One-Minute Lighting Tip: Lighting on Two Planes
Quick, what color is the tile that this Turkish candy is sitting on?If you said green, you should probably hit the jump to learn about how lighting on two planes gives you more control over your photos.
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First things first: The tile that the candy on is actually black.
Second, let's walk through the light reader Nionyn used for the shot and see what's what.
The main light is a gridded Vivitar 283, coming in from front camera left. The second light is another Vivitar 283 from back camera right. The third light is yet another 283, gelled green, aimed at the wall which is out of the frame behind the candy sitting on the black tile.
So, what you are seeing in the foreground is the (gelled green) lit wall being reflected in the black tile that the candy is on. In other words, in this shot, the black tile is essentially a mirror.
Since the front tile is black, the green wall is not being contaminated with any pre-existing tone or color from the tile in the photo's foreground. And since the candy is being lit by two gridded 283's, the light hitting the candy is not spilling onto the back wall. Thus, the smooth, intense color around the candy.
The two items (candy and wall) are being lit on two completely discrete planes. And the fact that the tile is reflecting the back wall (because of the camera position) is what brings it all together.
58... 59... 60.
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by David, at 12:00 AM.
39 Comments:
This is good brain teaser for lighting. Where do people get the black plexiglas /plastic sheeting for shots like this? I asked at a local Lowes, and they did not have any thing like this.
Zenndott
@Anon-
Added a link to a related shoot with a dark shiny surface idea.
-DH
About a year ago, I did a series of reflective images similar to this...most shot in a light tent with a pair of off camera SB-800's. Black acrylic, and various colors of paper for the backdrop.
http://www.pbase.com/haverstick/reflection
I purchased my black acrylic from a local plastics manufacturer, and it was rather less expensive than some of the internet sources I'd found. I was also able to have the manufacturer roll two edges so I now have an approximate 24" square surface raised by about 4". Makes it easier to get down to "ground level" for some shots.
*Tip for sourcing materials*
Shop/store signage companies can be a good source (read almost free) for materials. They normally cut sheets down to size and have many pieces lying around the workshop.
Would be good if you bought them a drink or even lunch as some materials are normally very expensive !
also @Anon:
Easiest way is to buy clear plexi and spray one side flat black. The other side will appear as a flawless, deep gloss black.
Anon,
I use a 12" square black granite tile. To look at the tile it doesn't appear to be solid black, but I have no problem getting a nice shiny black surface out of it.
4 dollars at HD.
A bit of the same, yet different - this isn't a dual-plane lighting technique, but it has been shot on a piece of black Home Depot tile.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/421829641_57dd12a043.jpg
very interesting!
thanks for finding and sharing these little gems.
This is very cool shot and definitely not too easy to reverse engineer the lighting. Nionyn's photostream is really cool too!
The first comment asked where people get this kind of black shiny surface. The comments at the original photo's Flickr page says "on the floor" :-)
(I feel so tickled that my first impression of the shot turned out to be the correct answer to the question you posed. Now I feel that I'm ready for strobist preschool :-) )
@zenndott - look in the phonebook under plastics or supply.
a chain of stores in BC canada called .
wait for it.
"Industrial Paints and Plastics"
they have loads of different plastics and offcuts too.
I don't know where you live. but look for a store like that.
Mmmmm. Candy.
Mmmmm. Strobes.
I guessed it was a mirror... anyway it is sort of a mirror.
Acrylic sheets are usually sold in art supply stores next to papers and foam sheets.
Maybe you can use black paper under clear plexi.
Or you buy a transparent one + a can of black spray paint and paint the bottom side of plexi sheet. Works perfectly.
Otto
I found at a harwdare store *transparent* plastic panels (besides white ones) which do the job if you put some black cardboard under them
Dean Collins would be proud and a little disturbed with the extra lights "NOT NEEDED"
If every one would look at the reflections in the front of the sweets "They Are BLACK" they are in fact blocking the green from the back ground,
"this planet is lit by ONE light source that bounces off everything reflective "
I'm sure a tile shop will have something about that they could part with. I'm not too sure if a large chain Home Depot/Homebase type place would help out or not.
My local Homebase in Northern Ireland wouldn't part with a cracked large black tile due to "health and safety" reasons (though to be fair the chap serving me thought the decision was from Mars as well and had to keep biting his lip from laughing too loud).
Onwards and upwards.....
J.
Very similar to a macro setup I photographed last year while work was slow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21934881@N05/2118996371
Behind the scenes set-up shot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21934881@N05/2150041943
P.S. Great work on the blog David, been reading it since it launched in 2006! You really helped me and many Photography classmates out when working out lighting solutions for our subjects. You really have made a big difference in helping me think about lighting every time I go out shooting. I am very grateful for your willingness to share useful information. Thank you very much!
Stephen Harrison
www.harrisonpictures.com
For black plexiglas try:
http://www.tapplastics.com/
hey dave, i have some shots where i use water over a dark black surface for the same effect, of course you subject must hold up to the water for this. on the upside, the surface will never get scratched. your fav store, home depot has black 'chalk board' paint in a spray can which is super flat and excellent for making dark surfaces. i use this paint with a flat surface and raised edges for my 'black water' setup.
http://flickr.com/photos/lizardspd/sets/72157603492467187/
I often go to this place since it's nearby. They offer a lot more in the store than they display on the site. http://www.canalplasticscenter.com
Just hit up a local HD or Lowes...one won't have it but the other one will. They're about five bucks each.
The benefit of a neutral color tile is more important that not contaminating the background IMO, it is in not contaminating the color of the subject itself from reflections from the front lights back onto the subject. Imagine the same photo with sickly green highlights in the sugar due to a bounce from a green tile and you'll see what I mean.
Oh my gosh, that is so cool, esp. to a newbie like me. I hope to understand this sort of principle one day!
Good grief...!
I didn't know what had hit my Flickr pages this morning - but eventually figured it out... ;-) A single post on the Strobist front page certainly generates some traffic, eh? LOL
David: Delighted that the pic was helpful to you for demonstrating the technique. Nothing new, I know, and not difficult either, but very effective. Oh yes, and I'm sure I picked up the black tile idea from you - so thanks for that! :-) Thank you for featuring the pic on the blog. I'm trying to be cool and nonchelant about it but I'll readily admit that I'm chuffed to bits. :-D
j. beckley: Thanks very much! :-)
To those in the UK who are interested in doing this sort of setup - I bought four of these 60x60cm tiles in my local B&Q a few weeks ago for about twelve quid. They were described in one place as 'beige' and in another as 'black' - they are in fact a very very very dark brown, but close enough to black to make no difference. I dare say it's a nationwide promotion, so might be worth a look.
Tile v Glass or Plastic: All will work under the right conditions, but mirrors, glass and plexi/plastic will all give double reflections in close-ups if the lighting and/or camera angle are right (or wrong?). The glazed surface of tiles is so thin that it effectively shows only one reflection. In addition it does not attract dust (no static charge) and will not scratch as readily as plastic materials. It is obviously heavier, though.
Thanks again, all. :-)
Cheers, Nionyn
The only thing about using black cardboard under the clear plexiglass is you get a subtle double reflection when the light bounces off both the top surface and then again off the bottom surface of the clear plexiglass. This takes away from the sharpness of the image especially when it's a closeup shot.
You don't have that problem with plexiglass that is a solid color all the way through.
Maybe the flat black paint as someone suggested will help eliminate this problem with the clear plexiglass.
I had guessed it as clear plexiglass. Neat shot, makes me want to go visit HD this weekend. lol Thanks for posting this DH.
What does it mean when you say the light source is a "gridded" 283?
@ Anonymous: What does it mean when you say the light source is a "gridded" 283?
It's a Vivitar 283 hotshoe flash fitted with a grid (in this case home-made from drinking straws) in front of the lens.
The grid only lets through a narrow beam of light - which here was useful, as David says, to keep the light only where I wanted it (i.e. on the Turkish Delight and not on the wall behind, which was lit separately).
HTH Cheers, Nionyn
Well bugger me.. I just did exact same thing (albeit with different subjects of course - used toy soldiers and some nuts), last week.
Altough i used just two lights and faked a third one with reflector.
A few people mentioned spraying clear plexi with flat black on the bottom to get a reflective surface. You can't get a clean reflection this way because the top surface, AND the bottom surface of the plexi are now reflective and if what you sprayed is too thick, it gives you the reflection on two, slightly different angles and this messes up your clean reflected image. Use something with a top shiny surface for the cleanest reflections.
You can get black or other color Plexi in the US at McMaster.com. They are a great hardware and industrial supply company. Most of the items I make after seeing on Strobist have parts from McMaster.
mcmaster.com in US for plastic and other goodies.
Brooks Institute devotes almost an entire class to this technique. Anybody who has attended the school will cringe when they hear the words "black glass".
As far as sourcing materials, a regular sheet of glass with black paint on the underneath side will work just fine.
Just thought I'd share an example using clear plex & flat black paint:
Link to pic
Been doing this for many years and have never had a problem with dual reflections.
Thanks for this tip! After a quick trip to my local Topps Tiles I managed to get a 15cm x 15cm High Gloss Black tile - as a sample it was free too!
Due to the size it's only really big enough for a small item or macro shot, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome using only one on-camera flash as a light source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/siftah/2270921583/
If anyone knows where to get these tiles in a 30x30 or bigger, would love to know...
This image finally got me to try out some shots. I used a semi-gloss black riven tile, a bit small but works well. I nearly bought the same tiles, from B&Q, as used myself although the ones I saw were labeled as black porcelain.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/country_photo/
Mark
Hi
I did same thing last year and I used TV screen reflection on Plexiglass table to create my fruit shots. I brought table very close to TV screen and used fulocresent lighting from ceiling plus white fill cards.
Here are those one:
1)Just rotate the image upside down and you will see football pitch(green area), seats (white area) and Blue sky.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cric-photopassionate/327524420/in/set-72157600308602340/
2) Same thing as above but beach with blue sky in reflection to create effect on plexiglass.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cric-photopassionate/327515573/in/set-72157600308602340/
Simple techinque to creat stunning images. :)
Cheers
CPP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cric-photopassionate/
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