I’ve made an LED lamp I really like but I’m finding it super difficult to make it look good in a photo or short video. Anyone at the maker space has any ideas or experience on how to make a something look good in a photo/short :)?
Product photography and shorts
This is two very different problems video and a still, are you able to post a sample pic? is there anything specific that you are struggling with in terms of how you imagine it looks to how it does look? Is it too bright/dark?, is it looking like its flickering? Are there problems with the colour?
It looks all washed out and the light from the LEDs look awesome and vivid in person but on a photo/short just dull and lifeless. I can bring it in to show you if that helps on a day you plan to be there?
I will be in on Wednesday running an induction. I would imagine this is a bit of over exposure. Are you shooting this just on a phone?
I’ll come on Wednesday to show you if that’s ok? Which is best: before or after the rush of people? Using an iPhone.
I’m planning on doing a video shoot in the space for basic woodworking on Wednesday morning. That will hopefully be with a semi pro camera. Maybe some black drape backdrop and HDR / RAW footage and grading in Da Vinci would make video look alright.
For video, what do you have in mind that wouldn’t get from a still? Tracking around it? If so, we don’t have that gear, but you could rent a camera slider or mini jib or the like from Fat Llama if you want.
The light has 6 lighting pattern that cycle automatically so it has a nice range of colours mixes that blend and adds depths to the 4 cast acrylic sheets (3D ish effect) Trying to kind of sculpt with light. Be great to work out how to capture that effect on film. The next version of the lamp will have midi so the patterns will be much more interesting and diverse.
Thanks, makes more sense now. Having a pic and the video you shot would be a big help. For stills, can you set the leds to how you want and keep it at that rather than have a sequence running? If not, is it hackable so you can rig it up to do that? How long is the sequence? How big is the lamp? Desktop or floor standing? Consider what surface and background for the packshot. Also where to shoot in the space? If you can get ok from textile techs, that table or area might be best. If not being used and ok with CNC techs, big CNC could be another possibility. If want to get fancy, then the head on the big CNC could be used as a camera mount - like a motion control rig. Slow dolly in would be possible. (I have set of clamps etc.). But without remote control pan tilt head, more fancy moves wouldn’t work.
It would be fun to be able to use the big CNC as a motion control rig and be able to use that as a mini studio for filming things made by members. @Kyle, do you think that could be done? If we had a couple of stepper motors with control boards, could a pan tilt head be rigged up? What would be the best way to set the path and motions for that kind of use? Model it in Blender perhaps? (Longer term project though).
Black cyclorama could be good option perhaps- using stands in the space if there is crossbar (donated dowels). Always better to plan and think things through in advance rather than on the spot.
For product shots, a lot of the time you’ll want to look into managing the light that’s hitting it, so that means a lot of bounced/diffused lighting if you can get it with some extra focused lighting to bring out details.
Kind of like so:
I have a fairly old DLSR with radio triggers and two speedlights, though I don’t have light modifiers or softboxes so I usually point them at walls and such to bounce and diffuse the light, but having your light off the camera itself helps a ton.