Simple Lighting Setup with Nikon d90 for Stock shots

I have a Nikon d90 and am going to be taking pictures of wine bottles for the winery I work for. I am going to be taking them in front of an all-white background in a studio. I currently don't have any flashing or other equipment. Can someone recommend a basic setup for me? I am thinking one or two flashes and a softbox, but the d90 does not have a PC socket so I don't really know how I would fire the strobes--maybe use the SB600s? If this goes well I am hoping to expand this service for other wineries in my area, so I am not afraid to get some decent equipment. I am mostly concerned with getting the RIGHT gear. Thanks for any suggestions.

The D90 can be used in commander mode to fire the SB600's as remotes. You can set the internal pop-up flash to -- but there will be some light albeit very small. The SG3IR attachment will filter that allowing infrared to pass and trigger the SB600's.

You should be concerned with learning how to light a wine bottle. I suggest you start with the book "Light: the Science and Magic".

I worked with the photographer who took the shots we currently are using (she was a professional photographer with her own studio) and I have read several books on exposure and lighting techniques and I currently have pictures on iStock for sale (not that big of a deal, obviously, but I think I am beyond a point and shoot photographer is the point I am trying to make). I know enough about photography to do it correctly or to at least have fun experimenting with it. I have enough skill to play with a few lights until I learn how to get it all right. I mean, isn't that how people are supposed to learn HOW? Isn’t that part of the fun of photography? I just don't currently have my own lighting setup and I was hoping for some simple advice. I didn't realize that I needed a resume or some samples of my work to get help beyond the rote and clichéd comment you posted. Clearly you have nothing to offer beyond "Sounds like you are an idiot and you need to put your camera down and read a book. Photography is learned in the library." Magical stuff, really.

Thanks for your help! Will the d90 have any issues wirelessly firing the SB600 (or SB900) if I have it attached to a softbox? I have read that it needs a fairly clear line of site in order to trigger any other compatible Nikon flashes using Nikon's CLS. And again, thanks for taking the time to help me out.

The genral consensus is to light glass from the side, if you start off with the light at a 90 degree angle from the point your lens is pointing at.

Make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to omit any avail light and slow enough for the camera sync speed.

The pop up flash will show in the glass even in "---" mode So you need a hot shoe adapter and sync cable or radio triggers. Also remember the sb600 hasent a sync plug

The only concern I have is that you mention that you would offer this to other wine makers/stockist whilst your main job is with the competition, you might end up having to rely on photography for your main income earler than you hoped
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is there money in this

Benwellhopper said:

The genral consensus is to light glass from the side, if you start off with the light at a 90 degree angle from the point your lens is pointing at.

Make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to omit any avail light and slow enough for the camera sync speed.

The pop up flash will show in the glass even in "---" mode So you need a hot shoe adapter and sync cable or radio triggers. Also remember the sb600 hasent a sync plug

The only concern I have is that you mention that you would offer this to other wine makers/stockist whilst your main job is with the competition, you might end up having to rely on photography for your main income earler than you hoped
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Thanks, Benwellhopper. Very helpful. I made a bad assumption (aren’t most assumptions bad!) about the SB600 and PC sync--you just saved me some heartache.

Yeah, I was thinking about lighting from the side, as close to the bottle as I could get with a softbox and then playing with it from there, possibly adding fill/background flash as needed.

And a good/hilarious point about the competition; I hadn't considered that. Since my primary job is direct marketing I should be safe as along as I don't offer THOSE services to the competition! The wine business is a funny business, especially in terms of how much info/help we share with our fellow wineries. At one point I was working for one winery while doing some copy writing for another one and both wineries knew but didn't care...whoa, sorry, getting of track here. Thanks again for your advice!

I use Canon speedlights but I believe they work pretty much the same as the Nikon system (both use IR). From my experience, the IR system (using one flash or a commander as the master) generally does require direct line of sight, however, I have managed to get it to function without direct line of sight in smaller indoor spaces (albeit with some misfires) where the IR signals can bounce off walls. The alternative would be radio triggers, like pocketwizards (expensive) or some cheap chinese radio triggers off ebay, which will make the whole triggering process more reliable.

I also have a small softbox for the speedlights and if you are thinking of heading down the path of purchasing one of these it is worth checking out if the mounting system is flexible enough to allow for different flash configurations (so the IR receiver is toward the camera in different positions) or can accomodate the extra height required for radio triggers. I am no expert on lighting glass but from what I can understand, a good part of getting nice highlights on the bottles is fairly large light sources so a speelight softbox might come up a bit short. You may well achieve better results with large sheets of translucent paper and save a bit of money in the process.

For what it is worth, the earlier suggestion of the book Light science and magic does have a really good section (Ch 7) on how to photograph glass (bright-field and dark-field lighting set ups as well as some other options - it is a very practical book with setup diagrams and a great reference book for product photography) which might save a bit of experimentation but as you say if the enjoyment derived from the experimentation is the prize then I guess the book is superfluous.

Antti

Thanks, Annti...more great advice and it sounds like you are right about the softbox and the size of the flash--both need to be sufficient. It looks like if I go with a decent radio trigger system it will be flexible enough to integrate flashes as well as larger strobes. Relying on the built-in wireless on the d90 is sounding less and less desirable.

I feel a bit like an ass now in regards to that book. I checked it out on Amazon and you and John were right...looks like a VERY helpful reference. I hate it when I get pissy.

Bryan Gray said:

Benwellhopper said:

The pop up flash will show in the glass even in "---" mode So you need a hot shoe adapter and sync cable or radio triggers. Also remember the sb600 hasent a sync plug

Click to expand...

Thanks, Benwellhopper. Very helpful. I made a bad assumption (aren’t most assumptions bad!) about the SB600 and PC sync--you just saved me some heartache.

Click to expand...

It's not so bad. On the left side below, the pop-up provides slight illumination and a pinpoint of light. On the right I just blocked the flash with my hand. Nikon sells a blocker for this very purpose. It's the Nikon SG-31R IR Panel for Built-in Flash, and it's got rave reviews on Amazon. Here's a link...

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-SG-31R-Panel-Built-Flash/dp/B000E1G0LI/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t



I really like my SB-600 flash, and controlling it from the Commander in my D90 is a piece of cake. Balancing between SB-600 and the built-in flash is really easy, and managing two through the commander would be a no-brainer. Set up is also very fast because you're dealing with (and thinking in) relative exposure, rather than absolute exposure.

So instead of setting one flash for a particular level of illumination, then working the other flash to get the level you want, you simply bring up the commander and boost or drop one flash by a stop or so, and you're done. So instead of thinking in exposure, you think in exposure compensation. The camera figures out power levels, and you simply say what you want to be brighter or darker.

Personally, I think that's MUCH easier than these "instructional" strobist videos I see on YouTube where the guy is running around changing the power levels and such on all the flashes, taking a test shot, then running around again. It looks a lot like trial-and-error photography, which I hate. I want to set up the differences in illumination beforehand and then tweak it if I have to. The Nikon CLS lets you do that.

Just something to consider.

.

Have I got this straight?

An amateur who works for a winery and once watched a real photographer take pictures is going to undercut the pro,...

Anyway...

The Nikon AS-15 fits into the hotshoe, and a regular pc cord from any flashgun with this cord will pluig into the front of the AS-15 and trigger the flash guns.

This system precludes exposure automation.

Any modern studio flash system will allow a cord from one flash to the camera, and the AS-15, setting off that flash. The other flash units in the room will then be triggered by the light from the first one hitting a sensor in the other ones.,

Many still life bottle photographers like to use flash meters with flash, but there are workarounds for this.,

And no, I don't shoot wine bottles. I got really bored doing this at photo school --yes, we go to school to learn to do this stuff -- and now I shoot people and dogs, mostly.

I am a photographer and years ago had a studio in midtown Manhattan. I did work for one of the largest companies importing liqour into the US. At that time I was using an 8x10 view camera with transparency film.

If you want to do justice to a glass bottle, you need to use constant light sources to see how the light is affecting the bottle. You have to incorporate the use of reflectors, shims and gobos.

Using off camera speedlights is not going to hack it if you want to have high quality images. Using constant lights you can see the results as you position them. With a speedlight, you would be chimping you way along.

Look at the high class ads in magazines. A lot of work goes into that picture.

BAK said:

Have I got this straight?

An amateur who works for a winery and once watched a real photographer take pictures is going to undercut the pro,...

Anyway...

The Nikon AS-15 fits into the hotshoe, and a regular pc cord from any flashgun with this cord will pluig into the front of the AS-15 and trigger the flash guns.

This system precludes exposure automation.

Any modern studio flash system will allow a cord from one flash to the camera, and the AS-15, setting off that flash. The other flash units in the room will then be triggered by the light from the first one hitting a sensor in the other ones.,

Many still life bottle photographers like to use flash meters with flash, but there are workarounds for this.,

And no, I don't shoot wine bottles. I got really bored doing this at photo school --yes, we go to school to learn to do this stuff -- and now I shoot people and dogs, mostly.

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Don't be silly...we had to cut costs and we can't afford a real photographer...so I volunteered. Man, people are really uptight on this forum

But thanks for your help...i know it was hard for you to help a amateur like myself. Did you have to take a shower after your post to get the stink off?

Quantum Help said:

I am a photographer and years ago had a studio in midtown Manhattan. I did work for one of the largest companies importing liqour into the US. At that time I was using an 8x10 view camera with transparency film.

If you want to do justice to a glass bottle, you need to use constant light sources to see how the light is affecting the bottle. You have to incorporate the use of reflectors, shims and gobos.

Using off camera speedlights is not going to hack it if you want to have high quality images. Using constant lights you can see the results as you position them. With a speedlight, you would be chimping you way along.

Look at the high class ads in magazines. A lot of work goes into that picture.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. I have a few old-school continuous lights that someone gave me. I will give them a shot and see.

Also, if you turn the Modeling Light custom setting on, the SB600 will pulse for 1 second when you push the DOF preview button on the camera. That being said, it's a mediocre replacement for continuous lighting.

I wouldn't even attempt this without first reading the chapter on glass in Light- science and magic . You'll have a doozie of a fun time trying to light bottles with strobes.

No doubt...I had some marginal success with continuous lighting, placing the bottle on an all-white background. White wine bottles were not too difficult with this setup--actually using a sheet to produce a huge "softbox". But red-wine bottles are not very forgiving, reflecting everything--including my camera. That was easy to fix by moving the camera a bit...definitely bought the book and decided to read it front to cover. Most of these images that I will be taking will be cutout of the background and converted into small thumbnail images for our shopping cart, and our graphics art designer was pleased with my first results, pleased enough to invest in some decent lighting. So far so good!

One thing is to help a noob and another story is to give a advice to someone who thinks that pro quality work can be done without the knowledge needed. If you think all you need is to throw in some props to a set, some light and that's it, you may be wrong.

Brain surgery is eays as ABC to someone who knows what to do. Photography and any professions are the same way.

If you guys are cutting expenses try to get the truck driver to do the bookkeeping. See how that goes.
--
Viktor
'Happy shooting!'

What is wrong with people on this forum? Are all professional photographers such whiny people? The images that I will be taking will be cut out of the background and shrunk to a postage stamp-sized thumbnail for our shopping cart, you know, a little icon next to the product description (these are not remotely going to be still lifes or anything close to that)--it seemed to me that with my years of amateur photography (with a few pictures sold on iStock) that I might be up to that task. Many businesses are forced to run without the assistance of professional photographers. But hear I am, with a really nice opportunity to learn something new and expand my skill set and help my company out a bit and I think, hey, I can ask for a little help. Please forgive me for having the passion and love for this art that drove me to volunteer to try it out Please forgive me for thinking I might have what it takes to take a picture that will be about 1 inch square on an all white background for a small company with a small presence on the web. And most importantly, forgive me for seeking a little help from this forum. Sheesh!

The only thing worse than a pro is somebody who thinks they're a pro!

I go to lots of photo forums (less here) and this one is very hostile. I think there are alot of wannabee's here who like to sound like know-it-alls. If a pro actually takes the time to post here they won't be rude or demeaning in my opinion.
Go go flickr.com there are countless forums there including the strobist forum:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/

FWIW I have lots of hobbies including motorcycles and there are obnoxious types on those forums who would rather belittle others than be helpful? I don't get it.

But for some reason of all the many photo forums this one does seem to be the most hostile.
I mostly read here, skip over the jerks and participate more elsewhere.
Oh yeah, don't forget to check out strobist:
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ very informative, friendly and addictive.

Good luck on your shoot, post some pics if you have time

Steve