p.1 #1 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
I am going to be doing more product photography and I'm very interested in the Godox S30/S60 system or using their focusing lenses with the VL150. I'm thinking having multiple VL150s will give me more control lighting gradients. Has anyone moved to continuous lighting over strobes and what have you found to be the advantages/disadvantages?
p.1 #2 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
Continuous is great for still life. Obviously the disadvantage is a lack of motion freezing output, but of course in your scenario that doesn’t matter. The big pro of constant lights is WYSIWYG shadow placement, seeing changes in lighting character in real time. I have the VL150, it’s a great little light - perfect for your use case.
p.1 #3 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
jlafferty wrote:
Continuous is great for still life. Obviously the disadvantage is a lack of motion freezing output, but of course in your scenario that doesn’t matter. The big pro of constant lights is WYSIWYG shadow placement, seeing changes in lighting character in real time. I have the VL150, it’s a great little light - perfect for your use case.
Thanks. I was thinking of maybe 2 VL150s and then the three light S60-D kit that should be available soon.
p.1 #5 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
For many decades virtually every product shot I did was with strobes but these days it's actually rare that I use flash. I just use the modeling lights in the reflectors or softboxes. I also have half a dozen Arri 650's and use them a lot, either direct, through a ScrimJim or bounced against pieces of Fomecore, seamless or a large rolling flat I have in the studio.
In addition I've picked up a couple of Nanlite 25 panels - about 10"x14" which are variable in luminance and in color temp from 3200K to 5500K all while maintaining 97-98 CRI through the color and luminance range. And, they're only about a hundred dollars a piece in that size. I've even shot a portrait with one as a test, which worked great. And they're just perfect for lighting my gf in her zoom meetings.
p.1 #6 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
I agree with Peter. I like using the Arris as it is wysiwyg and have industrial dimmers on them. I just have to be careful to manage my circuit breakers. My 6.5' square scrim/reflector is on a rolling stand that makes moving a piece of gear bigger than me a one hand operation. Can bounce or shoot through that or a 3x6.
p.1 #7 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
I have dimmers on my Arri's as well, but they do change the color temperature quite a bit when you cut the level down, whereas the LED panels basically stay the same color and CRI at any luminance, but different types of light for different types of shots.
p.1 #8 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
Peter, absolutely changes the color temp, but I start with a color checker passport and start from accurate color. Also, I use the arris for lots of b&w work including with film, so there it doesn't matter. I know the 2 places to safely touch them once heated up, but rather than reach for the gloves, I still do that, I'll bet I can quickly adjust those barndoors without getting burned followed by some appropriate profanity. I wonder if my dad did the same in the 30's.
p.1 #9 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
Never used a CC once except to test and show the Kodak rep twenty years ago how worthless they were. Of the issue is that you have to do separate color corrections for different parts of your image anyway, which is super simple but it's still another step - y'know, when you're shooting in color and have one Arri dialed down and one not. This is where these LED panels really shine - virtually NO color or CRI shift at any luminance. And for shooting small products, it's just like having a couple of extra small Chimeras only without the bulk - and super even.
p.1 #10 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
For food work I've often chosen my KinoFlo Diva 400 because its TLCA rating is very good indeed and because with my food stuff I'll usually use a single light with a range or reflectors and mirrors. So no worries about matching colours with multiple lights.
I shoot tethered to Capture One, and there colour management is very good - better than I can achieve with a simple Colour Checker Passport or the like, (although I tend to dial the reds down to -4).
For product work which usually requires more complex lighting, I used to use tungsten lights, but as mentioned already, there can be issues with colour matching due to dimming lights. If there's not too much difference then the difference is no more than adding a sheet of diffusion, (which can easily add 200K). For bigger reductions of light, ND is great to bring things closer without dimming. And tungsten of course is one of the purest light sources, chromatically speaking. (I would usually gel them with CTB to make things simpler in post).
But to achieve the often higher f-stops required for product work, long exposure times can be a drag if you don't want to leave the studio all sweaty after a long day. And the manual adjustments of each light can be a drag.
So now for product work I use strobes and couldn't be happier. Important thing with strobes is consistency - so requiring minimal colour shifting with power changes and needing every flash to be exactly the same exposure, and I demand very strict tolerances with multiple lights, (often 4-5 for a typical product shoot).
So whatever strobes you choose, ensure they're consistent at all powers, (minimum powers often show problems with consistency).
I use Profoto D1's and B1's - all 500W, and the use of the radio remote makes life sooo much faster. Obviously there are other brands which are good too.
Because I shoot tethered, that instant feedback to a calibrated screen makes life easy and the speed of working with strobes, (rather than longer exposures with constant light), makes things faster.
p.1 #11 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
I too have used Diva 400's for my Food shoots, it is a high quality of light and very versatile. I've since moved back to strobe but may come back to them one day if desired.
p.1 #12 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
Peter, I find the color checker priceless. Skin tones in my portraits are critical and it helps me nail the exact color. Or I can make precise warming adjustments to all images, including those under different lighting conditions so it is uniform across the board.
p.1 #13 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
I do like continuous lighting for product photography, but have mostly used LED light panels for the needed light sources since first buying them. When used on the sides of one of the folding product photography boxes (mine is 24X24X24"), the diffused light inside the box is incredibly soft and even. These lights are already quite soft by their design, so they work well for larger product shots as well as video work too.
p.1 #14 · Continuous lighting vs strobe for product photography
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