Strip Lighting?

[VertigonA380]

Hi, I was wondering what people use for controlled, flexible and balanced strip lighting? I need a setup that is going to keep a thin but flexible line of light for table top product photography ideally to highlight the curved edges and forms of products.

Thanks to all the contributors.

 

[nikoboivin]

Hi, I was wondering what people use for controlled, flexible and balanced strip lighting? I need a setup that is going to keep a thin but flexible line of light for table top product photography ideally to highlight the curved edges and forms of products.

Thanks to all the contributors.

I can see two easy options here :

1. A strip bank with eggcrate will give you a petty thin and flexible line of light, but can cost you pretty quickly and might still be too big for table top products.

2. You can simply use a regular softbox and bring in two flags really close to the softbox to create a sliver of light as thin or wide as you want. You can also add the egg crate if you want even more directional light. This can also be applied to a strip bank if you find a softbox too bulky.

Considering table top product photography, I'd say get a mall softbox (like 24x24) and flag it with either black foamcore or heavy cardboard and you should have that thin line in no time flat.

 

[robertfel]

I have these: http://www.adorama.com/DNRBTR1271.html They work great, I'm happy with them.

Don't be fooled by marketing, even with the inner baffle, there's a 1 stop difference from center to edge; 6' is a long softbox. My studiomate's Profoto 1x4 had nearly the same dropoff. I'm using them with Acute 2 lights, I prefer the way the barebulb fills a softbox and beauty dish.

I bought Profoto's 1x6 grid, but I never use it. If I'm shooting a patent leather handbag or heel, the eggcrate highlight is a hot mess.

 

[Sailor Blue]

A strip softbox, even with grids, is still a softbox and will send light out to the sides. If you aim a strip softbox at a wall (softbox to wall distance = diagonal of softbox face) and photograph the lit area you will see that the light extends quite a ways to the sides, falling off slowly. Add a grid and the fall off is faster and the lit area extends less to the sides, but it still extends to the sides.

If you want a sharp cutoff of light in a strip then you need to use a hard light source and flags. The further the flags are from the light source the harder the edges of the strip of light.

I suggest you buy and study a copy of Light Science and Magic.

Amazon.com - Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240812250): Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, Steven Biver: Books

 

[VertigonA380]

Thanks for your reply...umm excuse my ignorance but what is a stripbank and an eggcrate?

 

[VertigonA380]

Thanks Robert I will get some constant lights this weekend but I also need something that is going to give me a thin sharpish but flexible strip of light. Or do I not understand what your talking about?

 

[VertigonA380]

Thanks sailor lol I think I needed a book like that. I don't even know what a flag is. Maybe I should have read a bit more before posting.

 

[nikoboivin]

No problem at all, we all have to learn at some point. A strip bank is a softbox, but instead of being square-ish, it's usually in a 1-3 / 1-4 or more ratio (example, 12x36, 12x48).

An eggcrate, or grid, goes on a softbox to make the light more directional. It's made of fabric and creates a grid pattern that will direct the light.

Finally a flag (sometimes called a gobo for "go between") is anything that you will put between the light and the subject to block the light. You can buy fabric flags that are held in place on a rectangulat frame, but anything that will prevent light from going where you don't want it will do the trick, as long as it doesn't reflect light somewhere you don't want it to.

 

[VertigonA380]

Thanks very much I am going to but some lights on the weekend, they are constant lights with 3 heads in each softbox, I will see if they have flags and eggcrates when I get there. Gee now I sound like I know what I am talking about thanks lol.

 

[Sailor Blue]

Thanks very much I am going to but some lights on the weekend, they are constant lights with 3 heads in each softbox, I will see if they have flags and eggcrates when I get there. Gee now I sound like I know what I am talking about thanks lol.

Flags are things that go between the light and the subject to help control where the light falls. The softer the source of light (i.e. the larger it is with respect to the subject) and the closer the flag is to the light the more the light will spread out and the softer the transition will be from light to dark. The harder the light source is (i.e. the smaller it is with respect to the subject) and the closer the flag is to the subject the sharper the transition will be from light to dark.

Flags are easy to make. Just go to a craft store and buy some sheets of black Coroplast or paint cardboard sheets flat black. Use A clips from your local hardware store to hold them to anything available. Two sheets close together will give you a strip of light. A hole cut in a sheet can give you a spotlight effect, but then it becomes a gobo, not a flag.

Technically gobos are sheets of material with patterns cut out so that they can do one of two things. If the gobo is close to or flat against the light source you will get catchlights that look like the cutout. Getting star shaped catchlights by using a star shaped cutout on the face of a softbox is a classic. Another classic is using a crescent moon shaped cutout.

If the gobo is some distance away from the light source you get a shadow pattern that matches the gobo. The classic is cutting a series of strips out of a sheet of cardboard so that the light passing through the gobo casts light and dark strips that resemble sunlight passing through Venetian blinds.

--
Living and loving it in Bangkok, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

 

[VertigonA380]

Much appreciated Sailor, I am looking through books now at some studio setups etc. Thanks for the tips on saving money too, I have some time to fiddle so hopefully I can get something acceptable at the end.

 

[nikoboivin]

Thanks Sailor, I didn't know there was a technical difference between a flag and a gobo. Really clear explanation BTW!

 

[ilta]

Be careful with continuous lights, particularly in softboxes. Since most continuous lights run hot to the touch you can create a fire hazard by encasing them completely in a softbox or other modifier, particularly if the softbox fabric ends up touching the lights. If you smell anything burning, pull the plugs and check your gear IMMEDIATELY.

If you're getting cool continuous lights, then that means you're getting CFLs, and that's its own set of problems vis a vis color consistency, lack of control.

Really, it's always better to get flash bulbs, either of the Speedlite or monolight variety. You'll probably end up chucking the continuous lights after one or two shoots.

 

[DecibelPhoto]

I would avoid the use of eggcrates on strip lights (i.e. strip banks, strip boxes) when doing product photography, the grid pattern in the crates will often reflect in the product

 

[ChrisBurch]

There are tons of options out there, but given your experience level, I suspect you won't be wanting to spend a lot on a solution. The Westcott Apollo line of sofboxes work just like umbrellas and you only need an umbrella bracket to hold them. You can very easily use them with speedlights or monolights and setup is literally only a few seconds.

Westcott Apollo Stripbox: http://www.adorama.com/WEASSLK.html
Stripbox Grid: http://www.adorama.com/WE2473.html
Umbrella Bracket: http://www.adorama.com/PHUSA3.html

If your subjects are relatively small, you might want to check this product out -- it is designed to use on a speedlight and is quite inexpensive

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www.gadgetinfinity.com

If you want more detailed information, we'll need to know what kind of lights you plan to use and what gear you have available.

 

[VertigonA380]

Thank you to everyone who made a contribution to this post, I read every submission and feel alot better placed to take better photos. Well I got my simple light setup on the weekend and played around with some food photography. I am in the process of making a dedicated table and all the flags/ reflectors and components mentioned. I also got the Light Science and Magic book as well as another one called Tabletop Photography. Once again thanks to everyone. Here are the first results:




Basic Setup




End result. Plenty of flaws but I am persistent !!