to reality here...

 

[Designer]

Do you really want to fight the variable color balance battle of flourescents?

I'd take a bare tube monolight and bounce it off a 4x8 sheet of foamcore clamped to a light stand bracket before I used a flourescent.

Or get a strip box, giant softbox, stand, and mono head from buff.

I'm going to have to google that - you just went way over my head with the technical lighting jargon! But thank you for the information.

Fluorescent tubes have several main colors of light, and that is before they begin to degrade. Very difficult to balance the color into something that you want.

A "monolight" is a studio strobe.

To "bounce" the light is to aim the light at a reflecting surface, often white and flat. The term "foam core" refers to art board that comes in different thicknesses, and is white paper bonded to a foam core.

A softbox is a device that diffuses light, often from a portable or studio strobe.

"Buff" refers to a firm that makes lights; "Paul C. Buff"

The "portable garage" idea may or may not work, but I think it will end up being too small and flimsy in which to set up pianos. The example you linked to, the corner of a showroom, is what I had envisioned. Screens, or some other type of wall covering, your large reflecting ceiling (several 4x8-foot sheets of something white) .

 

[amolitor]

You can use light painting techniques with a small softbox to simulate an immense softbox, which might be good for a 9 foot black instrument, to manage the reflections.



starting at around 7:30 in. The video is about cars, and the whole thing it pretty interesting. It should give you a sense of what you're looking at with pianos.

 

[anmut]

Thank you sir! I had googled the softbox and the strip box and found some cheap softboxes and a way to make some super cheap strip boxes.