Strobe lighting

[qmr55]

I feel like I haven't been on here in forever, with school starting back up its tough to find time to mess around anymore!

But I finally got a chance to mess with the strobe kits that I won in @Destin's giveaway!

I'm trying to better my product/tabletop photography, this was shot with one strobe right of camera and a little above. Let me know your thoughts please! Any tips/suggestions to adjust, I want to setup again and give it another try. Thanks guys!

Color:

B&W:

 

[FotosbyMike]

Not sure this is in the right thread, might want to more to Beyond the Basics to get more feedback.

To start it appears to be unexposed need to up the power on the strobe. Next white balance is off see how the left side of the candle is yellowish(warmer) and the right is more white with a slight blue hue, then the background(ambient light) is really warm. This is where controlling your environment is important the background is very warm, one fix is to light the background with strobes or changing all the light bulbs to better match the strobes which is around 5,000K(daylight). I think the DOF is to shallow, there is no context in the images it's not telling a story. I could see a Christmas tree/lights in the background or colorful presents or fireplace or two people seating in chairs drinking hot coco, or a group of people having a Christmas party... lots of ideas.

Last it looks like you are shooting this bare bulb, need to get some diffusion to soften the light.

Good luck and keep shooting!

 

[Destin]

Glad to see you using them man!

I agree with the white balance comment above. But I disagree with the solution.. you’re shooting in a room that’s full of incandescent light bulbs which are warmer than flash, which is roughly daylight balanced.

The solution is to get a CTO gel to cover the strobe and then change the camera’s white balance to incandescent to compensate. That way the whole scene matches.

Another option is to increase your shutter speed to eliminate ambient light from the exposure and light the scene entirely with strobes. It appears that your subject here is mostly lit with ambient and very little flash has contributed to the exposure.

 

[FotosbyMike]

The solution is to get a CTO gel to cover the strobe and then change the camera’s white balance to incandescent to compensate. That way the whole scene matches.

Thanks for helping point out another solution.

 

[pendennis]

Depending on the background needed, you could build a light box from white foam core, and bounce the electronic flash off the walls. You can add colored cloth backgrounds as you learn lighting techniques.

One of the problems with your image arises from the large separation from the background. The distance adds a great deal of light dispersion, keeping you from focusing the light on the subject, and allowing the ambient light to intrude too much.

Another thing you can do, is use a piece of white foam core on each side of the subject and bounce the light off them.

Above all, experiment, experiment!

 

[Derrel]

Glad to see you using them man!

I agree with the white balance comment above. But I disagree with the solution.. you’re shooting in a room that’s full of incandescent light bulbs which are warmer than flash, which is roughly daylight balanced.

The solution is to get a CTO gel to cover the strobe and then change the camera’s white balance to incandescent to compensate. That way the whole scene matches.

Another option is to increase your shutter speed to eliminate ambient light from the exposure and light the scene entirely with strobes. It appears that your subject here is mostly lit with ambient and very little flash has contributed to the exposure.

Some solid analysis here from Destin. Gelling the strobe "warmer" and then shooting at a White Balance that's set for the room's incandescent lights is an option, and a good option if you want the room behind to register as part of the picture.

 

[qmr55]

Hey guys, I apologize for the late response, but thanks so much for all the tips! (mid-term time at college, not a ton of time to get online)

I purchased a gel set tonight and it should be here Friday, I'm hoping to get another chance at testing this this coming weekend. Thanks for all the tips guys.

Also, I have to shoot a series of bottle caps for an upcoming project, my plan is to shoot them on a wood table top, any suggestions?