video: episode 1 , DIY studio product photography
April 4, 2008 – 6:48 am.
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14 Responses to “video: episode 1 , DIY studio product photography”
Great video!
I feel like a complete, total IDIOT for not thinking of the stick in a concrete can idea before! I’ve never seen that done. It obviously works better than clamping hot lights to tripod legs and assistant’s body appendages, ears, etc. as I’ve done in the past.
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By Terry Smith on Apr 4, 2008
Hi Terry, when I worked at a catalog house there were tons of ’stick in a cans’. With seven photographers it was a lot cheaper. Plus they’re faster to adjust when you want to raise or lower a light or reflector. Another bonus is they fit in really tight to a set or tabletop…they’re easier to fit into spots than a light stand. Don’t get me wrong, we still use light stands for strobes and heavy things. But for clamp lights and foamcore reflectors? Stick in a can!
By Jim Talkington on Apr 4, 2008
wow. Stick in a can. So obvious now. One thing you haven’t me tionsd in your videos regarding light is : what kin of light? Incandescent flourescent etc…
By rick on Apr 4, 2008
The pan light in this video has a standard 75 watt household incandescent bulb, nothing fancy. Sorry I didn’t mention it! You would get the same results with a compact flourescent bulb but it would have a slightly different (closer to daylight) color balance. Either way is fine, just stick with the same style of bulb if you’re using multiple lights.
In the ‘lighting glassware’ video a small studio light with focusing capability was used. It had a 200 watt bulb…considerably brighter.
By Jim Talkington on Apr 4, 2008
When I first saw your video, I decided to show it my spouse as well, because it demonstrated so clearly on how important each tool (softbox and reflector) were for final outcome.
I had already sort of forgot it, when I noticed that video was also published in strobist.com.
Congratulations on that part.
By Juha Ylitalo on Apr 8, 2008
Thanks for sharing this. I love the can-in-a-stick idea. Sometimes a lightstand just won’t fit in the space that I have–this will do the trick.
By Danette on Apr 8, 2008
Jim - great resource! Thanks for all the hard work. You’ve made my google reader feed.
By [mg] on Apr 8, 2008
Hi,
I was wondering about the acetate screen … any details on this?
great movie learned something about simplifying.
By Matthias on Apr 9, 2008
Matthias, the acetate used is called Rosco Tough Frost Diffusion # 3026. One of this site’s sponsors, Calumet Photographic (link in right sidebar) sells it in 20″ x 24″ sheets for $7.95. We buy it in 48″ x 25′ foot rolls for $136.99. You can also use vellum paper…I’ll write more about options in this Friday’s post!
By Jim Talkington on Apr 9, 2008
Great videos and ideas. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have a question. You use simple lights instead of flashes and I can really get into that because all those strobes would be way too expensive for most of us who are just getting into photography. My question is what kind of bulbs do you use in the lights? Whenever I’ve used lights in the past, the bulbs I’ve had were way too yellow and really ruined the balance of light (between ambient light, camera flash, and the yellow bulbs). This makes it really hard to use simple lights because of all the correction needed in Photoshop afterwards. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
By Andrew Miguelez on Apr 12, 2008
Hi Andrew, the bulbs I’m using here are standard, inexpensive 75 watt tungsten household bulbs. Since they are the only source of light in the shot the color balance is even. They don’t mix well at all with flash and daylight, though, since the tungsten bulbs are much warmer in color (unless you want that effect for a particular shot).There are some blue / daylight balanced household bulbs that will work much better, as will the new spiral flourescent bulbs. I’m working on a ‘cheap bulb comparison’ for a future post and will be comparing the color balance with flash and daylight, along with giving more technical specs. Thanks for asking!
By Jim Talkington on Apr 12, 2008
Jim,
I’d like to see how to get shots closer to the horizon without building a light table and without casting shadows on the backdrop.
Thanks!
Ric
By Ric on Apr 16, 2008