Product Shot - Shiny Metal
I’ve been in a product shot frame of mind this month, so I thought I’d write about another product technique - the toughest one of all… the Shiny Metal Object! The trouble with shiny metal is that it is a wide-angle lens in itself and it sees everything, especially round and shiny objects. I think the worst object to shoot on Earth must be one of those round garden orbs, there’s no hiding from that one.
With the rise of eBay, there are a lot of great new products on the market to help photographers shoot product shots and shiny ones too. They are basically light tents. You put the object inside the tent, turn on some lights or hold some flash units outside the tent and shoot through a little flap inside.
But you don’t have to purchase a whole bunch of equipment to make this work. There are dozens of light tent ideas for do-it-yourselfers on Flickr. Here is a random sampling from the keyword search, “light tent.”
I took this shot of a coffee carafe again while in my Product Photography class at Art Center. The key to shiny metal shots is the stripe of black down the center. Without that stripe, the object just looks gray, not shiny. In fact, when I went to purchase this pitcher for the assignment, I couldn’t find the box on the display because the photograph on the packaging was so flat and badly lit, I had no idea the object inside was shiny.
To make this shot, I set up gray seamless paper on a c-stand at a right angle so I could get the gradation from light to dark gray at the top. Next, I built a soft box of sorts using a homemade diffusion panel, some bounce cards and a darkened studio. The shot is lit with a scoop light, which gives off a very soft look.
I positioned the light facing downward and bounced light from a curved fill card into the diffusion panel. This prevents a hot spot from appearing on your shiny metal object. I used a large piece of white oak tag to form a curved tent around the carafe. The white card bounced the light onto the other side of the pitcher.
I then cut out a hole in the middle as a window for the camera to look inside. Right above the cut-out on the inside of the curved bounce card, I put black card or black velvet so the black line in the reflection would continue all the way up the pitcher.
For more about product lighting, click here.
Responses and Conversations
[...] 4) Decide upon the lighting. When thinking about lighting, a product’s, size, shape and texture are usually the deciding factors. Most products look best with soft, diffused lighting, but there are exceptions to this. A sparklie product looks dull and lifeless with diffused light, and will require a more direct light source. A shiny metal object requires its own particular style of lighting so you don’t see yourself or the lights reflected in the product. Side light through a window might be just the ticket for those gourmet cheeses. Lighting doesn’t have to be complicated, but understanding that different products require different lighting styles will help you on your way. [...]
Comment by i speak film - » 4 Easy Tips for Great Product Shots on April 19th, 2007 at 9:34 am
I find your setup interesting. I am in the middle of a commercial shoot of highly reflective beer towers. Tall, round, reflective on bottom (flanges) and top. My main point is in regard to your setup and the “window” left for the camera to shoot through. My work would lead me to believe that it would be unlikely the pot would not reflect an image of that window. Did you just photoshop this out? Many thanks.
Comment by Robert on May 3rd, 2007 at 6:33 am
Hey Robert. For this shot, the studio was very dark, and I was wearing black. There was no Photoshopping at all in this image.
Your beer towers sound like a real challenge to shoot. Do you have to have evenly lit labels? Cause that would be a real pain! Good luck shooting. We’d love to see the final shot, if it’s something you can share. Cheers, Stephanie
Comment by Stephanie Simpson on May 3rd, 2007 at 7:13 am
This is a very cool article, I am interested to find out. I am working with coke tins on an animation set. Would the light tents be a good way for me to diffuse the lighting as I will be having to use to Red Heads. I am currently studying and doing research at the moment. If you had any advice? :> Thanks
Comment by Kieran on May 7th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Hi Kieran,
If you’re using redheads (800 watt open face tungsten lights), diffusion panels might be the way to go. Are you lighting the cans right on the set or as a component to be added to a composite image? If you’re lighting the cans separately, then a homemade diffusion tent could be a great way to light your cans.
Comment by Stephanie Simpson on May 12th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Cool technique. I am currently shooting a range of about 80 hi-gloss motorcycle helmets for use in web and print. I’ll try this on Monday.
Comment by Ga on November 30th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Wow, motorcycle helmets are going to be challenging! How fun. Good luck, and I’d love to see your shots when you’re done. Cheers, Stephanie
Comment by Stephanie Simpson on November 30th, 2007 at 9:36 am