Knife lighting problem

[PhotosGuy]

Last week I was PMing with Bloo Dog and the subject of pic of a lighting set-up that I posted last year came up. I was a bit bored today, so I thought I'd challenge your brains. Your mission is tell us what lighting you would use to duplicate this shot. Be creative, bearing in mind that I used the absolute minimum lighting necessary. Still, it is a semi-trick question. ;) I'll post an answer & pics of the set-up next week after we have some answers.

Outside of processing from RAW, it's only been cropped & patched to remove evidence of age from the blades.
ISO 100, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, 0.6 sec @ f/2.8

[amosher]

Brand new here - 30 minutes old. Interesting to see what people come up with, curious how the pistol is blurred though it appears to be on the same plane.

[nitsch]

I'll have a guess at daylight from a window at about the 3 o'clock position, possibly through some sort of thin cloth to soften it a bit.

[Avalonthas]

natural light.

[PacAce]

I'll have a guess at daylight from a window at about the 3 o'clock position, possibly through some sort of thin cloth to soften it a bit.
I don't think it's light coming through the window at 3:00 since the shadow cast on the table is almost directly underneath its source. If it is light from a window, it has be be from an overhead ceiling window. :)

[DocFrankenstein]

Lit from left and right throught a diffuser of some kind.

Also, maybe from above.

[PhotosGuy]

Amosher, Welcome to the forum! curious how the pistol is blurred though it appears to be on the same plane. Suppose it was a few inches higher? ;-)

[PhotosGuy]

I wonder if everyone would have said "Daylight" if I'd pushed the WB to the warm side? There are some interesting ideas here & I put a few of them together.
This is what it looks like if lit from the left with window light diffused through translucent paper.

[PacAce]

OK, my guess, based on the direction of the light source and the distinct albeit a soft shadow that's cast is that it was shot with an on-board flash set to manual and low power with a diffuser of some sort on the head.

[PacAce]

I just had another thought. How about a flat panel flash like the one from Sunpak? ???

http://www.sunpak.com/flash/fp_38_flash.html

[PhotosGuy]

I can hear the brain cells sizzling from here! ;)
I didn't use a flash, though I could have. Remember, "...tell us what lighting you would use to duplicate this shot." I was hoping for a what & where for each element as in "I'll have a guess at daylight from a window at about the 3 o'clock position, possibly through some sort of thin cloth to soften it a bit." That's a great description, but was that the only element used? It doesn't account for the highlight on the top left of the knife handle which also shows at the left of the barrel. I'll post the answer pics Tuesday.
Meanwhile, here's a helpful hint; When is a light not a light?

[Dante King]

I just had another thought. How about a flat panel flash like the one from Sunpak? ???

http://www.sunpak.com/flash/fp_38_flash.html


Man that flat panel flash is wicked looking. Also looks like it would rip your hot show mount off by weight, but man its only 10 oz!!!

[PacAce]

I can hear the brain cells sizzling from here! ;)
I didn't use a flash, though I could have. Remember, "...tell us what lighting you would use to duplicate this shot." I was hoping for a what & where for each element as in "I'll have a guess at daylight from a window at about the 3 o'clock position, possibly through some sort of thin cloth to soften it a bit." That's a great description, but was that the only element used? It doesn't account for the highlight on the top left of the knife handle which also shows at the left of the barrel. I'll post the answer pics Tuesday.
Meanwhile, here's a helpful hint; When is a light not a light?
OK, if you put it that way, if it were me making that shot, I'd shoot it in the kitchen where I have a huge quadruple fluorescent light fixture with a white diffuser cover. :mrgreen:

[Kennymc]

Diffused window light (as shown) and because of its softness probably North facing, this is being used as a fill light source... The light coming from about 1 o'clock is stronger as it casts a darker shadow which would suggest some reflective material was used, but there is a slight darkening on the main knife blade (shadow) just before the highlited tip which could be caused by the rim of a translucent section from a 5-in-one reflector from a South facing window as the light would be stronger...

But how would I have done it, probably stuck it in a light tent... ;)

[PhotosGuy]

But how would I have done it, probably stuck it in a light tent... :D Nice work on your site Kenny. There are some good tutorials there.
As promised, tomorrow AM I'll post the set-up pics, along with another lighting version of knife.

[PhotosGuy]

Almost 200 views & 12 responses - I'm glad that you all took part in this. While that's not the best shot possible, I was hoping to point out was that simple things can stand in for multiple lights. In this case, white wood blocks reflected highlights into the knife and the pistol barrel.
Setup: the first pic below is a reshoot of setup1 showing an overall & medium shot. (The ms was w/quartz light - it was dark out!) ;-)
The main lighting came from a west facing window about 8' to the left of the set.
The pistol was raised to throw it out of focus, and the white pedestal it was on also blocked window light from the wood under the pistol while reflecting a highlight into the left end of the knife.

"When is a light not a light?" When it's a reflector, & one reason I started this post was to illustrate that almost anything can be used to reflect light into the subject. (Or, a black card can be used to keep light away from part of it.) In this case I used white blocks of wood, just 'cause most people wouldn't consider wood as a reflector. I use anything that's handy as you'll see.

It was hard to put a little "life' into the original shot. I considered using a mirror to skim some light across the knife handle, then decided it was carrying things too far. So I reshot it. Wednesday I'll post the set-up used on the 2nd pic below.
It's how I might have done it without the restriction of keeping it simple using only one readily available source with bounce cards.
Look it over & see what you think the lighting might have been.

ISO 100, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, @ f/4

[PhotosGuy]

This 2nd pic in my last post above was shot using two lights. Normally I would have started by bouncing one light overhead on the ceiling, but the wood was well oiled & picked up the same reflections that the blades did. So I used what could have been a white wall, & angled the knife toward it by putting a toothpick underneath.

The first pic below is an overall & medium shot of the set. The blue & yellow paper is picked up in the pistol frame where there was a broad, hot reflection. The white area at the bottom of the same reflector adds a highlight to the knife. What isn't shown is a blue card that was over the pistol frame & reflected into it to knock down a hot reflection there. I didn't mind the reflection in the barrel & left it in.

The second pic below shows the knife lit from the left (only) & the right (only). The feathered edge of the left light was allowed to just hit the knife to highlight the end of the case. For reference, I added the final pic using both lights - the difference in contrast is a result of the RAW processing in RawShooter & post processing in PS.

I hope you all had fun with this. My thanks for playing the game. We now have a Studio Lighting Set-Up Links - illustrations of real world examples (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138912) "sticky". If you have an interesting lighting situation, why not post it & link to it there? Kenny, you might consider linking to your "Studio Lighting" page if you can afford the bandwith. ;)

[Buddy Thomason]

Sorry I missed the discussion here but I 'arrived late.' I do a lot of knife photography - high end custom hand-made stuff. I posted many examples with comments about lighting and other issues specific to each shot. Was hopeful I'd get a little more discussion and sharing of related examples by other forumites. There were a number of positive comments, which is nice, but it's really technique discussion that I'm after. This link will take you to part 1. At the end of that thread is a link to part 2. http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=55071&highlight=custom+cutlery

[Buddy Thomason]

Addendum: At first I thought you might be fooling us by using, not a camera, but a scanner. I've gotten some pretty nice images placing the knife on the glass and leaving the top open for a black background or creating a background to lay on top (bottom if you're looking at the image) of the knife!

[PhotosGuy]

Nice work, Buddy! I also like the fact that you showed the set-ups & discussed your MisteAkes. ;-)
Maybe you'd like to put the links in the "Studio Lighting Set-Up Links –illustrations of real world examples" post?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66140

I tried a scanner with some flowers once & liked the DOF fall off that resulted.

[PhotosGuy]

Bloo,
I'm glad you liked it. I tried to respect the KISS principal! I was playing with a 3 light setup on my Browning today. Colored gells this time. Should have a post up in a few days.
Just checked your "Diamonds and sapphires " thread. Looks great - Nice big image! ;)

Yes, they're painted wooden blocks. Put stuff on top, prop something up, hold something down, use as reflectors... cost about $.25 for paint. :D

[tim]

I just read a book on lighting, which is quite interesting. I won't recommend a specific book, but anyone doing product photography, especially with difficult things like metal or glass, should definitely get a lighting book. I'm going to have to read it again to fully understand what they were talking about, and do some practice.

[mpigapicha]

Last week I was PMing with Bloo Dog and the subject of pic of a lighting set-up that I posted last year came up. I was a bit bored today, so I thought I'd challenge your brains. Your mission is tell us what lighting you would use to duplicate this shot. Be creative, bearing in mind that I used the absolute minimum lighting necessary. Still, it is a semi-trick question. ;) I'll post an answer & pics of the set-up next week after we have some answers.

Outside of processing from RAW, it's only been cropped & patched to remove evidence of age from the blades.
ISO 100, 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, 0.6 sec @ f/2.8

I think natural light with white matte reflector.
Probably photoshopped a tad bit, but great lighting, nevertheless.

[PhotosGuy]

Close. Read down the thread, mpigapicha. The answer is there. ;)

Oh, &...

[rgmcleod]

The shadows vary , so I suspect light painting with a flashlight

[PhotosGuy]

The shadows vary , so I suspect light painting with a flashlight Sometimes it helps to read the entire thread? ;)

[PacAce]

I forgot what the answer was. How about a hint? :mrgreen: (j/k)

[PhotosGuy]

Post #16... ... ... I think. ;)

[Dale Siscoe]

A soft Panel diffuser over the subject using natural and white office lighting?
OOOh my brain Hurts...LOL

[PhotosGuy]

You're kidding, right? I may delete your post to avoid confusing a newbie. Have to think about that. ;)

[StealthLude]

I think the lighting in the first pict was pretty good...

I am getting into product photography so looks like ill take time advise and grab a book on lighting too...

[PhotosGuy]

I am getting into product photography Don't forget the Stickys:

** IMPORTANT LINKS: Studio Lighting ** (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138912)

FAQ - Studio Lighting (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66140)

[rgmcleod]

Yep, too much looking and not enough reading the threads

[Schnauzer]

I'd like to know where you found the Mauser Werke knife.

[NZDoug]

In the studio, I shoot tableware like knives and stuff by dangling a long roll of tracing paper just out of the shot and lighting to give a bit of a spot. This can give the reflective surface a greater tonal range which can be more attractive than an even tone.
The arc of the paper can get closer than a flat panel, and, as the papers translucent, the light source can be behind it. ;)

[PhotosGuy]

I'd like to know where you found the Mauser Werke knife. Somewhere in Detroit 20 years ago. ...dangling a long roll of tracing paper just out of the shot and lighting to give a bit of a spot. That will work. Consider these threads a starting point & keep using your imagination. ;)