Trying out new Godox DE300 plus Octo-softbox with grids

Carlh

Carlh

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Carl
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Ive had the black perspex a while and when I last shot using it, I used my very cheap neweer lighting and softbox, though it wasnt a very large, maybe 40/50cm or so, but last month I upgraded my lights to godox with bowens fitments (yaaay) and a couple of octo-boxes which are feckin massive and just about fit through the doorway. The softbox is gridded.

I know what I need to do:
Make sure the perspex is spotlessly clean as I picked up some minor scratches/hairs/marks in the photos I have taken.
Add a kick light to the rear to highlight the rim of the objects to give some depth.

Any other tips would be gratefully received :)

1.. In this test, I had some sea-salt shower gel and thought I would put some sea salt next to the product, I think if it was the bottle on its own, the image would not work as well - even though the shower gel is more like head-and-shoulder shampoo (silky smooth), sea salt is definitely not like that unless its fine of course.
New lighting test#7 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr


2.. This is the dog's play ball. Got a few hairs on it - I wanted to use this as example because of its shape. Its non-reflective (pretty much), a bit furry and has lines in there so wanted to see how that would come out
New lighting test#1 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr


3.. 3 Red Apples, personally one of my favourites because its like the above, round, but has some colour, texture and some reflective capability so I was able to see how soft the light actually was
New lighting test#3 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr


4.. Minions favourite munchies - Bananas
New lighting test#4 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr


5.. Bananas and an apple, just to get a mix of the above two images to see how that goes
New lighting test#5 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr


6.. Playstation 4 controller, a couple of different angles.
New lighting test#6 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr
and
New lighting test#6 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr

What I am happy about the images:
Hardly any processing, just camera raw, bit of contrast, set white balance to flash, set my sharpening level, cropped and saved. Should have removed the "bits" surrounding the objects - but this was a test for me so the next tests will be cleaner.

Although I a kicker light might not be so important on the fruit objects, I think it would add a lot more to the PS4 controller.

Thanks for popping in
 
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Quite a valid exercise but the soft falloff (which is one of the features of a grid)
could be better observed on a white background.
 
I'm not really a product photographer so take what I say with a pinch of salt, but..

While these are all technically competent - and the PS4 controller is very cool - they're all shot from quite a high viewpoint, which is unusual and slightly jarring, and the light is slightly more frontal than I would start with. The combination of the two has lead these shots to look a little flat.

I can see that the viewpoint means you can include the full reflection, but do you really need to?
 
juggler said:
I'm not really a product photographer so take what I say with a pinch of salt, but..

While these are all technically competent - and the PS4 controller is very cool - they're all shot from quite a high viewpoint, which is unusual and slightly jarring, and the light is slightly more frontal than I would start with. The combination of the two has lead these shots to look a little flat.

I can see that the viewpoint means you can include the full reflection, but do you really need to?
Click to expand...
I did try getting down a bit lower, but thats where I think another light from behind would be better to give it more depth?

22391233061_224a7478d7_k.jpg
_MG_3331[/url] by Carl Harrison, on Flickr[/IMG] _MG_3331 by Carl Harrison, on Flickr
 
juggler said:
I think you're right. Have you seen Garry's tutorial? It's kind of similar.
Click to expand...
Someone mentioned me... Yes, that is kind of similar, but it's a complex subject because of its many different shapes and angles. This tutorial, on controlling specular highlights, is more basic but perhaps more relevant to you.
And I agree about getting the camera lower. With the camera looking straight at the subject, the effect is kind of neutral, when we look up at the subject then the subject becomes much more dominant and looks like a hero - which is why the jargon term for pointing up at the subject is "heroic". When we look down, we make the subject look small and unimportant. So, if we're photographing say a tin of baked beans, it's generally better to be either on the same level or to look up at it. We know that it has a top to it, so unless there is something special about the top (for example a ring pull) then we don't need to look down on the can to show the top, same with your example shots.

I think that, generally, you've made a decent job of the lighting, but a good tip for when we're using overhead lighting is to have the light a bit behind the subject and tilted forward a bit, this then lights the top extremely (however much or little of it is visible to the camera) well and doesn't spill light onto the front elevation, which allows us to light the front separately.
2 other points...

1. The purpose of a honeycomb (English) or grid (American) is to stop the light spreading over a large area, as well as to control flare when used as a backlight. For this type of shot, don't use it because it is doing no good and is in fact doing harm.
2. For shiny subjects such as your apples and controller, the softbox needs to be much, much closer, for the reasons set out in my tutorial.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Someone mentioned me... Yes, that is kind of similar, but it's a complex subject because of its many different shapes and angles. This tutorial, on controlling specular highlights, is more basic but perhaps more relevant to you.
And I agree about getting the camera lower. With the camera looking straight at the subject, the effect is kind of neutral, when we look up at the subject then the subject becomes much more dominant and looks like a hero - which is why the jargon term for pointing up at the subject is "heroic". When we look down, we make the subject look small and unimportant. So, if we're photographing say a tin of baked beans, it's generally better to be either on the same level or to look up at it. We know that it has a top to it, so unless there is something special about the top (for example a ring pull) then we don't need to look down on the can to show the top, same with your example shots.

I think that, generally, you've made a decent job of the lighting, but a good tip for when we're using overhead lighting is to have the light a bit behind the subject and tilted forward a bit, this then lights the top extremely (however much or little of it is visible to the camera) well and doesn't spill light onto the front elevation, which allows us to light the front separately.
2 other points...

1. The purpose of a honeycomb (English) or grid (American) is to stop the light spreading over a large area, as well as to control flare when used as a backlight. For this type of shot, don't use it because it is doing no good and is in fact doing harm.
2. For shiny subjects such as your apples and controller, the softbox needs to be much, much closer, for the reasons set out in my tutorial.
Click to expand...
cheers garry - off to watch that one too!
 
Garry Edwards said:
1. The purpose of a honeycomb (English) or grid (American) is to stop the light spreading over a large area, as well as to control flare when used as a backlight. For this type of shot, don't use it because it is doing no good and is in fact doing harm.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing... The grid is reducing a bit of the wrap you would otherwise get from a large modifier.

I also think most of the images are suffering somewhat from using a single light source... As you use a light from closer distances it becomes "softer" with more wrap, but the falloff is also quicker with more contrast. Many of the images are suffering from a bit of loss in the highlights, i.e. the salt (as you move the light closer they become translucent). As Gary said, light from slightly behind and use white/silver v-flats (foam core or whatever) to bounce some fill back in as desired. A spot is nice for some things (like labels) but a good controlled tight spot is expensive, I find it easier/cheaper to composite multiple images.
 
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