織物参考館 IX Lighting Setup

Posted by Mike Cash (Kiryu, Japan) on 3 April 2009 in Miscellaneous.

Photo showing how yesterday's post was lit.

In the March 5th and 6th lighting setup shots we could see how it is possible to add light to make a bright scene darker.

This scene was shot in the same well-lit museum interior with the flash and camera settings the same as on yesterday's photo. Notice how the area around the gears is properly lit and how the brightness of the light falls off very rapidly as distance from the flash increases. Everyone who has ever used a built-in flash on a camera is familiar with the concept of "the flash won't reach that far". It is possible to control that phenomenon and make creative use of it. Notice how for everything that ended up in the background of yesterday's shot the flash just didn't reach that far.

Moving the flash away from the camera and lighting from a different angle contributes to a sort of 3D effect. Using direct flash from the camera results in that flat appearance with harsh shadows that makes so many people proclaim how they hate flash photos.

Shooting the flash through a white umbrella greatly broadened and softened the light source, which is responsible for there being no harsh, sharp, clear-edged shadows in yesterday's photo.

Pentax K20D
SMC Takumar 55/1.8

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