# Creative Lighting shot



## shorty6049 (Jan 18, 2008)

Okay ,so i'm trying to get into more creative stuff and find my niche in this photography thing...  Tonight i decided i wanted to take a picture of my computer. My motivation for this was that i've seen all these fancy photos that mac seems to take of their macbooks (usually just on a plain white background) but I wanted to try and make a pc laptop look as cool as a mac. I sort of feel like i failed miserably in this quest. Its an HP laptop with a mostly black finish on it, and i wanted to play on this with a dark background ... i dont know. I'm just trying to get some really nice images, but seem to keep getting less than perfect results lately... any comments, help , whatever you've got. thanks.


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## domromer (Jan 19, 2008)

It would be gret is it was a black macbook pro!!!!:lmao:


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## shorty6049 (Jan 19, 2008)

lets not go down that road again... lol


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## domromer (Jan 19, 2008)

It looks cool, I think you need to light up more of it, so you can see the sides a little bit. All angular and what not.


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## Nicolas Alary (Jan 19, 2008)

Yeah I agree, even if you want to create an interesting light effect I suggest that you light up the rest of the picture a bit. Not a lot so that you keep your ponctual source light effect but here the darks areas are a lot to "down / low". Also I suggest suggest that you do several exposure that you combine on photoshop because here your screen is burned (too bright) what could have been  avoided if you had made an shot and an exposure just for it. I hope I make sens but my english is vanishing ...


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## salexander867 (Jan 19, 2008)

I like the shot with the lower light. Part of being creative is to make your brain work and leave some things open for the viewer to decide. It is obviously a laptop, so why do we need to see the rest of it? Without showing it to me, you are letting me, the viewer, use my imagination to decide what goes in the black space. It is not just the colors that make a great picture, it is also the white space.


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## shorty6049 (Jan 19, 2008)

Nicolas-
 i actaully DID use 2 exposures... apparently i still overexposed the screen? it was kind of hard to do though becasue it seemed to be either too dark or too bright


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## dipstick (Jan 19, 2008)

I think my biggest problem with this shot is that the computer fades into the background without showing the shape of the computer. Some highlights on the edges or creating a rimlight would take care of that. Also put some thought into what image you have on your screen.

Its a nice start though, keep experimenting!


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## Digital Matt (Jan 19, 2008)

Backlight it to give it some edge separation and it will look much better imho.


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## shorty6049 (Jan 19, 2008)

well i tried to think about the on-screen image. Thats why its not my desktop, but i couldnt think of anything else good.... i could have maybe used an hp sign or something i suppose.  My original plan was to light it from below, by putting it on a large piece of glass and putting a light underneath , but the glass i had was pretty scratched up and didnt look very good. so i ended up putting it on an upside down waste basket.


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## brounstoun (Jan 20, 2008)

Some good points in this thread. 

I like the idea of picking a subject and experimenting with how to portray/present it... 

How did you accomplish the spotlight effect?


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## shorty6049 (Jan 20, 2008)

well, 
i got a box
and cut a hole in the box
then i cut a second hole (for my flash to fit in) and then just shot through the box and pointed it at the computer


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## Brad Hardy (Jan 20, 2008)

I in fact like this image a lot. The only suggestion I'd make would be to throw some light at the back. HOWEVER, I can imagine it being terribly difficult to achieve the look you were probably going for when lighting from the back as well. So, I say, nice shot.


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## Alpha (Jan 20, 2008)

PO

LUH

RIZE


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## shorty6049 (Jan 20, 2008)

you talking about the screen, or what? explain yourself please


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## Sw1tchFX (Jan 20, 2008)

Digital Matt said:


> Backlight it to give it some edge separation and it will look much better imho.


Agreed, kickers are needed.


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## shorty6049 (Jan 20, 2008)

WILL DO! I've decided to reshoot... stay tuned for the new photo!


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## shorty6049 (Jan 20, 2008)

well.. here goes nothing... take 2!


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## eravedesigns (Jan 20, 2008)

I like take 2 better but whats really bugging me is the circular lighting on top of the laptop. In the mac ads its usually a white laptop on a white backdrop so they dont have to worry so much about lighting and it being uneven because you cant see light as much on the white as you do on your black....anyway if you could somehow get that rim lighting around the whole laptop (I would put a light behind the laptop and shoot towards the back of the screen and then have some light comming towards the screen so it dosent silloutte). 

Take 2 is highlighting the laptop more but then you are hiding the lcd I think and then over exaggerating the keyboard. Try spreading the light out on the keyboard or try my set up above.


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## eravedesigns (Jan 20, 2008)

and btw the screen saver or background on take 2 is much better than take 1


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## eravedesigns (Jan 20, 2008)

MaxBloom said:


> PO
> 
> LUH
> 
> RIZE



He means polarize and Im pretty sure hes talking about the reflections on the laptop material and the screen too. The polarizer will decrese that relfection....i dont know if you were questioning that or a previous post. 
cheers mate


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## shorty6049 (Jan 20, 2008)

i was just questioning it because most people would say "use a polarizer" so i didnt know if he meant a) use polarized light
b) use a polarizer
or c) you should win the PO-LUHitzer- pRIZE for this photo


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## Alpha (Jan 20, 2008)

shorty6049 said:


> i was just questioning it because most people would say "use a polarizer" so i didnt know if he meant a) use polarized light
> b) use a polarizer
> or c) you should win the PO-LUHitzer- pRIZE for this photo



B.

Why bother lighting something with polarized light? It's just going to scatter.


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## shorty6049 (Jan 21, 2008)

well you didnt explain yourself. so the light doesnt reflect off the keys so much?


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## domromer (Jan 21, 2008)

I think your 2nd try is 100% better. looks real slick.


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## brounstoun (Jan 21, 2008)

hmm, I as well like 2nd try much better. 

I wonder, what if you could evenly light the whole computer, but still only the computer. That way, you'd get the lit computer floating on a black background. 

Either way, cool stuff


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## Sw1tchFX (Jan 21, 2008)

shorty6049 said:


> well.. here goes nothing... take 2!



Now if you could just extend the rim light to go around the monitor too, you'll be GOLDEN!


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## Allsmiles7282 (Jan 22, 2008)

I know nothing about commercial lighting, but I really like the 2nd shot better.

And for what it is worth....

There is nothing you (or anyone else for that matter) can do to make a PC looks as cool as a Mac...because they just aren't! 

Good shooting though!


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