This is my first try at macro, and I could use some advise. I bought a product photo tent so my son and I could get good shots of his lego creations etc. Before I spend money on this type of photography, I wanted to get my head about the requirements. For lighting, I'm currently using 2 old smith-victor lights that fit regular lights bulbs. They currently have standard household 200W bulbs on there, shining on either side of the tent.
Here are a few shots I took last night. I realize there is a lot of improvement needed here. I would love some comments about how I could improve these shots. I'd like to get myself to the point where I'm taking the best shots with what I have before I move onto more expensive equipment.
I'm shooting with with a Canon 40D, tripod, Canon 50mm II and Canon 18-55 IS. I have a few 2.8 lenses but they're all telephoto and probably too long for this application.
So, the lighting. It's too dark, and comes out grey or yellow. Is this simple a not enough light problem? Or do I need to adjust my wb as well? I know my bulbs are lame. Are there some better bulbs I could use for this without buying all new lighting equipment?
Aside from the dust bunnies that are working hard at reproducing, you are running into the old problem of shooting a largely monochrome photo (white).
Your meter wants the average of your shot to be 18% gray. Those of use who like to shoot snow, know that we need to adjust the camera meter. Try overexposing the shot at least 1 stop (up to 2) and you'l find you have plenty of light. The gray background tells me that there is no WB issue.
Many of my studio shots are done with halogen work lights or Walmart floods. By the time I add a blue gell to offset the red from tungsten lights and add a polarizer, I may be shooting anywhere from 10-30 seconds to get the DOF I want...
The human eye relies on contrast and shadow to define shapes in photos. The best photos of objects have bright areas to make the viewer think they are closer, higher, etc. and shadows to represent farther, etc.
Light tents provide none of those clues. A tent provides totally even featureless lighting, in other words boring.
You can shoot small shiny objects with good results with a couple of lights, one broad source (such as a softbox) to provide illumination, and a light in a reflector to provide specular highlights and shadows.
Reflections are your friend, but they must be controlled, lest they grab the viewer's attention away from your subject. A very good source of information on lighting objects is "Light - Science & Magic" It will explain how to use reflections and how to control them.
This is great stuff. Thank you for the replies. I've reserved the book at the library, and will read up on reflections from the posts. It's something I hadn't considered.
I'll try adjusting my exposure tonight and take some more practice shots (and I'll remove the dust bunnies. I'll post the next round here.
Here are things I'd like to work on. Once again, any advise would rock.
1) BG Color. I think I'd like this to be bit more white, than grey. Though, I'm starting to lose the whites, so I'm not sure... Maybe I need more contrast.
2) Focus. I think it's neat that the bokeh leaves much of the object out of focus. I'd like to try to get it completely in focus and see how I like it. Shooting this close is new to me, and I know I'm not using the best lenses for Macro. So I'm not sure exactly how to do that. I suppose I should bring the aperture down and maybe back the camera up a bit?
3) Shadows. Play with the way the light casts the shadows. I have some stands for my old lights..just haven't seen them since our move a few months ago. They'll help me position the lights differently.
Bernie: 20-30 seconds?! Wow. Are the gells and polarizers blocking that much light?
I have some old studio lights pointing at the sides of the tent, and I shot my flash at the ceiling which brought a lot of light in from the top. I like the DOF in this one quite a bit. I think I could position the ship better, and perhaps shoot with a bit less of an angle.
PS, the dust bunnies that showed up in earlier versions showed up in this one too. I removed them in PP, but it's a bit of a mystery to me. They aren't in my photo tent. It must be on my sensor. Bummer. I'll have to have it cleaned.
Dalantech wrote:
Looking good! What was the answer: Getting more light and setting the light meter to overexpose?
Yes, so far the things that are working for me are as you say...
- Bring in more light. I used my bounced flash for this. It added good light and created a bit of useful shadow.
- Overexpose by a knotch or two. Helps give some nice contrast.
- Close up the aperture and slow down the shutter. The tripod is a must.
I'm still working on the angle. I love the detail that I'm getting, but I want it to look more towering. I'll try shooting at a lower angle. Perhaps I can use one of those clear stages to bring the object up a bit.
I'm encouraged though, and am having lots of fun. As is my son (7). We shoot these together.
It's great that your son enjoys shooting/helping you shoot. My son is 34 and I think I've gotten him interested in shooting too. The downside is that he's got my D40 and won't give it back.
Kenny, I can relate even though my kid is still young. He used to shoot my little Fuji A200 (small camera with no optical zoom.) He quickly saw it's limitations, and now likes to shoot my old Fuji S5000 (10x optical). I can see the day coming within a few years that he'll want an XT or something similar so he can use my lenses.
I'll post the next round here. 
