Lighting setup for macro and studio shooting
Lighting setup for macro and studio shooting | ||
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If you're shooting in a mini-studio, you'll probably want to use at least two lights to illuminate your subject from both sides. Shine the lights directly onto your subject, or bounce the light off a reflector. Make sure there is some light on the background to separate your subject from its surroundings. You may have to get creative with lighting on location. If you're not using external lights, take advantage of reflectors, (to bounce additional light into the shadows) and light-blocking objects (to create softer shadows from direct sunlight or illumination). As you light your scene, remember that depth-of-field is always limited when taking close-ups, so anything you can do to increase the amount of light available will make it possible to shoot at a smaller aperture, which in turn increases depth-of-field. To get smaller f-stop, you can increase the amount of light falling on the subject, or use a slower shutter speed. Going the additional light route can be especially helpful if you're shooting without a tripod and can't really lengthen the shutter speed any more. If you happen to be using your camera's built-in flash, lack of light will rarely be a problem. In fact, you may find yourself with too much light even at your lens's smallest f-stop, and end up with a washed-out picture. Here are several possible solutions: Step back a little and use a tighter zoom setting to produce the same size image. The flash will be that much farther from your subject and less likely to wash out the picture. Remember that electronic flash obeys the inversesquare law: A light source that is 12 inches away from your subject produces only one-quarter as much illumination as it does when it's six inches away. Use your camera's exposure value (EV) control to deliberately "under" expose the picture, thus fooling your image grabber's automatic exposure mechanism. Consider covering your flash with a layer or two of tissue paper or other neutral translucent covering. You'll cut down on the light and soften it a bit at the same time. (Just don't shoot many shots in a row with the flash covered; it can overheat the flash tube.) Watch for glare reflecting off shiny objects. If you're not using a tent, you may have to arrange your lights
carefully to prevent reflections from ruining your shot. | ||