# Shadow



## Drcal (Apr 9, 2010)

I am trying to take some decent pictures of my pens.  I am using a commercially made light tent and 3 light- one on each side and one on top.  Regardless of how I position them in this configuration, I am still getting shadows.

Also, the color seems off to me.

I have a great professional digital SLR but no macro lens.  Therefore, I am using a small Nikon Coolpix.  It is a high end Coolpix and can do close-ups easily.

Can anyone help?

Carmen


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## gketell (Apr 9, 2010)

Part of the problem is that rock.  The lights have to all hit under the pen to get rid of shadow under the pen.  The rock is blocking your left light so the right light makes a shadow behind the rock.

My lights are BIG compared to the pen.  A lot of the kits I've seen recently have Little lights.  Point-source light == shadow.  Big lights == no shadow.  

So how do you reduce shadow with tools you have?  Move the lights back away from the tent so that they hit the tent in a bigger circle to reduce the point-source-effect.  Then move them so that one is slightly in front of the pen and the other is slightly behind the pen but both are pointing to the center of the pen.  The back one will hide the shadow of the one pointing to the back, the front one will hide the shadow from the one pointing to the front.  Try moving the top one so its shadow falls into the light from one of the other lights or right behind the pen (from the camera's perspective).

Good luck!


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## Mark (Apr 9, 2010)

I relieved some of my shadows by placing a piece of white poster board across the front of my (tent). I suppose that bounced some light back toward the front of the pen. I'm still learning the whole photo thing too.


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