# Wanted to share pictures I took of my new setup



## kyoru (Jan 15, 2009)

I run a business called Import Bible so that's why they have watermarks saying Import Bible if you're wondering.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Pretty shiny. I especially like the keyboard pic fading off into the whiteness of the Great Spirit of Apple-ness.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

Great camera work!


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

How did you get that absolute White nothingness as a background? I love it. Can someone teach me how to do that?

Cheers


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

tilt said:


> How did you get that absolute White nothingness as a background? I love it. Can someone teach me how to do that?
> 
> Cheers


Yeah I'd also like to know.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

White seamless, high key lighting, expose for shadows but don't blow out any highlights so that they're unrecoverable. 

Light metered at the white background should be 1 to 2 stops brighter than your subject.

My set up and result posted earlier in the Photography Anyone thread:

Simple two strobe setup + ambient. 










Result:


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

kps said:


> Simple two strobe setup + ambient.


"Simple" is sure what that looks like. Haha thanks for letting us know.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

scandy said:


> "Simple" is sure what that looks like. Haha thanks for letting us know.


LOL

Forgot to add, shoot in full manual (camera and strobes), otherwise the camera's metering will be fooled and your whites will come out 18% grey.


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## kyoru (Jan 15, 2009)

it's pretty easy with a lens like a 35mm 1.8. My table is white so the keyboard simply blurs with the table at the top


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

kps said:


> White seamless, high key lighting, expose for shadows but don't blow out any highlights so that they're unrecoverable.
> 
> Light metered at the white background should be 1 to 2 stops brighter than your subject.
> 
> ...


Holy ****! I was hoping for something I could do with my point-and-click-with-built-in-flash kind of novice/amateur suggestions 

The picture of your setup is a nice picture in itself!

Cheers


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

kyoru said:


> it's pretty easy with a lens like a 35mm 1.8. My table is white so the keyboard simply blurs with the table at the top


Thanks. 

Now all I need to buy are a White table and a DSLR camera to replace my Lumix FZ-18. 

Cheers


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

tilt said:


> Holy ****! I was hoping for something I could do with my point-and-click-with-built-in-flash kind of novice/amateur suggestions
> 
> The picture of your setup is a nice picture in itself!
> 
> Cheers


I hope the winky gave a clue that it was with tongue-in-cheek I posted that.

That setup doesn't even come close to what a real product shooter would use. I didn't even light the background and used unmodified direct flash for the main and a cheap reflecting umbrella for the fill. lol

kyoru's images are great because he got two things spot on...one being the depth-of-field with his 35 shooting wide open which gave it that great look and the second being that he absolutely nailed the white balance under those fluorescent lights.


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## egremont (Jun 14, 2009)

tilt said:


> Holy ****! I was hoping for something I could do with my point-and-click-with-built-in-flash kind of novice/amateur suggestions
> 
> Tilt: If you can white balance and turn off your flash and have a tripod that you can use with your "point and shoot", I have a method of taking product shots.
> 
> NOT as sophisticated setup as or refined results as posted by KPS, but quite good for not too many dollars. Scrounging is an important element of putting together a low cost setup. Good way to try out product photography and decide if you want to invest in better equipment.


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

egremont said:


> Tilt: If you can white balance


Yes I can.



egremont said:


> and turn off your flash


Yes I can.



egremont said:


> and have a tripod that you can use with your "point and shoot",


Yes I do.



egremont said:


> I have a method of taking product shots.


Please, go ahead.

Cheers


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## egremont (Jun 14, 2009)

*for Tilt*

As I stated, this method will not give you as elegant results as Kyrou's but the setup if very economical.

First attachment is the results that I was wanting to achieve.
Second is the set up.

If interested I will measure and give you more detailed information. Foam board, heavy cardboard, scrounged 3 outlet light fixture ( porcelain light bulb holders), strips of wood, square of plywood - chain/rope and of course duck tape. Three or four EconoMax 1600 Lumen fluorescent bulbs.(MaxLite: The Home Of Energy Efficient Lighting - SKE326EA)


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

tilt said:


> How did you get that absolute White nothingness as a background? I love it. Can someone teach me how to do that?
> 
> Cheers





kps said:


> White seamless, high key lighting, expose for shadows but don't blow out any highlights so that they're unrecoverable.
> 
> Light metered at the white background should be 1 to 2 stops brighter than your subject.
> 
> ...


Or you can use Photoshop to create the same effect post production.  It's not hard if you know what you are doing. Quite frankly the shots in question look Photoshoped to me and not "out of the can".


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

screature said:


> Quite frankly the shots in question look Photoshoped to me and not "out of the can".


Can't agree that they're shopped. A 35 f1.8 can easily give you that shallow a depth of field and that creamy bokeh shooting wide open. The perfect WB on the other hand could have been tweaked in PS or LR.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

tilt said:


> ... I was hoping for something I could do with my point-and-click-with-built-in-flash kind of novice/amateur suggestions ...


tilt, I found this site and this page which showed me a very simple way to get the white/disappeared background.

The author says to use PhotoShop, but I can do it right in iPhoto with the "Edit" > "Adjust" > "Levels" setting.
Easy peasy. 

Cheap background = a piece of white Bristol Board (Staples, $1.00), curved up and held in place with tape or clamps to a chair. 
Put your item on the flat part of the bristol board, and shoot with a lamp on one side with something (anything!) white and gauzy in front of the lamp, and a white bounce card (white piece of paper, another piece of white Bristol Board, foam core, etc.) on the other side of the item.

Cheap, fun to experiment, fast! 

^Yeah, egremont has a good set up.


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

kps said:


> Can't agree that they're shopped. A 35 f1.8 can easily give you that shallow a depth of field and that creamy bokeh shooting wide open. The perfect WB on the other hand could have been tweaked in PS or LR.


Not saying they *are* Photoshoped, just the magic mouse and keyboard (especially the keyboard) shots look that way to me. 

Obviously they were well shot to begin with but to me they look "touched up". Not much digital photography doesn't see some post production processing these days. Great shots one way or the other.


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

Kps, SoyMac, screature & egremont, thank you all very much. This is what I was hoping for. The aim behind my question was more on how to get that perfect White background with no shadows or Greys anywhere and all of you answered that; thank you once again.

Cheers


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Petersen's Photographic was a great magazine and for many years my go to source of info. All sorts of DIY projects that often cost a fraction of their commercial counterparts. Unlike Popular photography when they gave advice it was always sound. Also they were more into helping the reader improve his results rather than selling hardware.

Thought they were long defunct but a search turned up this.
Photographic: Home Page

Don't see exactly what you are looking for but some of the other issues might also be of interest.


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## fellfromtree (May 18, 2005)

With very confined space and storage issues, I got tired of propping up assorted boards and sheets, cobbled together inventions, etc to get consistent even lighting results for product photos, so I came up with a small portable easy to assemble/disassemble solution that works for me. I can set it up and take it down in 5 minutes, I can move it to available light locations or into a dark corner.

I used a $15 Ikea table, an $8 iKea storage tub, $4 Ikea casters, 2 $10 Ikea desk lamps, a bit of on-hand wood scrap, and some washers. I bought a Cameron Digital Photo Box light tent ($80, that hurt- although considering the amount I've spent over time rigging up contraptions...) but you can get a cheap nylonlight tent in various sizes on eBay for $10-20. I have the proper CF photo bulbs ($18 ea, can't recall the brand name off hand) but I also use a regular home Cf bulb, Philips Marathon Mini Decorative Twister 23W 5000k ($6).

I'm sure real photographers are cringing now, but real photo equipment is really expensive. I get acceptable results (for my purposes) with my setup as compared to what I was getting by reinventing the wheel each time.
I like the Ikea desk lamps because they were dirt cheap, the shade snaps on and off, the shades are white inside, and they hold position quite well. Infinitely easier than struggling with my screw mount photo lamps with cheap aluminum shades (approx $25 ea).
I'll have to set it up and see if I can get within a mile of kyoru's MM or keyboard shot, using my point and shoot Canon A630 or Casio Exilim EX-s600.

Apologies to photographers:


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

Excellent use of ingenuity, fellfromtree.

The light tent is money well spent when you shoot a lot of table top stuff which needs even illumination or you have reflective items. Nice setup!


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