Lighting for product photography

[leedslad]

Hi everyone,

I needs some help and advice regarding lighting the studio for product photography. I have four Bowens lights, and I'm ok using these for the shots I have done so far, but the problem has arisen when I was asked to do some clothing photography.

The shot I struggled with, was a stack of seven polo shirts, and they had to be pin sharp from from to back. However, knowing that it was no good using the flash, as I needed a small apperture, I used two tungsten lights, but with no softbox or diffuser (as I don't have any for these lights).

The shirts were set up on a normal product table (i.e. items not lit from underneath), but, even at f22 with the 50mm f1.8, I still struggles to get pin sharp images from front to back!

So, do I need more/brighter/stronger tungsten lights??

I have since bought a litetable, and this will hopefully arrive today, but I'm still left wondering how the product guys on here would have lit the shirts.

Help appreciated. Cheers.

[matt1987]

what about some photoshop magic? ;)

[Wilt]

If you used f/22, no light in the world is going to add to the DOF you can achieve!!!

You need to alter the plane of focus with a view camera, or change the positioning of the shirts, or back up and shoot from a longer distance (but not using a proportionately longer FL, which keeps DOF the same !)

[matt1987]

from a longer distance

yup yup, always remember, DOF is the result of BOTH focal lenght AND f-stop.
also, if you're using one, lose the macro lens!

[leedslad]

You need to alter the plane of focus with a view camera,

Sorry, I don't understand that bit - plane of focus with a view camera???

[mmahoney]

Sorry, I don't understand that bit - plane of focus with a view camera???

A view camera allows for movement of the film plane which effectively changes the plane of focus.
Mike

[leedslad]

yup yup, always remember, DOF is the result of BOTH focal lenght AND f-stop.
also, if you're using one, lose the macro lens!

I wasn't using a macro lens - I was using the 17-40mm, but found I had better results with the 70-200mm lens.

[matt1987]

yeah, i didnt say you were using one.. i said, if you had used one, i would have gotten rid of it for these shots ;)

[poynter]

I would shoot each shirt individually and stack them in photoshop.
It makes color correction alot easier.

[Wilt]

Sorry, I don't understand that bit - plane of focus with a view camera???

To add to mmahoney's comment...

A standard camera (dSLR) places the sensor perfectly perpendicular to the axis of the lens. As a result, there is a plane in space ('the plane of focus') which is perfectly parallel to the sensor, which passes thru the point of focus which you have chosen. The depth of that plane of focus (the DOF) makes the plane a thick slab in space

Now imagine that the sensor could be tilted downward a bit; now the plane of focus also is tilted down a bit as a result, and it is still perpenicular to your sensor's surface and also still passes thru the point of focus you chose. As a result, things that are 'in back' are not so far in distance from the plane of focus, resolving your problem! A view camera allows the film plane (or digital sensor plane) to be tilted all over, and that is why I made my earlier comment about getting a view camera to solve your problems! ;)

[farrukh]

f/22 is too tight for 1.3x crop camera to get pinsharp images because of diffraction issue. f/16 for flat subjects like shirts should be enough (if you follow the Wilt literature above).

[matt1987]

A view camera allows the film plane (or digital sensor plane) to be tilted all over, and that is why I made my earlier comment about getting a view camera to solve your problems!

btw, would it be possible to achieve this with a Tilt/Shift lens? ... i've always wanted one of those :P

[Wilt]

btw, would it be possible to achieve this with a Tilt/Shift lens? ... i've always wanted one of those :P

Yes! the challenge is if you have APS-C body, that you instantly lose advantage of using 24mm TSE for architectural work by mounting it on the APS-C body, since that is like using a 38mm lens in terms of its effective FOV not being wide enough for architectural work . Used for product photography, the 45mm TSE would probably be a good choice of FL along with the TSE.

[leedslad]

Used for product photography, the 45mm TSE would probably be a good choice of FL along with the TSE.

I've just been doing a little bit of reading on the TSE lenses, but obviously I have a lot more to learn. However, with the issue I had with getting all of the polo shirts in focus - would this have helped? From what I've read, and the replies to my initial post, it would appear that it would have.

My problem is understanding the basics of why. The camera was at a 45 deg angle to the shirts - so I understand that everything perpendicular to my lens will be in focus, however, what does shifting the focus plane do to make everything sharp?

[InspiredGraphix]

Old style bellows units can be employed also, to shift the plane of focus.

It is how the old school boys used to do it i think.

I have a similar issue to you for small items, and have seen a bellows unit that is supposed to fit an EF mount. Not sure how well it works though, and yeah APS-C sensors are a whole other story.

Rob

[Wilt]

I've just been doing a little bit of reading on the TSE lenses, but obviously I have a lot more to learn. However, with the issue I had with getting all of the polo shirts in focus - would this have helped? From what I've read, and the replies to my initial post, it would appear that it would have.

My problem is understanding the basics of why. The camera was at a 45 deg angle to the shirts - so I understand that everything perpendicular to my lens will be in focus, however, what does shifting the focus plane do to make everything sharp?

Go do a search on the Schleimpflug rule for more in depth explaination. Simply put, if the lens can be swung or tilted to obtain a convergence of the lens plane, the film (sensor) plane, and the plane of the subject of interest, the subject will be in focus

[chtgrubbs]

yeah, i didnt say you were using one.. i said, if you had used one, i would have gotten rid of it for these shots ;)

Howcum? I would think a macro lens would be ideal for this type of shot?