Flash & metalic objects

[Al Tee]

Assistance required please..

Being relatively new to flash photography & thus far playing it on a trial & error basis I'm coming a bit stuck for what to try next when taking shots of metalic, (reflective), objects for work.

I'm using my D50 with 2 x SB22's & trying a host of permatations to diffuse, I must admit to these diffusers being somewhat home made; tissue paper, thin foam; etc; etc.

Is it possible to produce catalogue quality shots with this minmal gear or do I need to go down the route of light boxes and daylight balanced lighting etc; etc?

Any suggestions / advice will be sincerely welcomed & appreciated.

Al.

[Canis Vulpes]

It is possible to produce catalogue quality using minimal gear. Its a little more difficult as more obstacles need to be overcome when compared with using more fancy equipment such as lightboxes etc.

Lighting in your example is fair but choosing the right background is just as important as the subject. If the background had been black then the shadow from above lighting would have been lost without any lighting rethink.

[Don Hoey]

Al,

Your flash and homemade diffusers are fine for smaller objects up to about 12 inch cube, beyond that then large light sources ( lightboxes ) make life a lot easier.

There are lots of pics showing set ups in the ' Behind the scenes '. In all cases where I have used a softbox then a smaller flash and diffuser could have been substituted. Purely a matter of conveniance for me as the flash in the softbox is mains powered, and I can leave it turned on so saves me lots on batteries. My other flashguns are old and do not go onto standby when not in use. All of Foxys pics are taken with standard flash units.

As Stephen has said the background choice is just as important as the subject. Something plain that does not clash.

Quite a bit of trial and error for light postitioning in the first few objects you take on.

For metal objects then sometimes a bit of harder light from an undiffused flash, or using silver foil reflector, ( kitchen foil scrunched up and flattened attatched to a bit of card ) helps to create highlights.

I will have a look later for something similar, so I can do a behind the scenes to explain my ramblings.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Originally Posted by Al Tee

..................... taking shots of metalic, (reflective), objects for work.

Al.

And that is how I started off with flash.

Don

[Gidders]

Maplins do a small "portable studio" light tent <<<<LINK>>>> which they did have on offer at £9.99 although I see on thier website it is back up to £19.99. This would soften the shaddows considerably.

The picture on their website doesn't actually show the correct assembly - if you imagine rolling it forward through 90 degrees so that the peice of background material sticking out becomes the base, their base becomes the back and you then have white sides & TOP with the black case that is showing in their picture at the back folded back on itself at the back. Probably a bit difficult to visualise - I'll post a picture of mine if I get chance when i get home tonight.

[Don Hoey]

Al,

This is a fairly straightforward flash job of keyless chucks. The chucks are placed on a mirror that reflects the background of black velvet so they appear to be on a shiny black surface.

The aim was to show a very simple light set up and particularly the use of black flags to reflect dark areas onto the shiny subjects to enhance their form.

Attatched is an explanitory behind the scenes shot, and a comparison of using a single overhead flash, and of adding a second flash to act as a fill light. All of the light from the second unit was reflected by the reflectors.

I hope this is of some help.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Al,

Here is an over the shoulder view of the setup. When viewed through the camera the black velvet reflection covers the visible portion of the mirror.

Don

[Don Hoey]

Al,

As you are going to have a go this weekend pick something simple to take a pic of. Start off deciding on the background and the angle you want to take it from and then decide on the position of your main light. Take a few pics to get the best angle from that one flash. Then consider your second unit. Use that to add a highlight or lessen a shadow. The second flash will be on reduced power to not compete with the main/key light.

Don

[yelvertoft]

Al,

I can't add much advice on the general photographic technique beyond what has been stated above. However, one of the things Don taught me (by way of gentle critique) is that subject preparation is vital for the kind of subject you are photographing here.

Flash and smooth reflective objects are very unforgiving of dust, dirt and fingerprints. The tiniest mark will show up like a sore thumb. Use gloves, clean your subject thoroughly, clean the surface it is placed on thoroughly.

You can take shots of "Master" quality with the equipment you have, it will take a lot of practice and time, but it can be done. As well as the ad-hoc accessories you have listed, a bit of card covered in tin foil can be useful, as Don has suggested, a bit of black card and black cloth (I use a pair of Mrs Y's black velvet trousers) are handy. Also, I've found a tupperware bowl and lid can be put to good effect as diffusers. Sellotape and/or assistants are useful as you never have enough hands to hold things in place.

Duncan

[Al Tee]

Stephen, Don, Clive & Duncan, many thanks for your input.

Anyway, as you will detect, I’m still somewhat struggling! (See attached pics). Just thought I’d let you know my experiences so far.

I am using a black background consisting of thick cardboard painted matt black. The base was an old glass kitchen chopping board, again, matt blacked. I’ve also made sides from the matt blacked cardboard.

The attached “efforts” also have a glass sheet laid over the matt black base; (no spare mirrors available, but I’m on the lookout).

If I’m really honest here, my initial thoughts were to take a crisp photo of the piston and then address the background with various tools in PS. Initially it didn’t work with the black background because the reflections on the piston itself were too similar a colour to able to separate, even at a tolerance of 1%! I learnt a lesson though; I thought “I’ll try a different colour”, I tried it with a light blue background and found myself in the same position, although this time with similar shades of light blue! Obvious now I know!

The vertical flash reflection down the centre of the piston I now see as a flaw that in some respects adds a little to the image. Jamie actually stumbled on how to get rid of it as we couldn’t understand why, when bouncing the on camera flash at 90 degrees we still got this line. Jamie held a piece of card along the underneath edge of the flash screen. We found out that the flash still produces sufficient light to create this line from what is emitted from the underneath edge of the flash screen!

I’m not sure but I think the equipment I’m using hasn’t really got the adjustments required; the SB22’s only work at full power on manual settings as I can see, & the only way to limit the output to subject is by way of diffusing to differing levels. I think I may have to look into purchasing the lead required so as to have the main flash “off camera” at the lower than subject level as indicated in the setup pics. Does anyone know the Nikon lead number I require?

I think the “washed out” black background must be down to the power of flash that I can’t limit successfully (yet).

One thing I can say is that I think I’ve “got the bit between my teeth” so to speak, I’m starting to think more of the reflective implications of flash, and, I suppose this has got to be an advantage to have in photography in general. Also, with the keyless chuck pics in mind I’ve got a datum standard to aim for!

Once again, thanks all for the tips and advice, it inspires me to carry on. It’s also a moral booster to know I’m not the only one to utilise items like sellotape, blue tac, Tupperware, (I use a maggot tub lid sometimes), & tin foil etc; etc.

Thanks again,

Al.