This is for Joan who has asked for those taking part in lightamateu to share their 'studio' set up. This is my tiny dining room. Window to the left, plastic mirror to the right, artist's foam board and anglepoise lamp with LED lamp.
@joansmor set up for an indoor still life for get pushed. Any advice on how it could have been improved greatly appreciated as white lighting is really getting me down. Don't want a light box!!
Cool set up. I have seen set ups where you put the object inside a box. I am thinkin of lining a box with white pasteboard and trying it. If I get ambitious and try will post a picture of that.
I love your props! You know, you can make your own lightbox. I've made a few but my cats always think they are for sleeping in and they end up torn. Still, you don't really need a lightbox for still life. I find my lightbox a bit limiting as I like moving things around. Besides, you've made a super start with the white foam board and the mirror for a reflector.
I struggle with lighting and am heavily dependent on natural light. Still, come winter sometimes you just have to drag out a few lights to get any photos. I tend to favor a two light set up, which, essentially you have by using the natural window light with the table lamp. I try to setup so the light is set at about a 45 degree angle directed at the front of the subject. With a one light set up I'd probably just try the light directly in front, or just off to the side, maybe not a full 45 degrees though.
Because you are lighting from the front or side, though, you need to diffuse the light so that it isn't too harsh and doesn't create harsh shadows and overexposed areas. To do that I use plain white tissue paper. I just lightly tape it over the lamp hood. It does a great job at cutting the glare and softening the light. I'm sure there are other thin, filmy materials you could use and they'd probably make really cool lighting effects. I'd love to buy a softbox, but that seems extravagant for what I do, so I just make do with DIY diffusers (tissue paper!).
You could also possibly have thrown more light on the vase by using another piece of white cardboard or foam board on the side, rather than the mirror. White really does a nice job of bouncing light around. Then, like you said, it's just about moving things forward and back until you like the light you have.
Here's a single light set up Jake uses for some of his work. http://365project.org/deadschool/365/2017-01-15
He sits facing the light. See ... wouldn't a softbox be cool! Oh well ... but he just uses the diffused light (a softbox), the background, and the reflector, with the camera set off at an angle to the side.
Hope this helps a little. I certainly did not mean to make this an exercise in frustration. I do really love your still life composition. This should be one of those set ups you come back and revisit some time. It's really, really a lovely composition!
I see what you mean about the yellow. I think that shading came because the light across the back of your objects is not coming from the light bulb. I think maybe that yellow is the leading edge of a shadow created by the lamp shade.
That is a really nice lamp. I love how versatile it is for creating angles. I suspect if it were placed further forward so your vase, hand, and pearls were lit by direct, but diffused (tissue paper), light, rather than the bounced light, you would be able to eliminate that yellow.
@365projectltaylor thank you shame it didn't all work out!!
I struggle with lighting and am heavily dependent on natural light. Still, come winter sometimes you just have to drag out a few lights to get any photos. I tend to favor a two light set up, which, essentially you have by using the natural window light with the table lamp. I try to setup so the light is set at about a 45 degree angle directed at the front of the subject. With a one light set up I'd probably just try the light directly in front, or just off to the side, maybe not a full 45 degrees though.
Because you are lighting from the front or side, though, you need to diffuse the light so that it isn't too harsh and doesn't create harsh shadows and overexposed areas. To do that I use plain white tissue paper. I just lightly tape it over the lamp hood. It does a great job at cutting the glare and softening the light. I'm sure there are other thin, filmy materials you could use and they'd probably make really cool lighting effects. I'd love to buy a softbox, but that seems extravagant for what I do, so I just make do with DIY diffusers (tissue paper!).
You could also possibly have thrown more light on the vase by using another piece of white cardboard or foam board on the side, rather than the mirror. White really does a nice job of bouncing light around. Then, like you said, it's just about moving things forward and back until you like the light you have.
Here's a single light set up Jake uses for some of his work. http://365project.org/deadschool/365/2017-01-15
He sits facing the light. See ... wouldn't a softbox be cool! Oh well ... but he just uses the diffused light (a softbox), the background, and the reflector, with the camera set off at an angle to the side.
Hope this helps a little. I certainly did not mean to make this an exercise in frustration. I do really love your still life composition. This should be one of those set ups you come back and revisit some time. It's really, really a lovely composition!
That is a really nice lamp. I love how versatile it is for creating angles. I suspect if it were placed further forward so your vase, hand, and pearls were lit by direct, but diffused (tissue paper), light, rather than the bounced light, you would be able to eliminate that yellow.