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Archive 2013 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots

  
 
24Peter
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


Peter Belanger describes shooting product shots for Apple here

My question is, near the beginning of the video he sets up a diffuser/scrim with a white frame between his key light and the product. Can anyone identify this? The reason I am interested in a white frame is the ones I've seen have black or aluminum frames which often ends up reflecting off the product surface.



May 08, 2013 at 09:29 PM
John Skinner
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


It looks as though it's just a small diameter PC frame with velcro edges to which he's attached the scrim material to it with the same. 6 dollar & 20 minute project.

A little over-kill with that camera stand !



May 09, 2013 at 01:37 AM
10box
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


Gel knife. http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/48gelfrknbla.html


May 09, 2013 at 07:38 AM
John Skinner
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


The advantages of using small diameter PVC (remember this is for your studio work) is that you can create different sizes of this by just using the same type of diffusion material for color balance, and buy different lengths of PCV. I could make 4 or 5 of these of varying sizes for the cost of 1 of the store bought units. And you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart from 5' away. The point is, a tremendous amount of money can be saved by doing modifiers yourself.


May 10, 2013 at 10:49 AM
junk_bond
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


Agree with 10box on what diffuser he's actually using, but to John's point there's plenty of cheaper ways to accomplish the same thing. I use stretcher bars, wood glue and Rosco 3008 with a flash head, reflector and grid.

If your trying to get a nice flat white edge in a reflection, I would use a flag to cut or block the light versus using the edge of your diffuser, if that makes sense. Then you don't need to worry about what the diffuser edge looks like. Or if its a square, I would honesty just photoshop it or get a soft box. I'm not sure having white tubes would actually help, would it? If the light is coming from behind the tube, it would be blocking the light on the product side anyways.



Apr 28, 2014 at 08:02 PM
Conner999
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


You can also buy Matthews open-ened frames that will fit in a grip head you can close-down the opening of with say fishing line. Hit B&H, but envision the above Gel Knife with one end open...

Another DIY solution is to hit Home Depot et al and get some white 'make your own' screen window frames and corners. They're flat white aluminium 'bars' that you cut to length and snap together using supplied white plastic corners. A nice thick very opaque diffusion material I use on occasion is Translum.



Apr 29, 2014 at 07:52 AM
rico
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


Given the profusion of Matthews grip heads in that scene, I can imagine he is using a spring-steel frame from the same company (the silk is factory installed). I have open and closed frame versions of that size. The borders are color-coded to denote material and stopping power.

For reflective objects like those Apple products, there are better modifiers with hard borders and perfectly uniform illumination: ProBox, StripLight, and StillLight. As a Profoto user, this Peter Belanger should be familiar with the price!



Apr 29, 2014 at 11:30 AM
tcphoto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


How about putting white trip tape over the frame of your existing scrim or use a polarizing filter to kill the reflection?


Apr 29, 2014 at 12:37 PM
JakeB17
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Diffuser/scrim for product shots


rico wrote:
I can imagine he is using a spring-steel frame from the same company (the silk is factory installed).



The diffusion material is almost never pre-installed, and it really never should be. The beauty of those 4x4 frames is that you can swap out the gel and have infinite combinations of diffusion. On film sets we have an average of about 30 4x4 frames on the truck, and lots of different gel rolls to skin them however we want. More often then not we are shooting a light through 2-4 of them, with the thickest diffusion closest to the lamp, and the thinnest closest to the subject.



Apr 29, 2014 at 01:00 PM





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