# Having trouble shooting a glossy black pill bottle



## vanislecannabis (May 2, 2017)

I'm probably just too damn newbie for this stuff but I'd like to make a solid attempt before we outsource this to an actual photographer.

What I'm using:

Canon Rebel EOS T6s
Canon Ultrasonic EFS 17-55mm
Square Perfect Photography light tent
2x Alzo Digital Fl 360/120v lights

I just can't get it close to evenly lit. The edges always end up looking milky white which I think is the tent reflecting off the bottle and the lid doesn't look great either. I've messed around with the lights and tried many different positions but nothing is working.

While typing this up a few things have popped into my head. I might be shooting with too high of a shutter speed. My reaction to the initial problem was to move the lights further away from the tent and shoot with a higher shutter speed. Maybe this is all wrong? I'm gonna do more experimenting tomorrow.

Any hints or suggestions would be massively appreciated. This is really beginning to stress me out.


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## tirediron (May 2, 2017)

Yep... most of that is wrong.    First and foremost, lose the light tent.  They're really only good for decoration and separating new photographers from their money.  

Start by getting two more lights, a large trestle table and a roll of white seamless paper.  Rig up a way to support the paper roll  horizontally above the table 3-4' and roll it down along the length of the table to form a sweep.  Place the bottle 2-3' in front of the sweep and use two of the lights so that they light the background.  Now, move the other two lights CLOSER to the bottle (closer light = softer light; it might seem counter-intuitive, but it's true).  The panels of the light tent can be used to make diffusers for the lights.  Place one 4-6" in front of each light.  Diffused light = softer light.  Now it's simply a matter of playing with the distances of the lights from the background & product 'til they work.


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## Derrel (May 2, 2017)

The "milky white edges"is the result of TOO MUCH lighty coming from BEHIND the bottle, and flooding around the edges of the bottle; you need MORE light on the front of the bottle and less light on the background. Your sample image is suffering from excessive "wrap" or "blowback"; bopth terms mean the dsame thing--that the background light is too much in relation to the front of the subject.

A light tent shouild be able to make this dead-simple shot, but you need to ensure the right proportion of light on the froint of ther subject, and on the back of the subject. ADDING light to the front of the subject woukld helk change the balance of where the light is coming from.


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## vanislecannabis (May 4, 2017)

tirediron said:


> Yep... most of that is wrong.    First and foremost, lose the light tent.  They're really only good for decoration and separating new photographers from their money.
> 
> Start by getting two more lights, a large trestle table and a roll of white seamless paper.  Rig up a way to support the paper roll  horizontally above the table 3-4' and roll it down along the length of the table to form a sweep.  Place the bottle 2-3' in front of the sweep and use two of the lights so that they light the background.  Now, move the other two lights CLOSER to the bottle (closer light = softer light; it might seem counter-intuitive, but it's true).  The panels of the light tent can be used to make diffusers for the lights.  Place one 4-6" in front of each light.  Diffused light = softer light.  Now it's simply a matter of playing with the distances of the lights from the background & product 'til they work.



Hi fellow islander 

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm gonna try some of your suggestions today. A few follow up questions:

1. Do you think I can make do with 2 lights?
2. I'm using crafting foam to make my sweep. Is that alright or should I order some paper?
3. Do you have any suggestions as to how I would mount diffusors in front of the lights? Any techniques you could recommend for that?

Thanks again. I'm gonna play around today and see what I can do.


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## Designer (May 4, 2017)

1. Yes, providing they are positioned correctly.
2. Paper is cheap enough.
3. With hot lights, you probably want to keep the diffuser at some distance from the light bulb so it won't burn.


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## tirediron (May 4, 2017)

Greetings...  where on the rock are you?

You can do it with two lights, but it won't be nearly as good.  Ideally you should invest in four cheap speedlights, triggers and a roll of white seamless...  <$400.  It will make this easy.


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## waday (May 4, 2017)

tirediron said:


> where on the rock are you?


John, it's ok, just ask the OP outright for a sample to try.. I mean, to photograph.


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## Designer (May 4, 2017)

Two or three samples to start, then two more next month when I get my new "lights".


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## Designer (May 4, 2017)

"How to photograph a canister of cannabis using the light from a lava lamp."  - Part One.


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## astroNikon (May 4, 2017)

The light might be too much, but isn't the OP's image considered "High Key" ?

and doesn't OP want it that way ?
LOL


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## table1349 (May 4, 2017)

Light Science and Magic.  An introduction to photographic lighting


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## pgriz (May 4, 2017)

When in doubt, roll out the "bible".  Gryph got the right idea.  On the other hand both John and Derrel have enough direct advice to get this one locked in.  

If you're shooting with speedlights, the shutter speed is kinda irrelevant as long as you're shooting at sync speed or less (unless there is enough ambient light to make a difference).  The go-to procedure is to set the aperture to give you the right depth of field (use Online Depth of Field Calculator). then place your light diffusers up front, arranged on both sides of the bottle, out of view of the camera.  Set your speedlights behind them, and dial in the right amount of power manually (trial and error works well here) to give you correct exposure.  Next, you can adjust the power level for the speedlights illuminating the background, so that the light level is maybe 1-2 stops less than what you see from the front.  You may also want to use flags (opaque shields) to prevent the light from the back-ground illuminating speedlights from spilling into the scene.


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## Designer (May 4, 2017)

His lights are not speedlights.


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## pgriz (May 4, 2017)

Designer said:


> His lights are not speedlights.



Yeah, I know.  But if the OP follow's John's suggestion and gets them, he'll have a lot better control over the light.


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## table1349 (May 4, 2017)

pgriz said:


> *When in doubt, roll out the "bible".  Gryph got the right idea*.  On the other hand both John and Derrel have enough direct advice to get this one locked in.
> 
> If you're shooting with speedlights, the shutter speed is kinda irrelevant as long as you're shooting at sync speed or less (unless there is enough ambient light to make a difference).  The go-to procedure is to set the aperture to give you the right depth of field (use Online Depth of Field Calculator). then place your light diffusers up front, arranged on both sides of the bottle, out of view of the camera.  Set your speedlights behind them, and dial in the right amount of power manually (trial and error works well here) to give you correct exposure.  Next, you can adjust the power level for the speedlights illuminating the background, so that the light level is maybe 1-2 stops less than what you see from the front.  You may also want to use flags (opaque shields) to prevent the light from the back-ground illuminating speedlights from spilling into the scene.


Another Blasphemer I see:   What kind of lighting / diffusers would be good for furniture like this?


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## pgriz (May 4, 2017)

Yeah, and your suggestions, good as they are,  would be the equivalent of four years of seminary school.  Just so he can say "Bless you".  Might be a steep investment.     Then again, maybe, just maybe he might be inspired to "see the light".


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## table1349 (May 4, 2017)

pgriz said:


> Yeah, and your suggestions, good as they are,  would be the equivalent of four years of seminary school.  Just so he can say "Bless you".  Might be a steep investment.     Then again, maybe, just maybe he might be inspired to "see the light".


Hey, when people ask "What photography books should I have, I tell them all of the ones listed except Strobist and I tell them to check out Strobist online.

Can I get an Amen????


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## tirediron (May 4, 2017)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.MEN brother!


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## pgriz (May 4, 2017)

Amen, brotha,  Amen!


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## vanislecannabis (May 4, 2017)

tirediron said:


> Greetings...  where on the rock are you?
> 
> You can do it with two lights, but it won't be nearly as good.  Ideally you should invest in four cheap speedlights, triggers and a roll of white seamless...  <$400.  It will make this easy.



I'm in the Cowichan Valley.

Do you have any pictures of that could demonstrate the type of set up you're talking about?


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## tirediron (May 4, 2017)

PM me an e-mail address; I'll put something together for you later today.


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## Christie Photo (May 9, 2017)

I don't find the image to be too far off.  As Derrel explained, the white is coming off the background.  This will always be the case when photographing cylinders of any sort.

My first adjustment would be to use a longer lens (something like 100mm).  This will afford you two things.  First, you'll get a truer representation of the shape of the product.  Second, this will allow you to slide a couple of black cards (one on each side and a bit behind) close in to the bottle without coming into view.  You'll still have a bit of highlight on each side, but they will be much narrower.  A bit of tweaking in Photoshop will give you some nice results.

-Pete


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