Inspired by some of the late threads on diffusion panels, I'm keen on possibly starting to use one or two. Thinking shoot through and a white/black panel fabric set.
Typically we're looking for a lot of light control when working indoors in small places (or just throwing it everywhere and hoping it looks "natural") and I'm wondering how some of these panels work for smaller rooms. (eg 10x20 room or so with 8' ceilings)
In a small white room you can just bounce light off the walls and ceilings to create uniform lighting. A few years ago a furniture maker who was trying to do product shots on a white background with only two lights asked for advice.
What I suggested was using a small reflective room with a combination of bare flash to fill the room with even light, but also with a point light source directional component, combined with backlight for shape definition. I grabbed a table, and in about 10 -15 min shot this demo:
The foreground light is an AB800 pointed straight up with just the exposed flash tube. The rim light is a small 16x22 Photoflex SB with a circle mask and 40 degree grid: what I normally use as my "hair" light for portraits. I put the table on a raised draped platform to minimize shadows beneath it. Just a "quick and dirty" demo...
Conceptually you want to start with the same lighting you'd get outdoors on an overcast day, then subtract light from the directions where "shadows" are desired. We perceive 3D shape in 2D photos by reacting to contrast differences. The rim light will enhance the illusion of 3D shape by outlining the form of the object with specular highlights. But in the case of white backgrounds the background "white" must actually be "off-white" around 250.250.250 to allow the rim light contrast to be seen... Heres a set of illustration I did in the same thread to illustrate how the brain translates contrast pattern into the illusion of shape:
At some point, which can only be gauged by eye in the final reproduction, there will be an eye-pleasing balance of contrast between foreground and background which at the same time creates a very realistic illusion of 3D shape on the object in the foreground.
Once we understand the role of contrast and how it tricks the brain understanding where to put the lights becomes simple because what the light is actually doing inside the brain of the viewer is better understood. The "craft" of lighting is nothing more than consciously and thoughtfully understanding what we react to sub-conciously and emotionally every waking moment of our lives. Work smarter and you don't need to work harder
Daniel Heineck wrote:
Typically we're looking for a lot of light control when working indoors in small places (or just throwing it everywhere and hoping it looks "natural") and I'm wondering how some of these panels work for smaller rooms. (eg 10x20 room or so with 8' ceilings)
A shoot-thru panel generates plenty of backblast that will affect your subject - unless you use the panel outdoors, install it in a doorway, or erect a tent behind it. In neutral rooms, that stray light may provide some welcome fill. Here is a simple example with one light (panel versus direct). Note the key is at the same distance to subject in both cases. http://patternassociates.com/rico/photo/misc/lp1.jpg http://patternassociates.com/rico/photo/misc/lp2.jpg
Thanks a million! Exactly what I was wondering about. I was thinking of using the panel in a shoot through configuration with a couple of v-flats behind the strobe to catch any reflected light.
If you add two more panels with black on the outside and silver or white on the inside, and connect them to the panel shown in Rico's example, you can close it up into a box and just place a barebulb strobe inside the triangle and face it away from the exit panel, so the light just bounces inside the box, and exits the main panel.
Of course, this usually defeats the purpose of having the panel, where you can control the size of the light source by moving the strobe closer or further away from the panel, but it makes for a huge light source when you need it.
And in a small studio space, doing it that way takes up more space than Rico's example, so it's not always doable.
