first attempts...

Angelo

...at "studio" type shots.

set up some seamless, very basic lighting and gave these a try. what do you think?

#1 is on black seamless, the other two, on white.



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Maestro

I like the first and third ones best. The middle one is a bit distracting to me since it has a strong reflection. I like the subtle reflections of the first one and the sharpness of the third.

Angelo

Maestro wrote:

I like the first and third ones best. The middle one is a bit distracting to me since it has a strong reflection. I like the subtle reflections of the first one and the sharpness of the third.

Thanks for looking. This sure was tough to capture with "perfect" light since the crystal tree refracted the light.

Andyman

I like the 2nd one best. It's a much more interesting photo than the other two.

Dee

Fun
Last year I experimented with "studio" lighting using hot lights. Glass is always a challenge. Your best bet is to set up a "light tent" and put your lights outside of the tent. With tripod and timer or remote you are on your way to a lot of fun. Your shadows will be softer too.

Here's a good site with lots of tips on product photography, jewelry and glass, etc.

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/glass_photography.htm#diffuse

Now that I have a Sunpak 383 flash I need to set up and experiment some more.

Seneca

The last one is my favorite...light looks good to me...plus you don't see the dust on the glass.

LuckyBob

I'm inclined to go with the third one since the exposure and colors are great . I don't know what your light setup is like, but maybe add a really small snooted light to give that last one just a handfull of small reflections/refractions for a bit of extra pop.

System

to me, it looks like on the third pic you've done a good job on what can be a difficult shoot, a reflective surface-

I was curious; you said that you did the third one on white-

I thought I would try to use LAB to get the bacground a little closer to white without changing the color of the tree (at least, hopefully, not significantly):

Angelo

Andyman wrote:

I like the 2nd one best. It's a much more interesting photo than the other two.

thanks Andy. I find it festive too.

Angelo

Dee wrote:

Last year I experimented with "studio" lighting using hot lights. Glass is always a challenge. Your best bet is to set up a "light tent" and put your lights outside of the tent. With tripod and timer or remote you are on your way to a lot of fun. Your shadows will be softer too.

Here's a good site with lots of tips on product photography, jewelry and glass, etc.

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/glass_photography.htm#diffuse

Now that I have a Sunpak 383 flash I need to set up and experiment some more.

Thanks Dee. Since I don't own any studio lights this was just an exercise using various lighting sources in the house.

I appreciate the feedback.

Angelo

Seneca wrote:

The last one is my favorite...light looks good to me...plus you don't see the dust on the glass.

Yikes! Ouch! Talk about your double edged sword...

I too like the softness of the last image but that's not dust on the others. Not sure why you think I would photograph a dusty piece of crystal; and it never moved nor was touched during the different shots.

I think what we're seeing as "dust" is micro refractions of light bouncing back on the tree.

Angelo

LuckyBob wrote:

I'm inclined to go with the third one since the exposure and colors are great . I don't know what your light setup is like, but maybe add a really small snooted light to give that last one just a handfull of small reflections/refractions for a bit of extra pop.

I think it could use a little pop too and I might be able to do that in post. If successful I might incorporate it into future Christmas cards.

Thanks for looking.

Angelo

gefillmore wrote:

to me, it looks like on the third pic you've done a good job on what can be a difficult shoot, a reflective surface-

I was curious; you said that you did the third one on white-

I thought I would try to use LAB to get the bacground a little closer to white without changing the color of the tree (at least, hopefully, not significantly):

Thanks George. I'll give that a try when I attempt to "pop" the color a little.

I appreciate the feedback.