Please recommend budget lighting for product photography

[cam94z28]

I have already purchased a lightbox tent, but the included 50 watt tungsten (GU10 socket) mini tabletop lights don't provide anywhere close to enough light. They also get so hot the UL stickers melted off of them after about 20 minutes running.

I would like to use the lightbox, but need better external lighting on a budget. I have been looking at amazon, and there are a few sellers offering 2, or even 3 CFL lights on tripods, with umbrella's for a very reasonable price. Would these be adequate to provide lighting for general object photography? Or, would a more expensive (about twice the price) 500 watt halogen kit be required?

[PhotoRebel4]

I'm using a lightbox I made for myself along with 3 incandescent light bulbs (100W). I tried CFLs but three just didn't give me enough light. I use three lights with metal hoods like this:



I have one light each from the left and right and one hung above the light box. The three lights seem to do a good job of getting rid of harsh shadows.

I do a lot of small product photography, mostly the size of a softball or smaller. I shoot a lot of fishing lures and such. I've been able to set my WB to tungsten and get decent results. Then fix them up in PSE8 or LR. Here's one of my most recent shots:

[cam94z28]

I ended up ordering the one (on amazon) listed as "LimoStudio 500 Watt Premium Photo Studio Reflector Umbrella Lighting Kit, AGG402". I'm not linking to it because I'm not sure this is allowed. It comes with 2 - 500 watt studio lights on tripods, with reflector umbrellas and 3200k tungsten bulbs. Hopefully this is enough to light things up in a similar manner to your pic :P I may go the DIY route, similar to yours, if I need a 3rd light source.

Also a question. Did you have enough light to make the background in that pic white, or did you post process it? This is the kind of photography I would like to get into, although I am just starting out. I tried to get a white background in a few sample shots I took, and it just didn't work.

[PhotoRebel4]

I have not been able to get a white background SOOC. All my product shots have been through PSE8 or more recently, Lightroom.

The light bulbs used for lighting have a color cast to them. I've played around with setting a custom WB, which makes the shots look better SOOC. But I find I have more trouble getting them white in post. I usually just shoot in RAW with WB set to tungsten (for incandescent bulbs) and fix it later.

To make the product look good, I usually up the contrast and saturation as well, but it's not always needed. I never batch edit these because each product needs something a little different. There are colors I've had a hard time getting the background white too.

[cam94z28]

Originally Posted by PhotoRebel4

I have not been able to get a white background SOOC. All my product shots have been through PSE8 or more recently, Lightroom.

The light bulbs used for lighting have a color cast to them. I've played around with setting a custom WB, which makes the shots look better SOOC. But I find I have more trouble getting them white in post. I usually just shoot in RAW with WB set to tungsten (for incandescent bulbs) and fix it later.

To make the product look good, I usually up the contrast and saturation as well, but it's not always needed. I never batch edit these because each product needs something a little different. There are colors I've had a hard time getting the background white too.

I've read a few tutorials on getting a white background from photoshop (cs#), or Lightroom, but couldn't duplicate it. Maybe I need more light to help separate the background from the object.

Tungsten WB or manually setting to 3200k on my 40d seemed to work the best with the little tabletop lights I had. These new lights are WAY brighter, but I haven't really tried them out yet.

Could you share a little more info on what you did in software (or a web tutorial that actually works) to get the White background?

[Michael_2010]

I got a couple of goose neck desk lamps from Wal-Mart for about 7 bucks a piece. Then I picked up a couple of daylight (5200k) rated florescent bulbs at Lowes for less than 5 bucks each. Very easy to manipulate for table top shots and very little money invested. A clean white pillowcase can act as a diffuser to soften the light as needed and of course poster board in a rainbow of colors is available for use as backdrops. Just an easy way to explore tabletop photography without breaking the bank.

[cam94z28]

Man, the difference lighting makes. This is straight from the camera, no post processing or background enhancement. Shot with a $100 pair of 500 watt 3200k studio lights on tripods with shoot through umbrella's. I actually had the wb set to 3000k rather than 3200 and still got good results.

Wish the pet hair hadn't shown itself on the strap, but should be adequate to sell my xti (with a throw away lens) on craigslist :P

[PhotoRebel4]

From what I can tell on my phone it looks decent (the super amoled screen on my Droid Razr doesn't give me pure white anyways.

I also shoot +2/3 to +1 exposure compensation. That sometimes helps get the background a bit brighter and more white.

[cam94z28]

Originally Posted by PhotoRebel4

From what I can tell on my phone it looks decent (the super amoled screen on my Droid Razr doesn't give me pure white anyways.

I also shoot +2/3 to +1 exposure compensation. That sometimes helps get the background a bit brighter and more white.

I actually boosted the exposure in lightroom, after the fact, and it made things even whiter. But, it added too much noise in full size. Much better to do it in-cam. I checked after I had taken that pic, and the previous owner of my new 40D had set the exposure to -1. Hopefully it'll be even easier to get a pure white background now.

Anyway, thanks for the tips. Looks like I'm finally ready to lightbox it up.