Still Life Help - Lighting

batey_1020

batey_1020

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So for the photo challenge at the moment that is on i thought i would try some still life. I have a bunch of wilted roses that look really interesting.

I really like shots where the subject is completely isolated on a black background and that is what i am after it think. So how do i go about it.

Ill be shooting Tmax 100 (have some hp5 400 also) with my M4 and 90mm f2.8 and also have the option of using a pentax spotmatic with 135 f2.8 and 55f2 with extention tubes for macro.
I have a sunpak 544 flash that has full manual control and a canon 420 ex that i cant control. Also a flash meter and black and white card backdrops.

I was thinking of setting one flash a 45 degree and using the manual sunpak as a fill. I would meter the main flash then the fill flash (1 stop below the main).
From there im not sure if that will isolate the backdrop so i would assume if i was to decrese the apature and take several frame decreasing it each time i would more then likely achieve a negative i can use?

(ill be taking notes of what i shoot at to try and learn from this)

Anyone have any tips for me? I have been reading like crazy but most tutorials refer to digital equipment and have the whole idea take a shot the check then adjust. ( i guess thats why you learn more from film)

This is all totally new to me. i have never doe any indoor studio stuff.
 
Start simply with one light source as a proxy for the sun. Fill with one or more white cards as close as you please (the flower won't flinch 🙂). I usually shoot on a long table and can then cause the background to fade - even to black if lights are confined in their spread with flag, snoot or grid. Don't use umbrellas when a dark b/g is desired. For flowers, the key works best when placed overhead, behind, or to the side: frontal lighting tends to look flat and lifeless.

Example below: taken by FF DSLR, 135mm @ f/11, one studio light to the side and halfway up, one silvered reflector to camera left. The light was highly directional and kept tight with barndoors.


lilac2.jpg

​
 
One word for the type of still life lighting you're after: snoot. You want a single light source that's confined and directional. If you find the shadows too dark, add a little fill light by using a reflector (white card as mentioned above, or a second light source fitted with a diffuser that's dimmer than the main light). The cheap fabric-and-velcro diffusers for flashguns from eBay work well...

Also, you don't need fancy or expensive equipment for still lifes. Experiment with homemade snoots, diffusers, gobos and reflectors made from cut-up cereal boxes, greaseproof paper, aluminium foil, etc.

In fact, you don't even need flash for still lifes since they're not moving and there's no need to freeze motion. I've used a desk lamp, with room lighting dimmed to act as fill! Better are lamps fitted with fluorescent daylight bulbs - as with film you'd need tungsten film or lens filters...

And you don't need an SLR either. Most of my still lifes are taken with a rangefinder (Leica M8).

What you do need is to nail your exposure in this type of still life. And using film, you've set yourself a challenge. Don't skimp on taking shots, and bracket a lot. If getting your film developed commercially, make sure that you tell them NOT to adjust the exposure. You want the lighting to appear exactly as shot. As you don't have the flexibility of digital, rely on a light meter, ideally spot metering. My approach is to decide what I want to appear as midtones and highlights. I meter for the midtones but keep in mind how bright I want my highlights. Try to imagine the final result you want in print: I often use the meter reading as a guide and a start point, bumping it up or down a stop or two. Even though you're shooting film, borrow a digital camera to get an idea of composition and exposure - this will make things so much easier. There's a reason why studio photographers back in the day used Polaroids! The key is control and planning, albeit there's still a deal of guesswork and trial and error.

Have a look at my website - I specialise in still lifes, many of which are lit using torn cardboard and masking tape to make DIY snoots, gobos, etc., get the light to do what I want.

PS. The plural of "still life" is correctly "still lifes", in case anyone thinks I can't spell!
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

I jumped in and had a go lastnight and really enjoyed it.
I basically did 3 different set ups and then bracketed lots and also took notes on each shot so i can have something to look abck on and learn from when i get the film

I had a realization this morning though that i will probably end up with lens flares as i didnt have my snoot set up properly and now i think about it there is a good chance it was bouncing back into the lens.

I realized half way through when i was worried about "wasting film" that whats a $9 roll of film for a few hours of fun? I will share my results next week sometime.
 
In the past people shooting still life used Polaroids now there is digital. I don't say to use it for your actual picture but, believe me, it helps a lot to learn how to light. Then you will use whatever you like, maybe even a glass plates camera but at the beginning I'd use digital rather than film to learn lighting.

GLF
 
Here's a shot from a studio night i held at our club, one studio light camera left with large octobox and grid at 45 and one opposite from behind but a bit higher beauty dish and grid then a reflector camera right
(sorry taken with a 5D)

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Here's a shot of one of the club members having a go at another set up, light on right was higher for shot above

EmptyName%204-L.jpg
 
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