What settings should I use with a lightbox?

[phnoob]

I just finished making a lightbox today and am not sure what settings I should use on my Nikon D3000 for best results.

Here's a picture I took with settings f22, exposure time 1/10, ISO 100, white balance 5k (that's what the bulbs are supposed to be), no flash:

I put it in Photoshop and went to Layer->New Adjustment Layer -> Levels, created the layer, and set the white point (I read how to do this in a tutorial today), which considerably lightened the image. However, as you can see, the image still doesn't have a completely light background, it seems a little blurry, and also seems a little washed out like when the ISO setting's too high (IMHO).

I would really like to be able to take pictures like this:



Do you have any recommendations as to what settings I could use to improve the images?

Thank you for your help!

 

[BekahAura]

I think that your photo is a tad underexposed. Look at the blacks and the whites in your photo compared to the photo you are aiming for. The blacks are too black and the whites are grayish (and I mean the letters on the computer chip thingy not the background). Either increase your light or change your aperture to allow for more light to enter the lens.

As for the background... even though you may be shooting on a completely white surface there are probably always going to be some gray areas. The image you have posted has most likely been silhouetted and placed onto a white background.

Also try sharpening the image for more clarity.

 

[EIngerson]

What camera and lens are you using?

 

[PictureBox]

bump the iso up some

 

[phnoob]

What camera and lens are you using?

I'm using a Nikon D3000 with the lense that came with it.

I think that your photo is a tad underexposed ... Either increase your light or change your aperture to allow for more light to enter the lens.

I found yesterday that a lower f-stop than about f22 results in part of the image being out of focus. So I don't think I can lower the f-stop..

For the lights, I'm currently using two 1600 lumen 5000k bulbs. They seem really bright, but the pictures I take are all dark. It doesn't make any sense..

Here's a picture I took earlier this morning where I didn't do any editing at all:

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8959/dsc1693.jpg

The camera settings were:

F-stop: f/22
Exposure time: 1/20 sec
ISO speed: ISO-100
Flash mode: no flash

I took the picture in apurture priority mode, as I don't really know what the shutter speed should be..

 

[Mach0]

Lens? 1/10s and 1/20s are too slow for handheld. Get a tripod and a remote or up your shutter speed to reduce camera shake. Also, I don't see the need to shoot at f22. That might be why you are using to slow shutter speed to compensate. Try opening up the aperture some. Do you know the refresh rate of those bulbs?

 

[phnoob]

Lens? 1/10s and 1/20s are too slow for handheld. Get a tripod and a remote or up your shutter speed to reduce camera shake. Also, I don't see the need to shoot at f22. That might be why you are using to slow shutter speed to compensate. Try opening up the aperture some. Do you know the refresh rate of those bulbs?

The lens says "AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G."

I'm actually already using a tripod and a remote

I think maybe I do need to get brighter bulbs. I tried pointing my 23W/1600 lumen bulbs directly at the object and the colors in the photo came out better, but of course pointing the bulbs right at it resulted in an unacceptable level of glare.

So, the question now is: how bright of bulbs should I get? Browsing on Amazon, there are lots and lots of bulbs. I see 45W, 65W, and 85W bulbs. Regarding the temperature, should I go for 5000k or 5500k?

 

[Dao]

You do not need a brighter bulb. Just expose it for a longer time.

I will try to position the subject so that it is standing up and the top of the subject is facing more towards the camera. In that case, you have a higher chance to have everything in focus. Try it with f/8 or f/11. Use Spot meter instead of matrix. (With matrix meter mode, since you have a lot of bright white background, the camera will expose for that and try to turn that white background into gray) . Maybe spot meter the green part of the subject.

 

[Mach0]

I don't know much about the continuous lighting set ups... Maybe you can get a couple of flashes that will give you better results and you can use faster shutter speeds. You can get the yn460 for cheap. KmH has one for sale. Or you can get some other flashes. I have a few 285hv's, a sb24, and Sb28. They aren't expensive and you can get a set of radio triggers. Ultimately, they will give you much more flexibility, you can take them outside too, and the power levels are adjustable. Pending the route you want to take, you can get 4 flashes and a trigger set up for about 200 bucks( depending the brand of flashes.)

 

[cgipson1]

use the same setting that you used for that last shot.. but raise the ISO to 400. If it is still a little dark then change your shutter speed, make it slower so that more light will come in. Are you just trying to learn this, or will you need to print these shots? Flash would be much better.. but would increase the learning curve.

 

[mjhoward]

None of those bulbs are going to be sufficient when you start increasing your shutter speed. If you want a sharp photo, you need to shoot at f/8 with that lens. f/8 is where that lens is sharpest over the entire frame. The sample photo you provided likely made use of a strobe w/light modifier as well as a macro lens. The macro lens gives a higher magnification and can focus closer but also gives a shallower depth of field. DOF in your sample pic is less than 1" since that PCB is likely only 1"x1" or so.

 

[jake337]

For small parts like that I would learn about focus stacking or grab yourself a tilt/shift lens. Focus stacking will save you alot of money though.

 

[phnoob]

use the same setting that you used for that last shot.. but raise the ISO to 400. If it is still a little dark then change your shutter speed, make it slower so that more light will come in. Are you just trying to learn this, or will you need to print these shots? Flash would be much better.. but would increase the learning curve.

Here's a picture taken with settings:

F-stop: f/22
Exposure time: 1/20 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-400
Flash mode: no flash

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7661/dsc1688j.jpg

You do not need a brighter bulb. Just expose it for a longer time.

By "expose it for a longer time," do you mean change the shutter speed?

I will try to position the subject so that it is standing up and the top of the subject is facing more towards the camera. In that case, you have a higher chance to have everything in focus.

The trouble with this is getting the picture to look natural when the object is on it's side. I tried doing this, but it just looks weird..

Try it with f/8 or f/11.

... If you want a sharp photo, you need to shoot at f/8 with that lens. f/8 is where that lens is sharpest over the entire frame.

Here's a picture taken with settings:

F-stop: f/8
Exposure time: 1/20 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-100
Flash mode: no flash

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8451/dsc1689w.jpg

Finally, here's a picture taken with settings:

F-stop: f/8
Exposure time: 1/10 sec.
ISO speed: ISO-100
Flash mode: no flash

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/1567/dsc1690m.jpg

 

[Dao]

- Use Aperture pority mode
- Choose f/8
- Use Spot meter mode instead of matrix mode
- Meter the green
- Take a shot and see if it need any exposure compensation.

 

[phnoob]

- Use Aperture pority mode
- Choose f/8
- Use Spot meter mode instead of matrix mode
- Meter the green
- Take a shot and see if it need any exposure compensation.

I did everything you said except for "meter the green," I'm afraid I don't know what that means, and here is the result:

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/9753/dsc1688m.jpg