Lighting Tests for Product Photos

Part of my studies this year is leaning the art and stylings of product photography. I have a pretty good understanding of the technics and equipment needed to capture great product shots, however I still feel the need to test out certain unorthodox types of lighting setups. This is mainly being driving by budget, I'm trying to figure the most cost effective ways of making great and compelling product work. My focus in this particular field is being geared toward making stills for artists of their work for web, grant or portfolio use. Yet I still wish to show them alternative methods for advertising images that are not of the norm. In the last 3 weeks I've focused on one, two and three light setups, using AlienBee 800, White Lightning 1600, a Metz 45 CT-1 and a Nikon SB-27. The studio lights I was testing to see if they were worth purchasing, I settled on the idea of getting two of the AlienBee 800's, the two smaller camera flashes I was testing to see if they were a viable stand in for bigger lights and so far, with the help of a make shift back drop reflector, they seem to be doing the job. I tested with some coloured gels on the flash units as well, it's a staple in my art work, so I decided to test it on these shots, they look great, but would never work for grant applications or art magazine ads, as true colour is a must is presenting the work in those cases. Still it is a creative option for a website if the artist is interested. One other thing I'm trying is using inexpensive foam board as my back drops and reflectors, it seems to be working well. All of these shots have a hard directed light setup, my next tests will move into softer and wider light ranges more in sync with the norm in the field. Below are some test images a a few setups from my 3 light shoot.
- Larry M.Holder