Question, Strobes or Cnt Lighting For Product Work

[SteveBurtless]

The debate goes on, strobes or continuous lighting for product work, film or digital. For me, I get expected results shooting jewelry and products/accessories with 2-4 strobes, umbrellas and reflectors, etc. I am always learning new techniques, but am curious what pro product photographers are using or recommending for the best lighting. My next purchace will be one 24x36 softbox for jewelry, mainly because umbrellas show up in some product reflections. Not a big deal, I just airbrush them out, but time saving is precious. THANKS. STEVEB

[Barry_M_Robinson]

Hi Steve,
First, why are you using umbrella for jewelry? As you state, it is reflected in the finish. In general it is not a good idea to rely on Photoshop to fix errors in your technique. Fabric lightboxes are also not very good for shooting highly reflective metal objects. If you look at the front of a lighted lighbox you'll notice that it has creases and some uneven spots. For non-reflective objects this is fine. However, with reflective objects the creases and uneven spots will show up in the reflections; some people play with the exposure until the highlights knock out (go to maximum white with no detail) but this produces harsh, unattractive shots. Instead, use a piece of translucent plexiglas to give an even light. Make use of small reflectors and mirrors to modify shadows.

Look at high end magazines to see how jewelry should be shot.

Now to your question about strobes versus continuous light sources. Both have advantages, strobe is powerful, always takes care of any movement and seems to be more compatible with digital. Tungsten lighting is more precise because (1) what you see is what you get and (2) the actual light source is smaller (compare a tungsten filament with a flash tube); you can spread out the tungsten source to give a broader source but you can't compact a flash tube into a smaller source. This effect is most noticable when using spot sources, either fresnel or ellipsoid. I've also used custom light sources in my work (e.g. grain of wheat bulbs) that are unavailable in strobe. And then there is painting with light; a continous light source gives a different effect from a strobe. In the end, it depends upon what you're trying to do in the photograph.

[SteveBurtless]

Hi Barry. Thanks for the advice. As far as using umbrellas for jewelry, it depends on what type of jewelry I'm shooting. I get great results usually with a Cocoon, mirrors, cards, etc. and other diffused devices. There can be challenges with that setup sometimes. I don't have soft boxes yet, but will be picking them up soon. Also, I partner with other studios I can use that are fully equipped for any challenge to shoot extensive product work. We are experimenting with some new LED's and cool flouresants for products. I personally prefer strobes and my experience with older hot lights was a real drag. Older bulbs caused inaccurate color and numerous other problems and the heat was unbearable for long shoots. I like the plexaglass technique and want to experiment with this, especially for a nice reflection. There are so many ways to go. I saw an online short video of a photographer shooting high end watches and he had a strobe softbox above and various mirrors and reflectors to get the particular look the art directors wanted. The Dedolights are cool, but very expensive for my budget. I seem to have a passion for product work. regards steveb

Steve,

I have shot hundreds of catalog pages for just jewelry. Care less about the actual light source, tungsten, HMI, strobe, etc and care more about all the conceivable modifiers which truly create the effect. Unless you intentially want to use different light sources for the color and look, I usually go with the source that is easiest for the capture device. Scan backs want continuous light. Digital SLRs and digibacks can go with continuous and/or strobe. You shouldn't have any issues with color consistency if using all the same type and brand of strobes. Start mixing strobes from other manufacturers and you will notice color shifts.

For flat jewelry shots, I have used white translucent plexi at an angle with foam core sides and back covered in milar and dull spray to close in and leaving a hole at the top for cameras pointed straight down, 4x5 worked great for this simply because of the rise of the front element which gives a great perpestive. For lower angle tabletop shots, I have used so many different setups its silly. Some have been back light through plexi with front light. For watches I have used just a large silver strobe reflector as a shoot through for the camera which filled in the shiny metals with an even reflectance, side and back light as well for the shot. I have used just a ringlight. Shot scan backs and instant capture.

Except for model shots I have never used umbrellas because they are large and not the most effective for jewelry. Be creative with what you can use, white cards, black cards, translucent materials all give certain looks to metals and stones. There is no right way. Only the end photo looking perfect.

You can always rent lights and modifiers of any kind through many rental houses and experiment.

[Mike_Pipes]

I've shot quite a bit of jewelry and have gotten my best results with a coccoon and using white or black cards to reintroduce reflections to "sculpt" the detail back in that the coccoon/flat light wipes out, and reflectors (foam core wrapped in foil!) to bounce light back into the tight areas that are hard to light.

I use continuous 250Watt tungsten lamps. I have two but sometimes I can use just one of them then setup reflectors to achieve what I want. It reduces the amount of heat using just one, which is good because I use little dabs of wax to stand rings up vertically on their shanks.