Need suggestions on using flash for product photography

Hi All,

I just busted out my new Westcott Apollo Orb that I got for xmas and decided to try some product type photog with it. I was taking some detail shots of this rifle for a buddy and I LOVE the great soft light that the orb seems to produce. The only gripe I have is that you can see the wrinkles on the white cover in the background of the pics. IDK if there is an easy way to fix this or if I just need to use a different shooting surface.

The set up is the orb with two 430ex flashes. I put a black sheet on a table and covered it with a piece of glass.

I realize that it is reflecting off the glass but I also like the "wet" look the glass gives. I am open to any suggestions.

Try using white paper in the area where you are getting the reflection instead of cloth, its less prone to wrinkling.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15735980
Try using white paper in the area where you are getting the reflection instead of cloth, its less prone to wrinkling.

The wrinkling you see isn't from the cloth it's actually on the diffuser sheet that is on the flash box.

Oh I see what you mean now. When you said sheet I assumed it was some background rather than the light source itself. You could gently iron and stretch the diffusion panel. Or shoot the flash through a diffusion screen like those in this reflector set.

http://www.amazon.com …rds=reflector+p​hotography

I have found that bouncing the flash gives a better "all around" lighting effect. In your case, I believe you said you have 2 430's... Great. Set each up to bounce at different angles to each other. When you light your subject from multiple angles, you tend to cut down on the shadows. Nice gun, btw.

In my opinion, your lighting is fine. You may want to get more creative with how you are setting up the item you are shooting, I.e.- instead of laying the rifle flat on the plexiglass, position it upright, or angled, position your light(s) on either side of the item at plexiglass level, then have the barrel of your lens at plexiglass level, moving up away from the glass will vary the level of reflection. Using paper under the glass vs fabric is an excellent suggestion also.

I actually didn't mind the "wrinkled" paper reflection, I worked for a studio that used to purposely use colored cellophane in shots like this for different background "characteristics". However, I would crop tighter or clone out the clipped corners to make it uniform across the frame, and as suggested above, you may want to try some other perspectives. I would also use relflectors to kick a bit more light into the shadow areas undernieth. White form core can be cut into various shapes and holds it's rigidity when clamped. Nice work.