Photographing guitars, semi-permanent setup.

[singlecoil]

I want to take some nice pictures of some guitars, and I will need to do this from time to time for the forseeable future.

I want to avoid having stands in the pictures so I think using gravity to hold them in place by placing them on the floor would be a good option. I also want to be able to remove the backgrounds in software.

Guitars have many shiny bits, and I understand that the best way to light shiny stuff is to bounce the light off white card. I have some Canon kit, and a couple of Canon flashguns, and I also have some continuous lighting on tripods.

Should I use green screen for this? And any other tips or suggestions would be much appreciated. I have tripods and a remote, so long exposures shouldn't be a problem.

[Pixel Pusher]

Green or Blue screen is more geared towards moving image. I wouldn't bother with that personally as it could reflect back into your high gloss / metallic bits.

Have a think about what the eventual background will be when they print or appear. Whatever that is, shoot on that if it's consistent.

If you don't know this (final background colour) in advance, you're probably safest with a neutral mid grey colorama backdrop. Something with just enough contrast to get a colour range mask off. Good if you're not keen on cutting paths which is the optimum way IMO.

Maybe you could rig up a counter weighted stand above that keeps the guitar grounded upright but tethered with thin fishing line? A stabiliser hidden behind the guitar would stop it moving.

This all from a post production POV, maybe the 'Togs will advise differently.

Edited by Pixel Pusher on Friday 28th November 22:11

[davidd]

I find a polarizing filter helps reduce the reflections...

[singlecoil]

Thanks for the suggestions, both very useful. I think I will need to work on a horizontal surface from above because sometimes it won't be complete guitars but parts whereof, but will definitely do the mid grey background and will experiment with the polarising filter.

I've been looking at various websites for inspiration, some of the pictures on http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson.aspx are very attractive, and I assume are done by making the backgrounds transparent and then placing the pics on new backgrounds of various colours, often with gradients.

I'm thinking about getting a Canon 70D body and using the remote function rather than having to stand on a step-ladder to operate the camera.

[andy-xr]

singlecoil said:

bounce the light off white card. .

white Poly boards, like you get in Wickes. Make the light source as big and soft as possible with diffusers (ie massive softbox if you can) and point it into the poly board, really close to it if you can. You'll get mega diffused light with little to no reflection if it's at around 30 or so degrees from the subject

On the Gibson photos, I cant work out whether the reflection in the upper part of the body is actually a reflection or a dodge and burn brush, they're all shot in the same way, and I'd like to think it's reflection because of the gloss, but a part of me says that could also be a brush in Photoshop

Edited by andy-xr on Sunday 30th November 11:56

[Simpo Two]

It looks like the reflection of a softbox to me. It helps to show the shape of the body.

[Dr Slotter]

I have cause to photograph highly polished/shiny metallic objects on a regular basis and have found using polystyrene packaging blocks to diffuse continuous lighting works pretty well.

[King Cnut]

andy-xr said:

white Poly boards, like you get in Wickes. Make the light source as big and soft as possible with diffusers (ie massive softbox if you can) and point it into the poly board, really close to it if you can. You'll get mega diffused light with little to no reflection if it's at around 30 or so degrees from the subject

On the Gibson photos, I cant work out whether the reflection in the upper part of the body is actually a reflection or a dodge and burn brush, they're all shot in the same way, and I'd like to think it's reflection because of the gloss, but a part of me says that could also be a brush in Photoshop

Edited by andy-xr on Sunday 30th November 11:56

No, it's a softbox reflection. As Simpo says, most probably a striplight type. Doing those highlights in Photoshop would be a royal pain in the bum, not the professional way at all.

It's a simple set with the guitar standing on a plain background, the softbox standing just out of view to the left of the guitar. Doing it that way meant the photographer could do it in a fairly small space. Using poly boards and setting up reflectors, set at the appropriate distance to create that size/shape highlight, would need a huge studio.
Also, the reflections are smooth and it'd be a bugger to shoot something as reflective as a guitar without reproducing the texture of polyboards. The only way you could do that would be by putting the reflection of the board beyond the DoF. But the edges of the reflection are sharp, ruling out that possibility.

The background has been replaced in Photoshop - easy to select out the original background and replace it if it was shot on a fairly smooth seamless background.

OP. I can understand why shooting from overhead might be attractive but it's not always the most practical. To shoot something like a guitar you need to use a 50mm or longer lens - otherwise you'll end up distorting the guitar with a too wide angle lens. Using 50mm+ means you'll need to be quite a few feet above the guitar to fit it in shot and that starts getting a bit precarious. One of the most common ways for photographers to get injured is falling off things trying to get height - that's why pro insurance premiums are so high.

[Pixel Pusher]

singlecoil said:

I've been looking at various websites for inspiration, some of the pictures on http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson.aspx are very attractive, and I assume are done by making the backgrounds transparent and then placing the pics on new backgrounds of various colours, often with gradients.

Probably more likely that the guitars have been cut out with a path. For sure though the new backgrounds have been generated for the guitars to sit on.

The multiple shots are built that way with an offset shadow between them.

Once you boil it down, it's actually very easy to do.

andy-xr said:

On the Gibson photos, I cant work out whether the reflection in the upper part of the body is actually a reflection or a dodge and burn brush, they're all shot in the same way, and I'd like to think it's reflection because of the gloss, but a part of me says that could also be a brush in Photoshop

I would guess that it's a layer that's dropped on each one, probably containing a generic shape filled with about a 10 - 15% white tint. The shape looks too convenient to me, particularly on those semi acoustic style ones.

Suspect the 'Tog has a locked off set up and just sub's the guitars out. That'll allow you to use a generic highlight layer as the shots will always be the same size / rotation to camera / lighting etc.

Just my opinion of course.

[singlecoil]

Some interesting points have been made, thanks everybody.

In my case, although I want the photos to be attractive, bringing out quite small detail is more important, also being able to remove the background cleanly. I expect I will need to put in a good few hours on this stuff.

[andy-xr]

King said:

Using poly boards and setting up reflectors, set at the appropriate distance to create that size/shape highlight, would need a huge studio.

I reckon I could do that in my front room tbh, getting the light to skim would be tricky but definitely do'able. There's something about that reflection in the Gibsons that's bugging me, it could be that they're so uniform because it's a tried and trusted set up, but I feel as though something's been added to make those reflections in the upper part of the body. Cant say what, cant even tell you how, just think I can see it

[Simpo Two]

andy-xr said:

There's something about that reflection in the Gibsons that's bugging me, it could be that they're so uniform because it's a tried and trusted set up, but I feel as though something's been added to make those reflections in the upper part of the body. Cant say what, cant even tell you how, just think I can see it

Get a softbox in the right place and it just happens. If you look at http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/G... you'll see the reflections are all slightly different.

[King Cnut]

andy-xr said:

I reckon I could do that in my front room tbh, getting the light to skim would be tricky but definitely do'able. There's something about that reflection in the Gibsons that's bugging me, it could be that they're so uniform because it's a tried and trusted set up, but I feel as though something's been added to make those reflections in the upper part of the body. Cant say what, cant even tell you how, just think I can see it

I think you'll struggle using reflectors. It's the highlight reflections against the deep saturated colours that really give that hard edged shape and form to the guitars.
That's because the guitars have been shot in a fairly dark studio with one softbox close to the guitar (ok they use some reflectors to fill shadows and a secondary backlight in some shots, but they're not so important).

If you use a softbox placed close to your subject, there's a rapid fall off of light as you move away from the softbox/guitar. This means the shadows in the studio are dark and intense and nothing extraneous gets reflected by the highly reflective guitar. That's why there are no reflections (apart from the softbox) and all the other parts of the shiny guitars look so rich and deep: those things are like mirrors so if there was anything picking up light in the rest of the room, it'll be reflected. So basically, it's the steep gradient of light away from the softbox that produces the highlight and deep colours you like.

If you start using reflectors as your main source of light, there's going to be light splashing around your studio destroying any possibility of a strong light gradient. And with the room being reflected in the shiny guitars, it'll make them look less hard edged and richly coloured - they'll just look flatter and softer.

I know it's all dependent on finances but you can probably find a flash head and softbox for less than £200. Compare that against hours playing with reflectors and not getting the hard edged results you want. Once you know how to do it, it takes five minutes to set up practically anywhere with a studio flash.