rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I purchased some new photo equipment from a company. One of the "bonuses" is the company includes a small stuffed animal with each purchase. That little animal, Tizzy, is a small stuffed Tiger. By small I mean fit in the palm of the hand small. The president of the company enjoys seeing photographs of the small animals sent with purchases. The first photograph taken with the new equipment was inspired by that small gift. I decided on something better than just a snapshot.

The lighting was somewhat unconventional. The backdrop was a black focusing cloth I use with my view camera. The lighting was a clip-on LED desk lamp attached to the top of my monitor. Additional lighting was provided by a handheld flashlight (torch for my British-speaking friends). Tizzy was posed almost under the desk lamp but needed the additional lighting of the flashlight to highlight the facial features.
--Bob

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R.G. Loc: Scotland

Thanks . I've been speaking "British" all my life and it's nice to have our linguistic eccentricities acknowledged .

Between the lighting and the glassy-eyed stare it creates quite a "Vee vill ask der questions" kind of vibe.

I know that catchlights will probably get their own thread somewhere down the line but this does provide an example of what multiple sources of light can do to mess up catchlights. I suppose if the lighting was unavoidable, catchlights can be tidied up in PP easily enough. I just get the impression that most people don't realise the subtle difference that having tidy catchlights can make, just like many don't realise the subtle improvement that they bring just from having them in the first place.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nic work there, Bob. The little light did well.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Thanks, John. I wanted something different than just a snapshot.
--Bob

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

He's very cute. And the image is quite sharp (which is one of my requirements, since I struggle with that). After reading RG's reply, I went back to look at the catchlights. My eyesight isn't sharp enough to notice any problem, but it would be nice to perhaps study this in the new "lighting" section.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

Quite the cute little Tizzy.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

AzPicLady, thanks for stopping and commenting. Though the original intent was for another purpose, I posted this in the new lighting section for just that reason. The lighting was rather unconventional.
--Bob

JD750 Loc: SoCal

That is nice work Rob!! Very effective. :))

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Thanks, JD. Much appreciated.
--Bob

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Nothing wrong with little desk lamps.

Somewhere in my collection of old magazines, I will have to dig u an article. It's about a commercial photograher who does all kinds of incredible product shots with a batch of inexpensive so-called "high intercity" desk lamps. They have a little 12 Volt quartz lamps.

Nowadays, with a custom white balance, just about anything can be used for effective lighting. The caveat is, you just have to know how and where tp to place them!

OK- it's time to do my "thesis" on catchlights- it's in the works.

Catchlights are important - BIG TIME. In portraiture, there is a whole science and aesthetic pertaining to catchlight in the ety of the subject. They are indicators of correct lighting placement in certain classical lighting forms. If you truly believe that "the eyes are windows to the soul" you gotta get into the study of catchlights.

Even before the days of EXIF data, if you knew about catchlights, you could look at portraits and tell what kind of lighting gear was used.

Oh- extremely cute stuffed animal! Thanks for posting it!