Lighting for photos of machines

[Claggy]

Hello all!

Pretty soon I will be taking some photos for my dad's best friend who makes machines such as lawnmowers/tractors/etc. He wants some professional photos of a new machine that will be finished soon which is fully electric-powered.

This is an example of a machine he has built in the past. This is just a snapshot, but it is in the building where I will be doing photos soon and probably around the size of machine I will be taking photos of.


I was wondering if anyone knew what type of lighting I should be doing for this shoot, or if anyone had any general tips for shooting machines. My choices are either using the light in the building with a tripod, or using 2 wirelessly triggered speedlights on stands. I've been thinking I want to use the speedlights, but I'm not exactly sure how and where I should use them to get some nice, well lit photos of it. That and I'm not entirely sure that using the 2 flashes would give me better lighting than the indoor lights, haha.

Thanks!

[Murtasma]

What will the images be used for? Where will they be displayed? What is he looking for (just a professional image? that's pretty open ended).

He must have a need for the image if he has seeked you out. I think the most important thing depending on where the image will be used is the proper background. If they need an image of the machine for use in promotional material, then have a clean background (backdrop seamless) will be what you need. Depending on the location this will dictate what lights you can get away with using. I think if you shoot indoors at this location with some type of white background you will be just fine using the large diffuse light already available from the lights in the celling using a tripod.

[Benji]

A seamless background is the only way to go. It gets rid of all that clutter and junk behind the machine and forces the viewer to look at the machine instead. I would use gray or black because white will make the shadows more noticable and the rubber tires will leave black marks on white paper.

Lighting. If you are into cheap I would get a couple of four foot flourescent lights with bulbs that match the bulbs (color temperature wise) in the room that you will be shooting in and place one light on each side of the camera. Shoot in Raw, shoot a gray card, use a tripod and ISO 100. Leave the overhead lights on to assist in lighting the top of the machine.

Benji

[Claggy]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

What will the images be used for? Where will they be displayed? What is he looking for (just a professional image? that's pretty open ended).

He must have a need for the image if he has seeked you out. I think the most important thing depending on where the image will be used is the proper background. If they need an image of the machine for use in promotional material, then have a clean background (backdrop seamless) will be what you need. Depending on the location this will dictate what lights you can get away with using. I think if you shoot indoors at this location with some type of white background you will be just fine using the large diffuse light already available from the lights in the celling using a tripod.

Truthfully... I don't really know. He didn't give me much info. He just said he wanted some 'professional' photos of some new machines he'll be getting in soon. What he means by professional, I don't know, haha. I just knew he wanted me to take some photos for him. As for where it will be, all I know (and not for sure) is that he is getting some new flooring in somewhere with a design on it. I'm guessing he'll be parking the machines on that. I feel kind of dumb for making this post without knowing any information, haha. I'll give him a call this week and figure a few things out and post again in this thread. Thanks for the tips!

Originally Posted by Benji

A seamless background is the only way to go. It gets rid of all that clutter and junk behind the machine and forces the viewer to look at the machine instead. I would use gray or black because white will make the shadows more noticable and the rubber tires will leave black marks on white paper.

Lighting. If you are into cheap I would get a couple of four foot flourescent lights with bulbs that match the bulbs (color temperature wise) in the room that you will be shooting in and place one light on each side of the camera. Shoot in Raw, shoot a gray card, use a tripod and ISO 100. Leave the overhead lights on to assist in lighting the top of the machine.

Benji

Thanks, and yeah if I were to use a backdrop I'd probably go with grey or white if the machine has as much black as the one in the shot I posted has.

Hmmm that is a good idea. If I were to use speedlights though, would I be able to use gels to try to match the indoor lighting temperature instead?

[Benji]

Originally Posted by Claggy

Thanks, and yeah if I were to use a backdrop I'd probably go with grey or white if the machine has as much black as the one in the shot I posted has.

Hmmm that is a good idea. If I were to use speedlights though, would I be able to use gels to try to match the indoor lighting temperature instead?

Yes you can balance speedlights (which have a color temperature of 5600 K) to the overhead flourescent lights. One problem is there are about 10 different flourescent light bulbs each with a different color temperature. I found the following names for these bulbs. "Cool white", "European Cool White", "Neutral White", "Warm White", "Very Warn White", "Daylight White", and "Bright White." I'm not sure which gel to use, but a pink one would probably get you close enough.

Benji

[Claggy]

Originally Posted by Benji

Yes you can balance speedlights (which have a color temperature of 5600 K) to the overhead flourescent lights. One problem is there are about 10 different flourescent light bulbs each with a different color temperature. I found the following names for these bulbs. "Cool white", "European Cool White", "Neutral White", "Warm White", "Very Warn White", "Daylight White", and "Bright White." I'm not sure which gel to use, but a pink one would probably get you close enough.

Benji

Gah, sorry for the delayed response. For some reason I'm not getting email notifications for this thread.
But anyway, thanks again Benji!