Lighting help

wegotitugetit

wegotitugetit

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alex
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my dad has asked me to help him sell some bike parts for him as this is our main business
im after the best possible photos possible to make it look more professional
l im after a set up to take these photos light tents are not big enough the item i will be selling will be fairings off motorcycles so they are bigish any ideas not got million pounds lol :help:
 
What equipment have you got? Or do you need a set up including flashes or studio lighting?also depends on how big your space is?
 
Sorry jsut about to rush out to a meeting. So cant give a very detailed answer but i will when i get back in later.... but i also know some of the other guys on here will shed some light on the situation.

Personally i would have a look at the cheaper lighting sets on Ebay if you can stretch to that much. I believe there is a thread a few weeks ago about a set that a few fellow members got.

If that isnt an option then you may want to consider getting some sppedlights/flash guns and try a basic set up that way.

Sorry if this is a rubbish response. I will post links later of the products but also of a few articles that would be good to read!!
 
will87 said:
Sorry jsut about to rush out to a meeting. So cant give a very detailed answer but i will when i get back in later.... but i also know some of the other guys on here will shed some light on the situation.

Personally i would have a look at the cheaper lighting sets on Ebay if you can stretch to that much. I believe there is a thread a few weeks ago about a set that a few fellow members got.

If that isnt an option then you may want to consider getting some sppedlights/flash guns and try a basic set up that way.

Sorry if this is a rubbish response. I will post links later of the products but also of a few articles that would be good to read!!
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that would be fantastic
 
just to give you a idea of what room i have got to work with here goes
this is a rear seat plastics of a bike and a fairing is a bit bigger so i know there going to be problems with a set up but im sure i can work around it
picture has not been edited this was only to show you

IMG_0008.jpg
 
You could make your own light tent, either out of a huge cardboard box or knock up a wooden frame and put ripstop nylon on it. Failing that, you could probably rig something up with a white shower curtain or two that would do the job.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
You could make your own light tent, either out of a huge cardboard box or knock up a wooden frame and put ripstop nylon on it. Failing that, you could probably rig something up with a white shower curtain or two that would do the job.
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wouldnt a shower curtain bounce too much light back with the been shiny already i dont mind investing a little into this as it is going to be a regular thing for me

i presume you can possibly but the white backgrounds cheap enough (Not Sure The Name Of These )

will a light box be good enought as it may need to be a metre by a metre minimum and what lighting do i buy
 
A light tent would be your worst possible option. Fairings have a complex shape and their visual appeal is based on the way the light catches them and reflects from them, so the lighting needs to define the shape to make them attractive, and a light tent will make a complete pigs ear of it.

Basically I think you have 3 main choices.

1. Shoot them outdoors on a fairly dull day. If it's a sunny day either don't take the shots or diffuse the sun through one or more large diffuser silks (plain white shower curtain or ripstop nylon stretched on a wooden frame. This is the least 'professional' solution but the results should be OK and the products will look 'real' and potential customers may think that they will look better than the photos indicate.

2. Set up a studio to do the job properly. You'll need a much larger space, a perspex shooting table at least 50% bigger than the largest item, an overhead softbox or silk at least twice the size of the largest item (but bigger is better) lit by a studio flash head attached to a wall mounted boom, then at least a couple of other studio flash heads fitted with beauty dishes, strip softboxes or similar to add controlled highlights to define the shape.

Option 3 is to hire a good commercial photographer to do the job - probably the cheapest option if the fairings are stock items, the most expensive if they are one-offs.

If you're going to do it yourself get yourself a copy of Light: Science & Magic so that you have an understanding of how light works, or get a copy of my still life tutorial so that you have an understanding of how to use various light shaping tools.
 
You need to ring a pro photographer! It take more than equipment. I'm sorry but I think it's a joke that an amateur with no equipment, no space and no experience of lighting should think that by buying a couple of bits of kit he'll be able to produce images which can sell a product. Frankly it's insulting.
 
awp said:
You need to ring a pro photographer! It take more than equipment. I'm sorry but I think it's a joke that an amateur with no equipment, no space and no experience of lighting should think that by buying a couple of bits of kit he'll be able to produce images which can sell a product. Frankly it's insulting.
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I have not got the funds to pay some one professional Probally £120.00 hour then have to take time out of work , sorry i dont have that time to got out and start paying some one to take photo's

i think your insulting to be fair i was asking for advice im not after 100 % top quality images just some nice sharp images if you have nothing better to say then dont post at all

i honestly thought every one here were good people obviously there is some that are not
 
awp said:
You won't be disappointed then.
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like i said i dont want super fancy photo's i want some nice ones like look the part i understand that this is not going to be easy
i could possibly use my front room ( Didnt Want To )
if i have too just makes life simpler for me to do this in the spare room im not after a super fancy studio just some basic lighting and possibley a back drop to do it these are s/h items not new
 
I think that with some guidance, the OP could get good shots to help sell presumably secondhand motorbike parts. These are likely to get emailed to the buyer or go on an Ebay auction, they're not going on the back page of a prestigious publication.

With some careful thought and planning without huge investment you could easily make something that does sufficient justice to the parts to justify someone clicking buy on your website/ebay rather than someone elses.

No need to hire a professional tog IMO.

You could also look at continuous lights as bike parts won't suffer under the lights.
 
awp said:
You need to ring a pro photographer! It take more than equipment. I'm sorry but I think it's a joke that an amateur with no equipment, no space and no experience of lighting should think that by buying a couple of bits of kit he'll be able to produce images which can sell a product. Frankly it's insulting.
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I Aint paying a photographer so stop pm ,ing me i aint got that kind of money :bang:
 
andrewc said:
I think that with some guidance, the OP could get good shots to help sell presumably secondhand motorbike parts. These are likely to get emailed to the buyer or go on an Ebay auction, they're not going on the back page of a prestigious publication.

With some careful thought and planning without huge investment you could easily make something that does sufficient justice to the parts to justify someone clicking buy on your website/ebay rather than someone elses.

No need to hire a professional tog IMO.

You could also look at continuous lights as bike parts won't suffer under the lights.
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thank you atleast some one understands me this is the kind of i was thinking about but dont know where to get it from or price
 
err....you pm'd me! remember! It's up to you how you do it. If you don't like the advice that's fine - but at least listen to it - or don't ask in the first place.

I look forward to seeing the pictures! :)
 
awp said:
err....you pm'd me! remember! It's up to you how you do it. If you don't like the advice that's fine - but at least listen to it - or don't ask in the first place.

I look forward to seeing the pictures! :)
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lol you pm,ed me first OMG i am taking advice just not your advice people dont have vast amount of money in there account just because you prob will be on laods of money you epect people to have it too if you cant leave anything good then dont bother
 
I have had not bad luck with photographing objects just using window light and a bounce card to fill in the shadows. I use sheets of white card as a backdrop and curve them.

Here is an example from another thread

3176825466_13a8dff223.jpg


You don't need a mass of complicated equipment to do this. Maybe dial in some +EV to keep the whites bright and lift out detail in the blacks.
 
subseasniper said:
I have had not bad luck with photographing objects just using window light and a bounce card to fill in the shadows. I use sheets of white card as a backdrop and curve them.

Here is an example from another thread

3176825466_13a8dff223.jpg


You don't need a mass of complicated equipment to do this. Maybe dial in some +EV to keep the whites bright and lift out detail in the blacks.
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white card is a good idea and very cheap i persume to buy
 
This cost me zero pence. I had some old card lying about that I used for the background. There was a visible join between two pieces of card which was easily burnt out in photoshop. I used another piece of card as a reflector and brough it in as close as possible to the edge of the frame.

You could use white A3 paper or something to easily achieve this. Probably cheaper than using a fabric background as you can just bin the paper when it gets dirty.

What would a ream of 250 sheets of A3 paper run at? £2.50 from Tesco or something.
 
subseasniper said:
I have had not bad luck with photographing objects just using window light and a bounce card to fill in the shadows. I use sheets of white card as a backdrop and curve them.



You don't need a mass of complicated equipment to do this. Maybe dial in some +EV to keep the whites bright and lift out detail in the blacks.
Click to expand...

You're right, very little equipment is needed to photograph a non reflective subject like that.
But the OP is asking about a highly reflective subject with a complex shape. Horses for courses!
 
Garry Edwards said:
You're right, very little equipment is needed to photograph a non reflective subject like that.
But the OP is asking about a highly reflective subject with a complex shape. Horses for courses!
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Sorry, your right man. There is a whole extra layer of complication to consider.
 
Are the fairings white fibreglass replicas or salvage items?
 
wegotitugetit said:
some people do this as a it of fun or a hobby and take it so seriously
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I accept that you're not prepared to either spend money or learn how to do it well and that's your right - but I don't think you should be critical of people who offer advice that you don't like, especially when, in your original post, you said "my dad has asked me to help him sell some bike parts for him as this is our main business
im after the best possible photos possible to make it look more professional"

The fact of the matter is that a lot of the people who ask questions on forums are prepared to learn and are prepared to spend, either because they want their photos to look as good as possible or because they understand the importance of good photography to the process of selling their products.

All that I (and others) have tried to do is to help you by answering your question.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I accept that you're not prepared to either spend money or learn how to do it well and that's your right - but I don't think you should be critical of people who offer advice that you don't like, especially when, in your original post, you said "my dad has asked me to help him sell some bike parts for him as this is our main business
im after the best possible photos possible to make it look more professional"

The fact of the matter is that a lot of the people who ask questions on forums are prepared to learn and are prepared to spend, either because they want their photos to look as good as possible or because they understand the importance of good photography to the process of selling their products.

All that I (and others) have tried to do is to help you by answering your question.
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who said im not prepared to learn and not spend money i bought a e book of you didnt I

For Starters i wont take advice off some one who insult me ( AWP ) Very Unfair Comments for someone who doent even know me i wasnt stealing clients or money off hime so what was the need

i am willing to learn i am willing to spend money but not hundreds upon hundreds at the moment my budget is increasing by the day even if i have to buy the kit a bit at the time

im after a solution Not Insult

THE MAIN BUISNESS - yes this is our main buisness and he as asked me to do a bit for him not a main job but something for a night and i will get some extar cash for it

i come on her to ask for help i have listened and people have helped and thank you to all them that has
 
wegotitugetit said:
Citical It Is 1 Person Im nottaking advice from

who said im not prepared to learn and not spend money i bought a e book of you didnt I

For Starters i wont take advice off some one who insult me ( AWP ) Very Unfair Comments for someone who doent even know me i wasnt stealing clients or money off hime so what was the need

i am willing to learn i am willing to spend money but not hundreds upon hundreds at the moment my budget is increasing by the day even if i have to buy the kit a bit at the time

im after a solution Not Insult

THE MAIN BUISNESS - yes this is our main buisness and he as asked me to do a bit for him not a main job but something for a night and i will get some extar cash for it

i come on her to ask for help i have listened and people have helped and thank you to all them that has
Click to expand...
 
I did not insult you - on the contrary you insulted the photographic profession by suggesting that with no equipment and no experience you would be able to produce "the best possible photos" - without the years of training and experience that it takes to produce good still life work of difficult subjects. You are not "stealing clients or money" from me - you are too far from me for me to be the least bit interested in the work from that point of view. You stated that you wanted "look more professional" - and I suggested that in the light of your experience if you really wanted professional looking results then the way to do it is to hire a pro photographer. Hiring a pro BTW is likely to cost less than buying the equipment you'll need to do the job properly - even if you have the skill to use it. Now you may not like that suggestion but it was made in good faith. Your comments in some of the posts above suggest that you are young and immature and unfortunately unwilling to learn it seems. Good luck!
 
look lets leave it at this cause i really cnt be ar***d to carry this on

pointless i wanted some advice and people just take something twist it around so im not going to win i honestly did not expect to be given this advice from people so there is no point carrying on

so everybody just leave it
 
I get the same issues come up with webdesign and photography

Yes everyone can put a website on the web, yes it will usually look rubbish, but there are standards some people will accept and standards some people wont. The gold standard is what your customers will accept. We are looking for houses at the moment, and some of the photography for the interiors is appalling, and no mater how nice the house is, we wont buy it if we cant appreciate what it looks like. This will be the same for the products you sell

Photography like webdesign is full of professionals, down to people who use thier mobile phones. Hell my mum can even shoot a picture. Is it commercially good enough to sell your product - unlikey

At the end of the day there is no correct answer. you could spend a fortune at a commercial studio and make a loss on your sale because the marketing and photography costs were so high, you can shoot it yourself, and make a really poor job of it and never sell your product, or you can find some middle ground, and do what the OP originally did and ask for some help
 
Have you looked at strobist.blogspot.com? Lots of good info on lighting and how to do it without spending a fortune.
 
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