stevo on sun 9 may 99
hi clayarters:
does anybody know a reference for a plan to make a softbox to photograph
ceramics? any do-it-yourselfers with success in this area, please post back.
thanks!
steve
--
steve daniels * tel/fax 541.343.7882
2760 madison street * eugene, oregon 97405-2517
Karen Gringhuis on mon 10 may 99
Steve - I don't know but I'm sure it's out there. But bear in mind
that softboxes can be used I THINK only w/ strobe lights, not w/
hot lights.
Jennifer Boyer on tue 11 may 99
I'm assuming you're talking about a box made of frosted paper
that you put a pot in to photograph. The lights you use are
shone through the paper from the outside to diffuse hot spots.
Here's how I built mine: it's a 24" sq box that comes apart
easily between shoots. I use a table in my storage room. I tape
a piece of graduated background material to the wall so it
drapes down on the table. The light box is made of 3 wood
frames made out of 1"/1" wood. Each has a piece of translum
diffusion material attached to it using molding strips nailed in
place. These 3 pieces are tied together by using eye screws and
string so that they form an upside down u on top of the back
drop on the table. I use hook and eyes at teh corners to form
triangulation so the whole thing doesn't fall over. It is open
to the front and back. The pot is then put under this so it has
diffusion material on the sides and above it. Lights are set up
above and to the sides. I use tungsten lights and tungsten film
in a 35 mm camera with a 100mm macro lense on a tripod with an
electronic shutter release. light
____________
/ /|
/ / |
light /____________/ | light
| | |
| / | /
| / pot | /
|/ |/
^
/
/
camera
Hope this helps some.... translum and graduated background
material are available from Porter's: tel 800 553 2001. You can
use mylar from an art supply store instead of translum.
Jennifer
stevo wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> hi clayarters:
>
> does anybody know a reference for a plan to make a softbox to photograph
> ceramics? any do-it-yourselfers with success in this area, please post back.
>
> thanks!
> steve
>
> --
> steve daniels * tel/fax 541.343.7882
> 2760 madison street * eugene, oregon 97405-2517
--
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jennifer Boyer jboyer@plainfield.bypass.com
Thistle Hill Pottery
Vermont USA
http://www.vermontcrafts.com/members/JenniBoy892.html
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jim Cullen on tue 11 may 99
Softboxes can be used with hot lights if they are designed for such use. Mole
Richardson, Lowell, and I'm sure some other manufactureres make softbox
lights for film and video work. Shop around.
John Hesselberth on tue 11 may 99
Hi Steve,
See the articles I published in Clay Times in March/April and May/June
1998. Or you can find them at
http://www.frogpondpottery.com/articles/photopot1.html A soft box is my
preferred way to soften and spread your light source and it is really
easy to make with foam core board and tape.
stevo wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>hi clayarters:
>
>does anybody know a reference for a plan to make a softbox to photograph
>ceramics? any do-it-yourselfers with success in this area, please post back.
>
>thanks!
>steve
>
>--
>steve daniels * tel/fax 541.343.7882
>2760 madison street * eugene, oregon 97405-2517
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
P.O. Box 88
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"It is time for potters to claim their proper field. Pottery in its pure
form relies neither on sculptural additions nor on pictorial decorations.
but on the counterpoint of form, design, colour, texture and the quality
of the material, all directed to a function." Michael Cardew in "Pioneer
Pottery"
Sharon Pollock-De Luzio on thu 13 may 99
Very lo-tech and the least expensive setup I've ever seen--but works well. I've
been using it for 3 years and am very happy:
Build a four foot by four foot light box. Cut a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood into fou
4 foot x 1 foot boards. Build four-sided square using 1 x 2 material to
reinforce on inside of corners. Cut two 2-foot long pieces of the 1" x 2" stock
and screw into the middle of two of the opposite sides overlapping the sides and
sticking up 12 ". Then attatch accross the top with a 4' 2" piece of 1 x 2. I
know this is confusing. Think of it like a giant no-bottomed square basket with
a handle over the top. This handle is for mounting the lights.
Cover the bottom of the light box with diffusion material available at a photo
supply shop or use cheap white fabric. I used cheap white fabric and have not
had any problems with fire or color shifts. I put it on with a staple gun much
like you'd stretch a canvas for a painting. (When I recently tried to replace
the fabric with proper diffusion material I couldn't find it wide enough anyway.
Put one screw eye into each of the four corners on top of the box into the
corner-reinforcing 1 x 2's and hang from pulleys mounted in ceiling above a tabl
area. I mounted cleats on the wall for quick adjusting. This allows you to
raise and lower light source. Also lets you have it in your studio without
taking up space and it's quickly set up.
I use 5 clip-on lights with 500W Tungsten bulbs (make sure the lights you buy ar
rated high enough--you might have to get them at a photo place--plugged into a
power strip which hangs down so I can turn it on and off. Turn these lights off
while you are setting up pots. Only turn on to read meter, set camera and shoot.
This will prevent you from blowing a breaker if they're all on the same circuit,
and will save you $ since the bulbs are only good for so many hours.
Get a large wooden pole from home depot to hang photo sweep--available at photo
supply store--from ceiling about 8 feet from the light box which I pull down and
attach to the table with mini-clamps available at Home Depot (metal with orange
plastic handles and tip covers). You can also get a piece of formica.
Now I know how hard it is to write instructions. If you want me to send a
polaroid drop me a line at my other email:
spollockdl@aol.com
Good luck
Sharon in RI
Vince Pitelka on thu 13 may 99
A softbo x is specifically a large enclosed light-producing box which
creates a broad field of diffused light. The light source may be either a
strobe, or an array of conventional photo lights. Here at the Appalachian
Center for Crafts we use a softbox which Steve Robison built, and it works
great. He used a plastic pipe frame, which has given some trouble. I would
recommend a frame of wood or of small-gauge angle-iron. Build the frame so
that the rear surface is a hinged door, and cover all surfaces except the
front with sheet metal. If you use a wooden frame, fasten the sheet metal
on with small drywall screws or with drill-tip sheet-metal screws. If you
use a metal frame, use pop-rivets or the drill-tip sheet-metal screws.
The overall size of Steve's softbox is about 36" wide, by 24" tall by 28"
deep. It uses two halogen utility lights, like the ones you can get at any
Home Depot, Walmart, or Lowe's. They give excellent color response with
standard tungsten film. Mount the lights spaced widely apart facing forward
on an internal frame a little ways from the rear wall but as far as possible
from the front face. In the upper rear corner of one side wall of the
softbox, drill an appropriate grid of 3/8" holes, and inside this grid mount
a standard six-inch muffin fan, like the ones in computers, so that it
exhausts hot air. You can get the muffin fan at any good electric motor
shop. Don't try to use one from a computer because they are a different
voltage. In the opposite end of the softbox drill about a zillion 3/8"
holes to a admit cool air to replace that exhausted by the fan. These
lights produce a lot of heat, and this fan is essential to increase
lamp--life and reduce the possibility of overheating/fire.
Cover the front of the softbox with transluscent mylar, or go to a
professional photo supply store and get the correct diffusing cloth.
In use, the softbox is mounted directly above and slightly in front of the
piece, with the lighted face tilted very slightly towards the piece. It can
be suspended on adjustable cables, and it should be placed as low as
possible without being in the field of view.
The seamless backdrop should be long, sweeping back horizontally at least
four to six feet before it curves up against the wall. That way you can
illuminate the piece and the foreground while the middle and background fade
off to darkness.
It should be noted that a softbox all by itself will often kill your work,
because it removes all highlights, and that is usually a major mistake. If
your work is shiny, you DO NOT want photos which deny that shine. Use
reflective cards, with an assorment of surfaces (tin foil, white paper,
etc.) to bring out highlights and to illuminate the lower front of the piece
asymmetrically. Often, a small secondary light source, like a small
spotlight, provides and excellent means of bringing out highlights. A small
incandescent photoflood placed halfway across the room in front of the piece
and off to one side will often do the job very nicely.
Choice of seamless backdrop is important. I do not like the standard photo
paper, because it is so hard to elminate all crinkles, and it is so easily
damaged. It always just looks like cheap paper. I like to use a full 4' by
8' sheet of 1/8" masonite which can be clamped to the surface of any table
at the front edge so that the clamps are out of the field fo view. The
table is placed so that the masonite curves up against the wall in the
desired fashion, depending on the height of the work to be photographed, and
the degree of light bleed-off desired. Using a paint roller, you can paint
the masonite to any desired color with flat interior latex.
Another good option for a seamless backdrop is a full 4' by 8' sheet of
formica, which is available in beautiful neutral grays. It is an extremely
durable surface, and will last a very long time with periodic cleaning.
I sort of got carried away here. Hope this is useful to you. With a good
homemade softbox, a good seamless backdrop, careful observation of quality
photographs of art objects in books and magazines, and some practice, you
can take excellent professional-quality photographs of your work.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
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