Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Photographic Lighting for Toys

January 19, 2011 
Blog # 2


I've never created a blog or blogged, so I might as well go all out and add a second article today. It will be all about photographic lighting, although in this blog related to toys.

I taught pro photography for close to 32 years, and the change from film to digital was humongous! I was a purist film person, but now, I would never dream of going back to film. Digital truly is a revolutionary invention that has remarkably changed mankind forever.

If you look closely at the above stagecoach image, you'll see 2 shadows, which are from 2 lights. I use a brand of light called LTM, but even the sun and a reflector will do.

There are usually at least  2 lights used in photography. The main light create the direction from where the light is coming from, and also create 3d (form) or shape (2-D or silhouette).

The fill light adds light into dark area of the photo that the main light does not hit. In doing so, detail is shown in these areas. Don't worry if you're not catching on yet. I  will add much more detail and explanations in the future, so that you will better understand this important topic.

The fill light is positioned high, and can be softened ( with diffusion material), so that its' shadows do not conflict with the shadows of the main light. The fill light is also weaker than the main, so that shadows still exist, but the detail is seem much better.

In the stagecoach image, I've labelled the 2 lights by their shadows, so that you will know that 2 lights were used.


You can see 2 shadows for this item  of a horse and a seated racer called a "sulky". What is important when using multiple lights is to make sure that the fill or any other light (non-main) does not present its' shadow too boldly. The reason for this is that we live on a planet with only 1 light source - the sun, hence, artificial lighting must also follow that course or "rule".

Here's another image below.


The lighting  in these 3 images all are the same. The reason for this is that I sell antique and vintage toys on E-Bay, so it's convenient for me to use the same lighting , which is set up in part of my house.The main light is positioned at about 11:00 o'clock, while the fill light is positioned at about 7:00 o'clock and very high. Positioning the fill light high allows its' shadow to fall behind the subjects and be hidden. This then allows the main light's shadow to be most prominent.

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