[FullCircle]

"....diffused sunlight...."  
 
There is a saying in Chengdu.....  "The dogs bark at the Sun."

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  Wow. This setup looks rather amateurish (if only because they use a smartphone as a camera), yet they get pro results out of it, no denying that.

 
That light box goes a LONG way in making the light fall evenly on objects. Also, the 4S has a rather good camera for what it is.

 

[psygeist]

^^but still IMO they look lackluster without specular highlight.

 

[psygeist]

Quote:

"....diffused sunlight...."  
 
There is a saying in Chengdu.....  "The dogs bark at the Sun."

Words of wisdom there. Sort of like Panchatantra or Aesop's fables.

 

[psygeist]

Quote:

 
That is Cocobolo, and if I may add, a mighty fine Cocobolo. A little hard to see as it is so glossy and melds seemlessly into the shells.... 
 

 
Easily discernible on IPS panel. I couldn't see the cocobolo texture at office on TFT LCD.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  Easily discernible on IPS panel. I couldn't see the cocobolo texture at office on TFT LCD.

 
Not to be picky, but IPS is TFT (all IPS, PVA, MVA, TN, etc. are)... you mean to say TN (Twisted Nematic)...

 

[psygeist]

Quote:

 
Not to be picky, but IPS is TFT (all IPS, PVA, MVA, TN, etc. are)... you mean to say TN (Twisted Nematic)...

I stand corrected. Thanks.

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Quote:

One of these might come in handy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photo-Softbox-Light-Tent-Cube-Soft-Box-16-40cm-NEW-/110571501527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19be9337d7
 
Add 3 identical light sources and you're golden. Your shots are way better than most in the biz, but I think the OMG THERE'S NO WOOD incident here goes to show there's (a small) room for improvement.
 
Goddammit, now I want to redo my 8.A with cocobolo face plates...

 
You can actually achieve a similar effect with some soft lights and a curved piece of paper. You guys should also invest in some white tack to hold the various pieces in place. AND DON'T USE FLASH.
 

 

[darinf]

Quote:

One of these might come in handy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photo-Softbox-Light-Tent-Cube-Soft-Box-16-40cm-NEW-/110571501527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19be9337d7
 
Add 3 identical light sources and you're golden. Your shots are way better than most in the biz, but I think the OMG THERE'S NO WOOD incident here goes to show there's (a small) room for improvement.
 
Goddammit, now I want to redo my 8.A with cocobolo face plates...

You can also use a laptop screen or iPad as the base to set the ciems on. This will light up the acrylic better so you can see more of the colors of the materials. Just use a white screen on your laptop or iPad.
 
Either a big window or a pop up shooting tent will work too. That's what I use. I just don't have any Heir products yet to show you how it's done. But that will change soon, I hope.
 
Shooting black/dark shiny objects is probably one of the more difficult products to shoot other than clear.

 

[thegrobe]

Using a light tent is a lot easier than finding an open area with diffused sunlight in a chinese office building just when you need it at 2 in the morning. 

If I had a dollar every time I heard that.....lol

I might have to use that as my signature...haha

Yes, I have a weird sense of humor

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Quote:

Shooting black/dark shiny objects is probably one of the more difficult products to shoot other than clear.

 
There are two ways to shoot dark, glossy objects:
 
1. You try to highly the details through lighting it up like mad.
2. You accept that being dark and glossy is the point and you do normal lighting with light reflections that show off the shape.
 
Third ninja way: You do both and photoshop a composite.

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

 
You can actually achieve a similar effect with some soft lights and a curved piece of paper. You guys should also invest in some white tack to hold the various pieces in place. AND LEARN HOW TO USE FLASH.
 

There, I fixed it for ya. You forgot the link as well: http://strobist.blogspot.dk/2006/03/lighting-101.html
 
You're welcome 

 

[William007]

Saving money for the 3.ai, hope they're worth it..

 

[Sorensiim]

And just for kicks, here's some photos of my 8.A - shot using flash, in my friends living room. The background is his very dusty white netbook 

 

 

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Quote:

There, I fixed it for ya. You forgot the link as well: http://strobist.blogspot.dk/2006/03/lighting-101.html
 
You're welcome 

 
Appreciated. Though, I would rather link here: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/category/photo-techniques