Photography Tips: Lighting

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twenty3
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Photography Tips: Lighting

Post by twenty3 » Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:33 pm

Here are few lighting tips I can share when taking photos of your models:

Natural Sunlight – the golden hour
When you take photos of your models outdoors it is ideal to do it during the golden hour. The golden hours are from 8am-11am and 3pm-6pm. This of course is relative and based on a 12 hour night/day pattern.

Rule of thumb: take photos before or right after sunrise or just before sunset.

The objective is to avoid harsh direct sunlight that will produce shadows, highlights and over exposure. The Golden Hour will provide soft indirect lighting for your models. You can put a finger on top of your palm to gauge the level of sunlight. A darker shadow on your palm means higher level of sunlight available.

Artificial Lighting

High key lighting vs Low Key Lighting

High key lighting simply means the background is bright. This is good for cars with bright colors as it brings out colors of the car and minimize any shadows or highlights. This method is most commonly used for product photography because it emphasizes and put focus on the model with minimal distractions. You can produce high key photos by directing your light source to the background and deliberately overexposing it. Make sure to diffuse your light source by simply putting a soft box in front or like me, I use parchment paper taped in front of the lamp.

On the other hand, Low Key Lighting has darker background. This creates a dramatic effect in your photography and has a lot of mood lighting. Imagine Top Gear’s presentation before they do a review on cars, most of the time you can only see the car’s silhouette.

How many lights should you use?

To be honest, it’s up to you. You can produce very good photos with one light source or as many as four. It really depends on the mood you are trying to portray. As long as you have good exposure then you’re ok.

You can use regular table lamps with 6K lumens bulbs. If you want to go all out with your set up then I will ask you to click this link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Shoot ... 4144358988" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Few additional notes:
• Make sure your white balance is correct i.e. use sunlight/shade when your outside or fluorescent/incandescent when indoors depending on the kind of light you use
• Use a tripod to avoid shakes
• Set your shutter to timer mode or use a remote if you have one
• Try different configuration of your lighting as it may produce variable results

Here you go… I hope this helps :okay: . Here’s a sample photo of the techniques mentioned above.
One light source angled at 45° towards the model.
Image
Ford GT by JS-Twenty3, on Flickr

Here's the link to my camera setting: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27248999@N ... 5028878075" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have a DSLR right now. Here's a photo using an old Point and Shoot Canon SD1200 IS

Image
IMG_0152 by JS-Twenty3, on Flickr



Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in photography or claiming to be an expert. These are notes that I have when taking photos of my diecasts and how I understand the concept of photography.

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[KRAFTIG]
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Re: Photography Tips: Lighting

Post by [KRAFTIG] » Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:16 am

Good stuff, thanks!

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GP246
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Re: Photography Tips: Lighting

Post by GP246 » Thu Sep 06, 2012 5:22 pm

Thank you it will be helpful....
I think we need that thing to have the precise amount of light, a Lux Meter, with full sun it's something around 50000 - 100000 lux

Image

You can have one for $20.00

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twenty3
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Re: Photography Tips: Lighting

Post by twenty3 » Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:53 pm

GP246 wrote:Thank you it will be helpful....
I think we need that thing to have the precise amount of light, a Lux Meter, with full sun it's something around 50000 - 100000 lux

Image

You can have one for $20.00
That's a fine piece of gadget! What else can you use it for?

As long as you have enough light i guess that should be fine. If you don't then a tripod will help a lot and shoot with longer shutter speed.

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Re: Photography Tips: Lighting

Post by [KRAFTIG] » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:29 am

whiterock wrote:Great idea and other guys have also very good ideas and suggestions regarding the photography so I think photography is the main depart how make looks great.. So let me conform which the best Camera brand you would like to recommend me.. Because I want to buy new..Any idea will be appreciated
I haven't been keeping up to speed on the latest camera enhancements. I would recommend a basic SLR by Nikon or Canon. All the photos I've taken are from a dated Nikon D40 SLR. Remember natural light is your friend :)

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