Comments on: Photography setup

By: Cody

Cody — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 01:46:43 +0000

[quote post=”108″]http://www.webphotoschool.com

[/quote]
Thanks! I actually followed their car model tutorial when I set up my rig. It’s extremely helpful.

By: noiraddict

noiraddict — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 01:32:47 +0000

I found a website that offers lessons for photography. There are some free lessons for tabletop/small product photography you can look at (I just read the free lessons). Mostly it talks about using flash/softbox photography, but also reflectors, umbrellas etc. Hope this helps.

http://www.webphotoschool.com

By: Cody

Cody — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 20:58:44 +0000

[quote post=”108″]assume that the angle of the softbox is due to experimentation, and not just a preset?[/quote]

Experimentation. If I cast light straight on the model it seems to give the top too much light while not enough on the sides (the reflectors don’t catch enough). So I’m casting lights on the reflectors instead. I think lacking a backfill is the chief reason why this is happening (no horizontal light to balance out the top one).

[quote post=”108″]what apature setting do you shoot with? [/quote]
I usually shoot with manual mode at F8.0 and 1/1600 shutter speed so that I can get good focus on most depths. For shooting models, my G3 (which should be included in the setup :P) doesn’t always give me the best shutter speed I want at AP.

I agree with the fixturing part wholeheartedly… Rarely do photo sessions finish without the mirror hitting the floor with a loud thud 😀

By: Jesse

Jesse — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:31:19 +0000

Cool setup, and pretty darn inexpensive to boot. I do have a couple of questions:

First, I assume that the angle of the softbox is due to experimentation, and not just a preset? I ask because I’ve seen most photographic light boxes with the softbox flash aiming straight down. The diffuser is large enough to cut out a lot of the hard shadows in those cases.

Second, what apature setting do you shoot with? My digicam allows, like most these days, to manually set certain things. I always shoot with the apature priority now so I can set my depth of field effects the way I want. This forces the camera to adjust the shutter speed depending on the lighting conditions. The results are pretty good so far.

Anyway, I think your reflection scheme is pretty good, although it could use some more permanent fixturing. In any case, so long as YOU like how things look, no one could argue with your rig.