wallenjs wrote:
Out last night to photograph the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Caught a nice sunset and the core of the Milky Way was right opposite of the meteor shower...
Looks really nice. Which 14mm did you use for the night shots? Sigma?
First picture taken with my repaired 600mm F4E FL. Nikon replaced the whole af motor, it died after 4 years. Luckily for me , the lense was still on warranty.
Z6 840mm at F5.6
I was asked by one of our field sales guys if I could take some product images for a presentation he needs to do soon - online. Because we are not traveling in the current conditions, we can't put the product in front of the customer physically, so the need some "nice images.
This is way outside of my typical comfort zone, but it sure was fun. As a 100% novice at this type of photography, I was please with the results.
I have a question for those that have expertise in this sort of imagery. How do you handle the glare / reflections that invariable come from "high gloss" finishes? I spent a lot of time moving the lights to get the glare to a minimum.
Here's a couple samples. Shot with Z6 & the 24-70F4 kit lens.
Try using a single softbox (stripbox) WITH a diffuser between the softbox and the product - - this will tend to create a gradient between highlights and shadows, rather than a hotspot/reflection on the product. Additionally, for each setup, take a series of several shots, without moving either the camera or the product, and only moving the softbox and the diffuser to light different areas of the product for each of the shots taken for that setup. For each setup, combine the shots taken for that setup together in post using layer masks and create a composite image. This will allow specific portions of each shot taken for each setup to be selected, so as to reduce/eliminate any reflections. As an added advantage, shooting and editing this way will also allow specific areas of the product to be lit, such as the psi gauge, that normally would be difficult to capture using only a single image for each setup.
EyeSpyEagle wrote:
I have a question for those that have expertise in this sort of imagery. How do you handle the glare / reflections that invariable come from "high gloss" finishes? I spent a lot of time moving the lights to get the glare to a minimum.
Speculars are your friends! They indicate the surface is glossy and, like shadows, help to define the object contours. You will want to shift the light source if a product label is obscured by glare or if speculars are overwhelming an area. As light progressively envelops the subject, the resulting image becomes flat and indistinct. The desired degree of drama is an artistic decision although the subject shape and reflectiveness is a factor.
tysondumpling wrote:
Try using a single softbox (stripbox) WITH a diffuser between the softbox and the product - - this will tend to create a gradient between highlights and shadows, rather than a hotspot/reflection on the product. Additionally, for each setup, take a series of several shots, without moving either the camera or the product, and only moving the softbox and the diffuser to light different areas of the product for each of the shots taken for that setup. For each setup, combine the shots taken for that setup together in post using layer masks and create a composite image. This will allow specific portions of each shot taken for each setup to be selected, so as to reduce/eliminate any reflections. As an added advantage, shooting and editing this way will also allow specific areas of the product to be lit, such as the psi gauge, that normally would be difficult to capture using only a single image for each setup....Show more →
Great ideas. Thank you for the feedback. It makes total sense.
I ended up leaving one lamp fixed in the box (on top) and moving the other around to minimize reflections to the best of my ability. Had I had a diffuser, the results may have been slightly different.
rico wrote:
Speculars are your friends! They indicate the surface is glossy and, like shadows, help to define the object contours. You will want to shift the light source if a product label is obscured by glare or if speculars are overwhelming an area. As light progressively envelops the subject, the resulting image becomes flat and indistinct. The desired degree of drama is an artistic decision although the subject shape and reflectiveness is a factor.
I think your results are fine.
Thank you Rico. I was actually wondering about conveying the gloss via some amount of reflection.
This was quite a fun exercise - much different than birds! Lol!
Who says that the Z6 is not a wildlife capable camera?... Maybe not the best for birds in flight, but for everything else it seems to be a winner to me.
I was asked by one of our field sales guys if I could take some product images for a presentation he needs to do soon - online. Because we are not traveling in the current conditions, we can't put the product in front of the customer physically, so the need some "nice images.
This is way outside of my typical comfort zone, but it sure was fun. As a 100% novice at this type of photography, I was please with the results.
I have a question for those that have expertise in this sort of imagery. How do you handle the glare / reflections that invariable come from "high gloss" finishes? I spent a lot of time moving the lights to get the glare to a minimum.
Here's a couple samples. Shot with Z6 & the 24-70F4 kit lens.
Your images are excellent for the purpose - you are not selling a jewellery collection. Specialized accessories may help, and you may add specular lights after configuring the general lighting.
AcuteShadows wrote:
Your images are excellent for the purpose - you are not selling a jewellery collection. Specialized accessories may help, and you may add specular lights after configuring the general lighting.
Thank you. That site has some really neat stuff. If I were to do this type of shooting professionally, I can see where some of that would be invaluable.
Which 14mm did you use for the night shots? Sigma?
