Thank you - New lighting journey ahead...

[Bebop]

I just wanted to post to say thank you to @Garry Edwards @Phil V and @Sky as I have now started learning how to use studio flash. The book and all the advice and links you've given have been invaluable. I was very resistant to amassing yet more gear, but I have already had such a lot of fun.

I bought a couple of SmartFlash 4s with stands, a Godox Pro trigger and X1 receiver. I already have some brollies, a 120cm softbox (a bit big really for my space) and reflector.... and a few modifiers for my speedlite including the coloured sheets used below.

I know I have an awful lot to learn, but just mucking about yesterday with these peppers, one Smartflash and one speedlite, I learnt a lot. I had trouble with light spilling where I didn't want it, my background light not being where I wanted it and the background (a cream wall) being too close - it was all a worthwhile exercise. I cannot imagine how much harder it is with people who can move The other Smartflash will be coming out of its box today.

Thank you all for your help in getting me this far.

Here are a few pics. Not perfect, but it's a start. I think putting the camera on a tripod might have helped with consistency and I should have thought more about the composition and placing of the board before I started. I did try filling in some shadows with a silver reflector and then a white brolly. I used a mic stand to hold them in place which didn't work brilliantly. I need one of those voice activated stands

 

[Sky]

Well done Barb, that's a great start.

 

[Boots]

That's excellent, well done!

 

[chrism8]

The key to lighting the background effectively is to have a decent amount of space between the bg and subject, as you've identified as well, a tripod is useful, so are A4 or larger pieces of white and black card to reflect or take away light as well as to shield the subject / bg from unwanted light. black electricians tape is also good for sticking over the front of a speedlight again to prevent unwanted additional light or to direct it more effectively.

 

[Sky]

Gaffer (Gaff) tape is better though - anything else leaves 'sticky' behind.

 

[Bebop]

Thank you everyone. I am honestly so chuffed to have got this far and very grateful to the knowledgeable people on here.

At the moment I don't have any large card, but do have some gaffer tape! And I have black bin bags which I could tape over things.

I imagine larger subjects will pose much bigger problems too, but I shall try to walk before I run and work my way through Garry's book. Shiny things next

 

[Sky]

At the moment I don't have any large card, but do have some gaffer tape!

Do make sure it's gaffer tape Barb - a lot of sellers call 'duct tape' gaffer tape and if you use that it will leave glue everywhere and trash your kit.

 

[Fuji Dave]

Well done and I like the images, it's great when members help with tips and advice. I have started to read Garry's book too.

 

[Garry Edwards]

I just wanted to post to say thank you to @Garry Edwards @Phil V and @Sky as I have now started learning how to use studio flash. The book and all the advice and links you've given have been invaluable. I was very resistant to amassing yet more gear, but I have already had such a lot of fun.

Thanks for the thanks, and FWIW I think that you've made a great start.

I cannot imagine how much harder it is with people who can move The other Smartflash will be coming out of its box today.

People are much easier, on a technical level at least. Still life creates much more difficult challenges.

I just wanted to post to say thank you to @Garry Edwards @Phil V and @Sky as I have now started learning how to use studio flash. The book and all the advice and links you've given have been invaluable. I was very resistant to amassing yet more gear, but I have already had such a lot of fun.

I bought a couple of SmartFlash 4s with stands, a Godox Pro trigger and X1 receiver. I already have some brollies, a 120cm softbox (a bit big really for my space) and reflector.... and a few modifiers for my speedlite including the coloured sheets used below.

I know I have an awful lot to learn, but just mucking about yesterday with these peppers, one Smartflash and one speedlite, I learnt a lot. I had trouble with light spilling where I didn't want it, my background light not being where I wanted it and the background (a cream wall) being too close - it was all a worthwhile exercise. I cannot imagine how much harder it is with people who can move The other Smartflash will be coming out of its box today.

Thank you all for your help in getting me this far.

Here are a few pics. Not perfect, but it's a start. I think putting the camera on a tripod might have helped with consistency and I should have thought more about the composition and placing of the board before I started. I did try filling in some shadows with a silver reflector and then a white brolly. I used a mic stand to hold them in place which didn't work brilliantly. I need one of those voice activated stands

View attachment 312100View attachment 312099View attachment 312101

Have you tried getting the softbox as directly overhead as you can (without the luxury of a boom arm) and pointing slightly forwards? And then just a bit of frontal fill, for which I almost always just use a bit of white paper or a 5 in 1 reflector

 

[Fuji Dave]

@Bebop Please let me know how you get on with the Smartflash, as I only have one flash to use the Godox TTL685 and triger.

 

[Bebop]

Do make sure it's gaffer tape Barb - a lot of sellers call 'duct tape' gaffer tape and if you use that it will leave glue everywhere and trash your kit.

Ah I did think they were one and the same! I will check, thank you!

Have you tried getting the softbox as directly overhead as you can (without the luxury of a boom arm) and pointing slightly forwards? And then just a bit of frontal fill, for which I almost always just use a bit of white paper or a 5 in 1 reflector

Thank you so much Garry. I ended up having to point the softbox forwards a bit because of the spill onto the background.

It's funny you should mention frontal fill because when I looked at the images afterwards that crossed my mind - I'd put the reflector more to the side. I also found the silver too - harsh? So then I swapped it for a white umbrella but of course that will have reflected any light off at all angles. Another time I will try the reflector more from the front which makes far more sense!!

Here was the first set up.



Then I had to tilt the softbox forward to stop it spilling onto the background, and I moved my 'table' further away. The speedlite is in the wrong position here. I moved it further back and pointed it down a bit afterwards.

I had to get under the softbox myself to take the shot



and then I added in the reflector - but I didn't really get this bit to work well. I think white would have worked better - you can even see a reflection on the pepper here. I struggled to prop it into the right place, but I did use the modelling light to try - the modelling lights have been fantastic!

 

[Bebop]

Well done and I like the images, it's great when members help with tips and advice. I have started to read Garry's book too.

Thanks Dave. Yes you can learn a lot on here thanks to people sharing their knowledge. I'd read the book a while ago but am now going through it and hoping to try each project.

@Bebop Please let me know how you get on with the Smartflash, as I only have one flash to use the Godox TTL685 and triger.

So far I am loving it, but it is my new toy I bought two, but yesterday I realised even one would have opened up so many more possibilities. You're halfway there already. Unfortunately I'd already started going down the path of Yongnuo triggers and receivers, but at least they are cheaper than the Canon ones!

 

[Garry Edwards]

You did what everyone always does at the beginning - you put the light in a convenient place rather than in the right place.
Looking at those setup pics, the softbox is tilting down as far as it can with that size of softbox and no boom arm, but it should be about right for this particular type of subject - just try again but with the light behind the subject.

Whatever your subject is standing on is too short, stick it on something else to gain more height . You'll end up with a pure white background but that can't be helped.

And yes, a tripod would have been a big help, for 2 reasons.
1. Having the camera bolted on to a tripod gives you one less thing to think about
2. Deciding on the camera position is always the first step, the lighting is the last step, because the lighting is affected by the camera position, and nobody can hand-hold a camera iin exactly he same place every time.

 

[Fuji Dave]

Thanks Dave. Yes you can learn a lot on here thanks to people sharing their knowledge. I'd read the book a while ago but am now going through it and hoping to try each project.

So far I am loving it, but it is my new toy I bought two, but yesterday I realised even one would have opened up so many more possibilities. You're halfway there already. Unfortunately I'd already started going down the path of Yongnuo triggers and receivers, but at least they are cheaper than the Canon ones!

I don't know why but trying off camera flash sticks the fear of god up me, it might sound silly to some but I know I have to start trying it out. I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[Phil V]

I don't know why but trying off camera flash sticks the fear of god up me, it might sound silly to some but I know I have to start trying it out. I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

It’s the same daft fear most photographers have.

when you photograph outside, you have to think about placing the subject in relation to the fixed light source (the sun/sky). Then you move indoors and use a window light, again it’s your subject that has to move, and in doing so, can mess up your composition.

Now imagine a world where you can choose your composition, and then choose the placing of the light independently.

Rather than being more difficult, it’s actually an easier process; with the caveat there’s more ‘kit’ to be concerned with.

 

[Fuji Dave]

It’s the same daft fear most photographers have.

when you photograph outside, you have to think about placing the subject in relation to the fixed light source (the sun/sky). Then you move indoors and use a window light, again it’s your subject that has to move, and in doing so, can mess up your composition.

Now imagine a world where you can choose your composition, and then choose the placing of the light independently.

Rather than being more difficult, it’s actually an easier process; with the caveat there’s more ‘kit’ to be concerned with.

Just found out I don't have a Sony trigger for my Godox so will order one now will the XproS TTL trigger work with my Godox 685 and if I get the lencarta Smartflash ?

 

[Sky]

will the XproS TTL trigger work with my Godox 685 and if I get the lencarta Smartflash ?

Yes, it will.

 

[Fuji Dave]

Yes, it will.

Thank you, I will order both now from LenCarta site.

Just ordered now, so hope to have both by this week.

 

[Sky]

Thank you, I will order both now from LenCarta site.

I use the Nikon version with my Godox 685s and SK400IIs - they all use the 2.4Ghz system.

 

[Fuji Dave]

I use the Nikon version with my Godox 685s and SK400IIs - they all use the 2.4Ghz system.

Thank you again, and thank you too @Bebop and sorry for highjacking your thread which has kicked me up the backside as well. My father always said Don't run from your fear, face it head on and you will over come it.

 

[Sky]

I agree - turn your fear into excitement.

 

[Nostromo]

I think putting the camera on a tripod might have helped with consistency

It's very rare I don't use a tripod. Once I have set up my composition (I've usually done a small basic sketch of what I'm going to do first), I put my camera on a tripod. From there on in, I can keep the same camera position for every shot and adjust lighting position, add a reflector or add a light and the composition will be the same. This will also allow you to blend images together should you need to for any reason.
As a side note, I shoot tethered too, I find this really helps with seeing things that are not so obvious on the camera lcd.

 

[Nostromo]

I don't know why but trying off camera flash sticks the fear of god up me, it might sound silly to some but I know I have to start trying it out. I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

I'm by no means an expert, not in the slightest. But as an amateur, with no pressure from making money at photography, there should be no fear of using ocf. You can take as many photos, with as many different lighting position, at your leisure. No one is demanding their photos (other than yourself). Who cares if you get it wrong to start with, I'm sure we all do (I still do).
Sorry @Bebop for also highjacking your thread

 

[Bebop]

You did what everyone always does at the beginning - you put the light in a convenient place rather than in the right place.

Of course

Looking at those setup pics, the softbox is tilting down as far as it can with that size of softbox and no boom arm, but it should be about right for this particular type of subject - just try again but with the light behind the subject.

Whatever your subject is standing on is too short, stick it on something else to gain more height . You'll end up with a pure white background but that can't be helped.

It is tilting as far as it would go, and you are right, it's a bass cab under the cover and it is too short. This afternoon for my shiny things I piled empty boxes on top to raise my subject up. I was trying more of a plan view of the knife.... at first... see below

And yes, a tripod would have been a big help, for 2 reasons.
1. Having the camera bolted on to a tripod gives you one less thing to think about
2. Deciding on the camera position is always the first step, the lighting is the last step, because the lighting is affected by the camera position, and nobody can hand-hold a camera iin exactly he same place every time.

I remember reading that about camera position in your book, but had forgotten. I haven't done it this afternoon either, but I will in my next session! Thank you for reminding me.

This afternoon I have added a third light/group as I wanted more directional light on the blade, but then I started to cut corners and try this and try that, instead of thinking about it. At first I was working out what I wanted from one light and then adding a second and checking the second on it's own etc. and then I got lazy and experimental.

So, in my next play I will be a bit more disciplined.

 

[Bebop]

Please @Fuji Dave and @Nostromo don't worry about hi-jacking the thread, it's all useful to me too and I'm really happy to have everyone's input and for others to get what they can out of it too.

@Nostromo I love some of your still life compositions I've seen for the 52. I find it quite hard to think how to put the image together in the first place - that is a skill I'll have to work on. I don't know if you've come across Polina Plotnikova, but I heard a great talk by her. She does a lot of planning beforehand and uses old masters for inspiration.

I've never tried shooting tethered, but I can see the advantages. Next session, the tripod is coming out ... then I'll think about being tethered!

I don't know why but trying off camera flash sticks the fear of god up me, it might sound silly to some but I know I have to start trying it out. I will be keeping an eye on this thread.

One of the first things I was taught when training to be a teacher was that to learn, you have to be prepared to fail, and it is so true. I enjoy learning so I do a lot of failing - please feel free to fail with me I have really enjoyed playing and already know more than I did two days ago - although today's efforts fell a bit short! Oops!

 

[Fuji Dave]

I think the word for me is Fail, funny really when I think of it as when doing my jazz shots and I'd make a mistake I'd then go back and think Right how can I do this now and I'd get the shot and be chuffed. So I will look on it like my jazz shots, plus I already have a fold away pop up reflector here so not much more to buy when I do need some thing.

 

[Fuji Dave]

@Bebop if truth be known I could not give you any advice of lighting, reason being I know nothing about it and only take an image if I like it and never think about light. Now I will start to learn how to use a flash I will also learn about light, as I love to just sit and watch how light can hit things.

 

[Bebop]

I think the word for me is Fail, funny really when I think of it as when doing my jazz shots and I'd make a mistake I'd then go back and think Right how can I do this now and I'd get the shot and be chuffed. So I will look on it like my jazz shots, plus I already have a fold away pop up reflector here so not much more to buy when I do need some thing.

Exactly, we'll just keep practising and learning from our mistakes.

As for the equipment... I can see a few more things may go on my wishlist

In the first lockdown I started doing a digital painting course and that had me looking at things differently - particularly shadows. I must get back to it as perhaps it will help me on my lighting journey.

 

[Fuji Dave]

Exactly, we'll just keep practising and learning from our mistakes.

As for the equipment... I can see a few more things may go on my wishlist

In the first lockdown I started doing a digital painting course and that had me looking at things differently - particularly shadows. I must get back to it as perhaps it will help me on my lighting journey.

This all reminds me of my Showcase shot of Sam singing in my 52, I had an idea of what I wanted and how the light was hitting him and I messed up. So I left it for a while but still went down to watch him sing, for the first so many hours I just watched how he moved his head and then I got up and the first shot I took of him was the shot I had wanted to take and I was over the moon with it.

 

[Sky]

As for the equipment... I can see a few more things may go on my wishlist

Two words; slope and slippery.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Here's a reply that I posted in another thread, it may be relevant.
"
1. Work out your shooting position first and then put the camera on a tripod.
2. Make full use of the modelling lamp, that's what it's for. Don't bother with the light stand at first, just switch it on and get someone to walk all around the set slowly, pointing it at your subject. And, when you're happy with the lighting effect, Put the lighting stand up in that position and clamp the light to it. Now try raising and lowering the height until the lighting looks best.

You now have your starting point. Feel free to take some test shots using just the modelling lamp (at very high ISO) to confirm the light position. Now do it again, leaving the light where it is but adding a reflector, again moving it around until you're happy with the effect. Remember that the inverse square law applies to the reflector (as well as to everything else) so, the closer the reflector is to the subject, the greater its effect will be.

And then it's time to use the flash. Decide on the ideal aperture for DOF, then take as many test shots as you need to find the correct power setting. "

There's more to it than that of course, but it's a good place to start. It's all about
1. Knowledge
2. Willingness to learn and experiment.

Here's one of my favourite anecdotes that I like to bore people with
A long time ago, I used to run the lighting forum on a very large American forum, and I used to set challenges for members, in the form of Lighting Themes. I’d photograph a subject and post all of the work in progress images, together with a detailed explanation, and members would then shoot a similar subject and post their results – it was a good learning resource. What I really wanted to do was to set a lighting theme on artistic nude photography, but that wasn’t an appropriate subject, so it didn’t happen. Artistic nude photography is a great lighting exercise and personally I’ve probably learned far more about lighting from this subject than from any other. I mentioned this on the forum and one of the members then emailed me, asking for advice – which often happened – and I explained the principles to this guy, who was a complete lighting beginner. Over the course of just a couple of weeks, he started emailing his incredibly good photos, and I couldn’t help wondering at his speed of improvement.

Anyway, time moved on a one day he emailed me to say that he was visiting England and could we meet up? We did, and had a very good couple of days together. On his final night, we went to my local pub for the usual pub quiz and he discovered the strength of English beer He couldn’t contribute much to most of the quiz answers but then we had a couple of questions on physics, and he surprised us all with his depth of knowledge. It turned out that he was a real-life Leonard Hofstadter and worked as an experimental physicist at a leading university. This, for me, totally explained his outstanding progress in understanding how light works.

@Bebop I think I remember you saying that you studied physics, and if that's correct then you're already at least halfway there.

 

[Bebop]

Here's one of my favourite anecdotes that I like to bore people with
A long time ago, I used to run the lighting forum on a very large American forum, and I used to set challenges for members, in the form of Lighting Themes. I’d photograph a subject and post all of the work in progress images, together with a detailed explanation, and members would then shoot a similar subject and post their results – it was a good learning resource. What I really wanted to do was to set a lighting theme on artistic nude photography, but that wasn’t an appropriate subject, so it didn’t happen. Artistic nude photography is a great lighting exercise and personally I’ve probably learned far more about lighting from this subject than from any other. I mentioned this on the forum and one of the members then emailed me, asking for advice – which often happened – and I explained the principles to this guy, who was a complete lighting beginner. Over the course of just a couple of weeks, he started emailing his incredibly good photos, and I couldn’t help wondering at his speed of improvement.

Anyway, time moved on a one day he emailed me to say that he was visiting England and could we meet up? We did, and had a very good couple of days together. On his final night, we went to my local pub for the usual pub quiz and he discovered the strength of English beer He couldn’t contribute much to most of the quiz answers but then we had a couple of questions on physics, and he surprised us all with his depth of knowledge. It turned out that he was a real-life Leonard Hofstadter and worked as an experimental physicist at a leading university. This, for me, totally explained his outstanding progress in understanding how light works.

@Bebop I think I remember you saying that you studied physics, and if that's correct then you're already at least halfway there.

That's a lovely story and made me smile. I remember very little of my physics really these days, but it does pop into everyday life often and I think (hope?) I have the right idea for reflection, refraction and the inverse square law - which also applies to sound which was relevant when I played in a band. Putting it into practice is the tricky bit!

In my head I'd love to have a go at rim lighting a nude to get the curves, but I doubt I'll ever try it - perhaps a muscly arm would be a good place to start, one day

Here's a reply that I posted in another thread, it may be relevant.
"
1. Work out your shooting position first and then put the camera on a tripod.
2. Make full use of the modelling lamp, that's what it's for. Don't bother with the light stand at first, just switch it on and get someone to walk all around the set slowly, pointing it at your subject. And, when you're happy with the lighting effect, Put the lighting stand up in that position and clamp the light to it. Now try raising and lowering the height until the lighting looks best.

You now have your starting point. Feel free to take some test shots using just the modelling lamp (at very high ISO) to confirm the light position. Now do it again, leaving the light where it is but adding a reflector, again moving it around until you're happy with the effect. Remember that the inverse square law applies to the reflector (as well as to everything else) so, the closer the reflector is to the subject, the greater its effect will be.

And then it's time to use the flash. Decide on the ideal aperture for DOF, then take as many test shots as you need to find the correct power setting. "

There's more to it than that of course, but it's a good place to start. It's all about
1. Knowledge
2. Willingness to learn and experiment.

That's really helpful. I shall make a note!

I couldn't resist having another session last night. I was looking at your shiny wood project. My husband has some lovely guitars with lots of curves and shiny chrome. I don't really know how to pose them nor how best to show their attributes. I do know that it's easy to get horrible reflections. It is a subject that I'll be prepared to come back to and keep practising.

I used the tripod and tried to be a bit more disciplined. It crossed my mind that using a torch might help me place the light in the first instance, but using a light with modelling lamp as you suggest, would be better. I don't think I could manhandle it with the softbox on. I think a reflector holder would be useful, as that is too variable at the moment.

I wrote a long post but it was very boring, so here is the shorter version...

The 1st pic is SOOC on first attempt with two lights. (I did try one first!)



Success - I can see the shape of the face near the shoulders and on the left. The edge beading shows well. No horrible reflections.
Fail - reflection on wall. Shadows under scratchplate and knobs a little too deep. Shape on lower right not apparent nor curve on scratchplate. The softbox is reflecting from my camera lens onto 3 spots on the guitar (physics!!).

The other pics below have been processed. I had to clone out the lens reflections as I hadn't spotted them beforehand - I guess shooting tethered would help. Is it obviously two light sources? Is it a bit flat? Shadows too deep around knobs and scratchplate looks flat. More practice needed!

I will have another go and will try walking round with the light first - need an assistant! These are streets ahead of what I could have got days ago, but I look forward to getting something better.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Good effort, very challenging subject with complex shapes, shiny bits, textured bits. Brand new ones are tough, those that have lived a life and which have battle scars are even tougher.

(Hopefully) constructive suggestions:
1. Get your husband to "pose" it for you - the owner always understands the strengths and knows what needs to be emphasised in the shot.
2. Forget about the background for now, you have enough to do lighting just the subject, and the flashgun that you've obviously used to light the background could be used elsewhere - perhaps fitted with a honeycomb and placed a long way away (physics tells you why it needs to be a long way away) to emphasise the strings and their architecture.
3. With such awkward, shiny shapes you need to place the light where it creates the least bad reflection, and then experiment with position - sometimes making the tiniest of changes - until you're happy with the inevitable compromise between unwanted reflections and the lighting effect that you want. The good thing about the laws of physics is that they tell us what cannot work, which can save a lot of time. The bad thing about them is that they're immutable, which means that sometimes we just have to accept that absolute perfection is absolutely impossible
4. A better quality softbox would help here. A long time ago, I spent an unbelievable amount on Chimera softboxes, simply because they were the best. I used them a lot on high-end fashion photography and when some other photographers asked me why I didn't use cheap ones instead, my answer was that the Chimera ones made cheap clothes look expensive. Maybe you could move the inner diffuser further back and/or fit a much thicker and denser diffuser to the front of the front one? A good quality, plain white shower curtain is my own material of choice.
5. Forget that you're using a 'free to use' digital camera. Imagine that you're shooting on a large plate camera and that it's costing you £20 each time you press the magic button. In other words, learn to measure twice and cut once, never take the "final shot" until you've thought it through and you're satisfied that there are no possible improvements. Obviously, you'll be taking test shots to confirm the lighting effect of every change, that's different.
6. When you're using more than one light (and yes, it's obvious) remember that the first (key) light does 80-90% of the work, never introduce a second light until you're happy with the effect of the first, and of course this also applies to lights 3, 4, 99 and so on - add just one light at a time and switch off all lights other than the one that you're adding.
7. Stick with your SOOC shots. PP comes into play later, to turn an excellent shot into an outstanding one and improvements are always possible, but don't do any PP work to correct lighting problems that can be solved in-camera.

Artistic nude photography_1 - yes, a well-muscled arm is much the same thing.

Artistic nude photography_2 - a few years ago I did an artistic nude workshop once a month for a very long time. It was sponsored by Lencarta and so only cost £60 per person for a full day. At the start, I used to ask people how much experience they had of studio lighting, the answers varied from "I've never been in a studio before" to "I've been a professional studio photographer for the last 20 years" - and you know what? Everyone ended up understanding the principles and getting decent shots by the end of the day and, if anything, the complete beginners who knew that they knew nothing tended to do much better than the people who had a lot of experience but little knowledge.

Anyway, even I'm getting bored now so that will do, and I won't bother you again for a while because I'm off to the farm to do something useful - no internet there

 

[Bebop]

Brilliant, thank you @Garry Edwards

 

[Fuji Dave]

My toys come tomorrow

 

[sk66]

I will have another go and will try walking round with the light first - need an assistant!

Another option is to place the light at the camera's position/angle and then move around until you see the light where you want it on the subject... that's the place where the light needs to be placed for it to be visible there on the subject from the camera's position. I.e. you move around and your eyes are "the camera"; and then you just swap the positions to keep the angle the same.

When you want to show a contour/detail you need to light it more perpendicular to it's depth... i.e. contour/detail is created by shadows. That guitar top is a huge shiny curved subject for this type of approach. IMO much larger indirect/soft lighting and +/- reflectors would work better than your softbox. I think that what you are trying to do would require your 4ft softbox to be w/in about 1ft of the guitar; not at all suitable for this camera angle. (another option might be to get a large transparent/frosted shower curtain and light that with your softbox to get ~ a 6x8)

 

[Bebop]

Another option is to place the light at the camera's position/angle and then move around until you see the light where you want it on the subject... that's the place where the light needs to be placed for it to be visible there on the subject from the camera's position. I.e. you move around and your eyes are "the camera"; and then you just swap the positions to keep the angle the same.

When you want to show a contour/detail you need to light it more perpendicular to it's depth... i.e. contour/detail is created by shadows. That guitar top is a huge shiny curved subject for this type of approach. IMO much larger indirect/soft lighting and +/- reflectors would work better than your softbox. I think that what you are trying to do would require your 4ft softbox to be w/in about 2ft of the guitar; not at all suitable for this camera angle. (another option might be to get a large transparent/frosted shower curtain and light that with your softbox to get ~ a 6x8)

That's a good idea - swapping the light and camera.

Yes I was trying to direct the light across the top of the guitar. It was quite close. I was nervous about knocking the guitar over.

I will do further experimenting - I do have access to a stand I could hang a cloth/shower curtain on. This might end up a long term project. It's only for fun, but I think it's a worthy subject. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Another option is to place the light at the camera's position/angle and then move around until you see the light where you want it on the subject... that's the place where the light needs to be placed for it to be visible there on the subject from the camera's position. I.e. you move around and your eyes are "the camera"; and then you just swap the positions to keep the angle the same.

That's a very useful suggestion. It isn't something that I've done personally but I've used a lit candle in the exact lens position, for the same effect. I remember one particular job, a general shot of a large group of very shiny engineering bearings, the candle helped enormously both with composing the various elements and then lighting them.

 

[Bebop]

That's a very useful suggestion. It isn't something that I've done personally but I've used a lit candle in the exact lens position, for the same effect. I remember one particular job, a general shot of a large group of very shiny engineering bearings, the candle helped enormously both with composing the various elements and then lighting them.

That sounds like a nightmare challenging assignment!

 

[Fuji Dave]

My new toys just arrived, one lovely new stand and a great lighting kit