Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

Seemed like a great day to practice product photography. A recently acquired a Rollex 20 camera was my test subject.
A large 45x30 Softbox (SB) was used for the main light and background. A small piece of felt was placed in the center of the SB diffuser for the actual background. This gave the illusion of having 4 rim lights.
The smaller SB was used as a fill light. This provided some sidelight with an added benefit of providing a reflection on the lens. A scrim was used to diffuse the fill light and added a gradient light for the lens.
A reflector on the left side added some fill light. This was the original setup. Made an educated guess at exposure, Ready, Fire, Aim. (First 2 images are a diagram of light setup and one of the early shots).
First thing I did was cut out a flag to block the large white spot and tape it to the back of the camera.
I then turned off all the Speedlight and started with the main light until exposure was correct. 2nd was the fill light and scrim position and 3rd was the reflector.

3rd & 4th images are the setup and the 5th with a little Photoshop help is the final outcome.

Thanks for stopping by for a look. Tell me what you think. Favorable or Unfavorable comments are always welcome.

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NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

A lot of prep work, but I think the end results was well worth all that work.

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

Thanks for your kind comment.
Your right on the prep work. What I learned from this was well worth the time & effort. The tricky part is trying to figure out where stray light is coming from and how to correct it.

elee950021 Loc: New York, NY

Steve!

Nice shot and explaining the planning and lighting involved. Check out the very minor "Levels" correction
I prefer.

Just my 2c but it's fine that you prefer your final shot. A nice example of "low-key lighting" that another Hogger was looking for an explanation in an earlier thread above.

Be well! Ed

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ad8rr Loc: Jackson, Michigan

Very nice shot, and I appreciated your detailed explanation of your lighting process. In photography, as in many other things in life, the process of "getting there" brings as much joy as finally reaching your goal.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Like the shot Steve. Thanks for the detailed explanation of your set up.

Don

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

Thank you for your comment. I was looking for an exposure with more rim lighting then maybe a proper exposure, if that makes sense.

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)