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In the world of commercial catalog photography, the need to shoot a product on several backgrounds is very common. In these situations when you have a big product line to get through, the speed and simplicity of your plan will make all the difference. With these thoughts in mind, we will employ the “shooting tent” style of lighting in this lesson.
The idea of the shooting tent has been around a long time, and there are quite a few adequate products on the market. The idea is to place the product in a controlled setting,
to create a soft forgiving light that is easy to set up and retain. As you go through a large number of shots as in a catalog environment the quality of the product you chose will become apparent.
(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.) |
Topics Covered:
- The shooting tent; explained
- Double diffusion; the ultimate in soft light
- Changing backgrounds with the LiteRoom
Equipment Used:
Lighting Equipment
- Photoflex LiteRoom Large Kit MS
The Shooting Tent, Explained
As we mentioned, the idea of the shooting enclosure has been around for a long time.
For reflective subjects it’s a great choice because of the ability to produce seamless highlights. For this lesson, we chose to shoot sunglasses with a mirrored coating on the lenses. The problem we need to solve for this shot is the reflection in the lens. Because of the continuous surface within the Large LiteRoom the problem is easily solved, as you will see as we go through this lesson. |
 Figure 1 |
We set up our Large LiteRoom on the tabletop and positioned our camera.
Then we set up the Medium Starlite Kit to the left and the Small Starlite Kit to the right. |
 Figure 2 |
We got great results with this easy to build light setup.
Now we can make adjustments to our product shot without moving our camera or lights. |
 Figure 3 |
We unzipped the vertical port that surrounds the camera lens.
The Large LiteRoom can then be easily lifted off of the table-top.
Because the Large LiteRoom is bottom-less, the enclosure can be moved without disturbing the props. |
 Figure 4 |
We placed a sheet of brushed aluminum on our table-top.
Again, because the Large LiteRoom is bottom-less, you can use props and backgrounds that are larger than the Large LiteRoom.
You can not do that with competitors‘ fully enclosed shooting enclosures. |
 Figure 5 |
The Large LiteRoom is easily put back in place without disturbing our lights or the camera .
The vertical port can cover the lens barrel to seal out unwanted light contamination. |
 Figure 6 |
The full length zippered front makes subject adjustments easy to perform. |
 Figure 7 |
Here we sprayed a mixture of water and glycerin on our sunglasses and background. |
 Figure 8 |
The zippered front is closed up again. |
 Figure 9 |
Because we did not need to move our camera or lights, we are ready to shoot.
This is our results shot.
It took us only 3 minutes to change our setup. And we didn‘t have to move our lights or camera!
Try doing that with an enclosed shooting enclosure. |
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Click here to view a more detailed version of this lesson, complete with camera set-up information, on Web Photo School. |
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Related Lessons
Following are Web Photo School lessons related to this topic.
Equipment Used:
Lighting Equipment
- Photoflex LiteRoom Large Kit MS
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