Anyone using flash for their toys shots? I am not talking about the pop up one above your lens. Can someone dissect this shot and figure out the lighting used:


Cobra Trooper by D Julian, on Flickr

Hopefully we can get a dialogue going on lighting techniques. Lighting gives you more bang for your buck than any other piece of photography equipement you can buy. After all photography means: "painting with light". Lighting can be outrageously expensive and can also be done on the cheap with home-made set ups. Dramatic & creative lighting can overcome lack of props and sets, low end cameras and other excuses people use for not taking the shots they want to take.

Getting great toy shots is more than just taking a rubbermaid of figures and vehicles out in the yard and setting them up and taking 100 shots hoping that one or two will come out. I hope I am not offending anyone but I would like to see JoeDios get back to what it once was: full of amazing, well thought out and executed shots. Anyone interested in talking about light, lets do it. Maybe we can get other discussions going on other techniques, equipement and set-ups as well. After all JoeDios is as much about photography as it is GI Joe!

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I hear what you're saying and you are right. I actually went to college (1995-1997 @ Cazenovia) for photography (you'd never know it by how un-technically my shots are lit - and I'm not 'fishing for a compliment' either - I know they could be much better lit). When I was in school for that we had these big flashes on tripods that were linked via mechanical cables that screwed into the shutter button of our 35mms so that whenyou depressed the plunger on the "remote" wire to the camera, 2-3 sepreate flashes would fire at once against the big white backdrop cloth in the studio. Obviously few if any of us here have access or education on such a frand scale as that but what kind of "on the cheap" tricks of the trade could you share? Is it good to set up a "shadow box" and then get a flexible-necked lamp, remove the shade (or not) and put a low wattage bulb in there like 40 watts? Do you recommend directly shining on the subject or indirect? Are we talking "bouncing" light off of some tin foil or something? Lastly - do you recommend frosted, soft white, or clear bulbs?

All my shots are done with flash now, very similar to the set up you just described. Instead of studio lights I am using speedlights (same type of flash that mounts to the top of your camera) mounted on stands with wireless triggers. As far as constant lighting, the best I have used is natural daylight CFLs, set you white balance to daylight and it will give you beautiful clear white light. As far as bouncing light, the best thing to use on the cheap is pieces of white foamcore. Try this experiment to see what I am talking about: have someone stand next to a window during the day with the lights off in the house. Have them stand at a 90 degree angle to the window so the sun is shining on one side of their face, the side away from the window will be shadowed. Have them slowly pull a piece of foamcore up to their face from the opposite side from the window. Watch the light fill in their face with light. This will give you a nice 1:4 balance of light with 1 light source.

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Is this sort of what you see them do on TV in those "making of" documentaries where they have a film crew member hold up what looks like a giant hula-hoop with white or silver "paper" across it under or to the side of the actor?

Thanks for the tips! I have some pics in queue to get posted with my old methods, but I'll get to work on some other ones soon and they should start showing up on the site by early December hopefully and we'll see if I got the hang of it or not.

Exactly, same idea. Reflector discs are $50, a sheet of foamcore is $2. Cut the foamcore into different sizes for the job you are doing, you will love the results. Remember light reflects at the same angle that it hits a flat object.

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This is a very interesting discussion Dave, I never knew about stuff like wireless speed lights and whatnot which I've done some looking into after reading your post. I would try one out, but for the prices good ones look to fetch I think I'm better off sticking with what I'm doing right now.

I'm very curious when it comes to lighting, I use a lot of different things with varying results. I usually feel pretty pleased with what I do though. When I'm trying to even out my lighting I've used mirrors a lot, though I'll keep the foamcore trick in mind.

I don't think I've ever used many original or interesting light tricks of my own though. Do my pics mostly look okay?

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Star Wars Box | The Viper Pit

Nekoman, I use wireless triggers from Cowboy Studio, about $20 on Amazon, been using them for months and fire 100% of the time. I use Vivitar 285 speedlights, built like a brick and about $85 brand new. I am up to 3 complete sets including stands and a lot of light modifiers, and going to get more because I am addicted to them, they rock! There is no need to spend a fortune. 2 websites I highly recommend: Strobist & DIY Photography, both have a wealth of info on creative lighting.

As far as experimenting, that is the fun in doing this hobby, if using constant lighting try moving the lights around at different angles and shooting to see which one looks more dramatic. Don't shoot with your light at the same angle all the time. Try using colored bulbs for some cool effects. One thing about mirrors is that they reflect light, foamcore will bounce it and you will get a softer light.

It's hard to come up with original ideas, photography has been around 150+ years so there is a pretty good chance someone else has tried your brainstorm before! lol. Your shots look great but there is always room to improve and try new things.

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I have no idea what kind of light he used but I'd say its a pitch black room with this setup and a light to the upper right with a little fog sprayed in for effect. I'd really like to hear what you think Vader9900. Wait is that your shot?? How bad was my guess?

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You are very close Snakling except for the pitch black room.

Please to make it easier when you are talking about a specific shot in this thread, post a link to it to make it easier to find so we can discuss it.

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