Faking sunlight for product shots?

[andrew turner]

Hello all,

My daughter has recently taken an interest in product photography, and would like to shoot some products with the appearance of sunlight.
I've seen a few really expensive things, and even some "prohibitively" expensive things for her & was hoping to find a cost-effective solution.
Generally, the table area is about 4x4x4, and includes shots looking down toward products sitting on surfaces, as well as more traditionally shot horizontal images.

Diffuse daylight is a bit easier
thanks

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Hi!

 

[Ellis Vener]

Start with a flashlight. Try varying the distance and angle. You might also try using a 1/2 strength Flame” gel on the light, maybe combining it with a 1/4 CTO gel.

this was lit with an Anker brand 3 LED element flashlight as a key light, held about 8 inches above the avocado. The background was lit with daylight. It’s a focus stackedphoto . 28 photos were used in the focus stack.







--
Ellis Vener
To see my work, please visit http://www.ellisvener.com
I am on Instagram @EllisVenerStudio
“It's not about the f-stop." -Jay Maisel

 

[Off The Mark]

Stupid question: if she wants to take photos that look like they were shot using sunlight, then why not use... I'm... Sunlight???

And by the way: there are TONS of different kinds of sunlight. Diffused direct sunlight in the afternoon coming in through a window looks a lot different than sunlight that is from overhead at noon, bounces off the lawn OUTSIDE the window, then bounces off the ceiling inside, then provides a more-or-less top-diwn lighting.

Also, the appropriate sunlight could b e different if the product is seasonal. For instance, items for winter might need a cooler, crisper light, while items for summer might benefit from a warmer, softer light.

 

[andrew turner]

Stupid question: if she wants to take photos that look like they were shot using sunlight, then why not use... I'm... Sunlight???

I'll let you use your imagination for that one

I'm looking for bright, direct sunlight. I can handle filtering, color temperature, etc.

thanks

 

[andrew turner]

Thanks Ellis - nice shot.



I should say I'm looking for broader coverage, and assuming a flashlight (relatively small one, anyway) won't provide enough output to wash a somewhat larger scene.

A worklight, maybe... hmmm...

 

[Chuck Gardner]

White and black mat board, aluminum foil and sunlight are relatively inexpensive ways to learn lighting.

Food and product shots often have the brightest source coming from behind as “rim light” to create separation between subjects and background. The direct sun can be used for that source them use white and foil covered mat boards in front to bounce the sunlight back into the front of the subject.

For a base of even fill use a large white reflector with a hole to stick the lens through. Use other white cards closer to the subjects to bounce stronger “key” light over the fill. If more specular highlights are desired cover the mat board with the foil, experimenting with shiny and dull side.

In that light scenario the black cards are used to block and subtract light and eliminate any reflections seen on object by placing the black card between light source and subject or subject and object creating the unwanted reflection.

 

[john isaacs]

Hello all,

My daughter has recently taken an interest in product photography, and would like to shoot some products with the appearance of sunlight.
I've seen a few really expensive things, and even some "prohibitively" expensive things for her & was hoping to find a cost-effective solution.
Generally, the table area is about 4x4x4, and includes shots looking down toward products sitting on surfaces, as well as more traditionally shot horizontal images.

Diffuse daylight is a bit easier
thanks

 

[andrew turner]

Hey everyone,

Sorry, let me clarify:

I'm looking for a reasonably priced light source that can mimic bright, direct sunlight for photographic purposes.

I can handle color temperature (and even better if the source is RGB tunable, white tunable, or has a selectable/assignable color temperature), light filtering, atmosphere color, shadow, bounce, etc.

With all due respect, I'm not asking for tips in terms of how to set up shots, sun angles and color in late fall afternoon, etc. I've been doing real-world and 3D imaging for a long time (originally joined here when I got my first digital camera in 2002) and am really just looking for the equipment recommendations.

thanks again!

 

[Darrell Spreen]

I've used a single daylight LED lamp (edison base), similar to the one here, on a lightstand.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1538308-REG/westcott_345_45w_dimmable_daylight_led.html?sts=pi

In this example I may have used the Smith-Victor frosted LED bulb.. I used some black "flags" to shape the light on the background. The setup becomes pretty straightforward because of the advantage of WYSIWYG.



Hope this helps.

--
DS

 

[Off The Mark]

I'm looking for a reasonably priced light source that can mimic bright, direct sunlight for photographic purposes.... am really just looking for the equipment recommendations.

The sun is the right "equipment" for getting a sunlight look.

 

[john isaacs]

Hey everyone,

Sorry, let me clarify:
I'm looking for a reasonably priced light source that can mimic bright, direct sunlight for photographic purposes.

I can handle color temperature (and even better if the source is RGB tunable, white tunable, or has a selectable/assignable color temperature), light filtering, atmosphere color, shadow, bounce, etc.
With all due respect, I'm not asking for tips in terms of how to set up shots, sun angles and color in late fall afternoon, etc. I've been doing real-world and 3D imaging for a long time (originally joined here when I got my first digital camera in 2002) and am really just looking for the equipment recommendations.

thanks again!

I would look at a bi-color dimmable LED spotlight with Bowens mount for adding modifiers, such as the GVM SD200D Bi-Color LED Video Spotlight

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1660337-REG/gvm_gvm_sd200d_sd200d_bi_color_led_video.html

Bi-color lets you change color temperature without having to use gels. Dimmable is mainly for convenience, but if you want to use strobes or speedlights along with it, then that can be useful. Bowens mount is most common, and you can then use the light with other modifiers such as barn doors, softboxes, grids, and so on.

 

[andrew turner]

Thanks John -

That looks pretty good. Interestingly, they're calling 5600K daylight; IMO, it is, but that's on the warm end.... can be adjusted in Photoshop if needed. 3200 is nice.

cheers

 

[andrew turner]

I'm looking for a reasonably priced light source that can mimic bright, direct sunlight for photographic purposes.... am really just looking for the equipment recommendations.

The sun is the right "equipment" for getting a sunlight look.

Unfortunately, we don't have one at the right time of day, angle, or location in our basement.

 

[Ellis Vener]

In his book “Fifty Portraits”, Gregory Heisler presents a photo shot in his studio but with tropical looking daylight. In the technical description Heisler says he created the sunlight effect by placing a bare bulb flash (Probably a Profoto Pro series head) high up in the corner of his studio and pointing it at the person he was photographing, this was supplemented (fill light) by the light from that one bare bulb source bouncing around his studio.

you could try this with any bare bulb light: Flash, or household type LED, quartz-halogen, or tungsten bulb or flood light.

--
Ellis Vener
To see my work, please visit http://www.ellisvener.com
I am on Instagram @EllisVenerStudio
“It's not about the f-stop." -Jay Maisel

 

[jlafferty]

FWIW this thread is my absolute fave on the topic:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4309075

 

[andrew turner]

Thanks!

 

[Rico Tudor]

I'm looking for a reasonably priced light source that can mimic bright, direct sunlight for photographic purposes.

When generating scenic lighting, sunlight is certainly the hardest (so to speak). Firstly, because the sun is quite close to a point source (1/2-degree subtended angle). Secondly, because the distance of the sun affects the divergent angles cast by the shadows and, additionally, the effects of the inverse-square law. The latter is sometimes referred to by photogs as "depth of light". The sun is 93 million miles away and very large—difficult geometry to reproduce in the studio!

Ignoring budget, the best instrument to approximate sunlight is a projector at the longest range permitted by the lens. I own two with the Profoto ZoomSpot shown below.





Some of the shadow transitions are imperfect because I didn't use a diffusion gobo (too much light loss), and you can probably discern the cast shadows diverging a bit. Otherwise, the sunlight simulation is pretty good.

--
Canon, Nikon, Contax RTS, Leica M, Sony, Profoto

 

[Ed Shapiro]

Without specific information, many of these questions become a "wild goose chase".

There is no indication of what OP's daughter is shooting- a product can be anything from tiny earrings to a truck! Tabletop-type product shoots can be just about anything that fits on a table.

The SUN is the one and only source of natural light on Earth but it can be direct, difussed, cloudy hazy overcast. Waht aspect of sunlight is required and what is it being lighted?

In a product shoot, in a studio-like indoor environment, "sunlight" can be simulated with anything from an optical or Fresnel spotlight to a giant softbox- depending on the effect that is required and the level of concentration or diffusion desired. So, the first part of the solution is to determine the quality of the light- hard, medium, soft, or very soft. Once that is determined the color temperature is not an issue because a white balance can be established for most conventional light sources- tungsten, quartz, LED, strobe, etc! A warm (sunset/sunrise) effect can be obtained by adjusting the white balance.

As for budget. Nowadas. withte popularity of strobe and LED, old-fashioned spotlights are being sold at reasonable prices on the used market. I found a few at cinematography equipment dealers being sold off from their rental inventory. These use 250-watt or 500-watt tungsten lamps with a color temperature of 3200K or 3400K which are easily white-balanced. The one in the attached image is a Bardwell & McAlister 500W Frenel and can be adjusted for various d levels of beam concentration or spread. Great for simulating direct sunlight. There are similar models with 500-watt and 1,00watt Quartz-Halogen lamps of the same color temperatures. I have an old Color-Tran model that works well. brand to look for is Mole-Richardson. Oldies but Goodies!

For a more diffused/ cloudy/overcast.hazy look, a strobe of continuous ligh sourcee in a big softbox is very popular among product shooters.

It's difficult for me to make a specific recommendation if I don't know what kinds of products are being photographed. Also...the light source is only one factor- you need to know how to place the lights to create dimensionality, render texture and address a wide variety of surfaces. If you are gonna try to shoot a highly polished "chrome-plated" product with a direct spotlight. you're gonna have quite a challenge on your hands!






Fresnel Spotlight




Strobes with Fresnel heads and snoots or diffusion material.



Ed Shapiro- Commercial and Portrait Photographer. Ottawa, Ontario Canada

 

[ampimagedotcom]

I would mainly use the Bowens 40° Sunlite Reflector if I wanted to create a sunlight look...







.. but almost any reflector would do, if you place it far enough away.

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Cheers,
Ashley.
www.ampimage.com

 

[A-Marc]

the smaller the light source in relative to the subject, the harder the shadows. a speedlight with a fresnel head will also help to guide the light into more parallel light ray, to mimic the sun.

is works well with matte objects. if your daughter wants to shoot cosmetics, shiny packages can get quite a bit tricky with that light.




shadow was done with a speedlight, while pot was lit seperatly.



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https://www.flickr.com/photos/146973265@N06/
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