How to Light for Close-Up Product Shots & Reviews

How do I shoot a close-up product video with a white background? Here are the basics on how I do it. The biggest secret is to soften the light by shooting it through an umbrella or similar scrim (such as the type included in a 5-in-1 reflector.)

I use a foam core poster board for the background, mounted to a table with spring clamps. My favorite light for this task is the Aputure Light Storm COB 120t which we reviewed a few weeks ago. I boom the Light Storm above the poster board with a C-stand and shoot the light through a white umbrella. This makes the light incredibly soft and prevents those distracting shadows.

Aputure Light Storm COB 120t LED Light Review

Aputure just started shipping a new LED light for filmmakers called the Light Storm COB 120t. This is a tungsten color balanced single LED flood light which has a Bowens S mount so it can accept all sorts of light shaping tools like a soft box, barn doors, beauty dish, snoot and even a fresnel lens. This makes the 120t an incredibly flexible light. It also has great color rendering with a CRI of 97 and puts out plenty of light to use as a key light for interviews or talking head video or still photos. Here we review the 120t in detail.

Aputure LSC20 LED Fresnel Accent Light

At NAB 2016, Aputure announced a very cool little LED fresnel light they call the LSC20. This is designed primarily as an accent light, comes with barn doors and the ability to zoom the beam angle like a traditional fresnel. It also includes a slot for gels to either match your main lights or add a colorful accent. In addition, the light can be powered with 5-18V DC power which means you can use the included DC adapter, a USB charger such as those most phones use, or professional batteries like Sony VLock or Anton Bauer gold mount batteries. Looks like a pretty nice flexible and lightweight addition for location lighting kits.

The only bad news: they're not available just yet, but we should see them in the September 2016 timeframe.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series.

Triad Orbit Light and Microphone Stands

At NAB 2016, we talked with Ryan at the Triad-Orbit booth. Triad-Orbit makes an ecosystem of premium stands for lights, microphones, and most other production equipment. If you’re investing for the long-term, Triad-Orbit stands and accessories are worth a look.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series and schlep it around most of the Las Vegas convention center - no small feat.

Pricing links (this is a modular system so you buy the pieces separately):

T3 Tall Tripod Stand at B&H Photo

T2 Tripod Stand at B&H Photo

OR1 Boom Arm at B&H Photo

NAB 2016: Convert Your Arri Fresnel to LED

At NAB 2016, we talked with Pete Smith at VisionSmith for an overview of their new ReLamp LED bulbs. With these, you can convert your old Arri or Mole-Richardson tungsten fresnel lights to LED at a fraction of the price of most of the current fresnel LED instruments on the market. Your fresnel still focuses just like with the halogen bulbs and the CRI for the daylight balanced bulb is 93, and for the tungsten balanced bulb is 98.

Looks like they're not available just yet, but I'm planning to buy one and review it once they become available.

NAB 2016: Aputure Light Storm COB 120t Hard Light

At NAB 2016, we talked with Ted at Aputure for an overview of their new hard LED light, the Light Storm COB 120t. I can finally tell you that I’ve had one of the first few off the assembly line and love this light. I’ve been in the market for an affordable fresnel LED with good color reproduction. While I don’t have the barn doors, softbox, beauty dish, or fresnel lens just yet, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on those for a full review. If you’ve watched any of my videos over the last couple of months, the back light (kicker) was the  COB 120t which I gelled with a CTB gel to match the daylight balanced Light Storm LED panels.

The tungsten color balanced version will be available by end of May along with the light shaping accessories. The daylight balanced and color tunable versions should be along in another 3 months.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series. He used this opportunity to learn his camera, so please understand that he did us a huge favor and also learned when auto focus would work or not work. :)

Silhouette Lighting Look Quick Howto

In some of my previous microphone reviews, I’ve used silhouette shots to take the focus off of me, and naturally help viewers to focus on the sound. In this episode, we quickly run through how to achieve the silhouette look with lighting and a tiny bit of post processing in DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro X.

Shooting an Interview

B&H Photo put together one of the most helpful pieces I've seen on shooting interview/talking head style pieces. The coverage of audio is a little light due to time constraints (I'd add that a cardioid condenser mic is probably the best choice for indoor/studio interviews) but great info overall.

Raya 7 Bulb Softbox 2 Light Kit

If you need an affordable kit for talking head style video, B&H has a great deal on this Raya 7 Bulb Softbox 2 Light Kit.

I find that I like to have 2 soft lights for most of my interview setups, one as a key, the second as a kicker. Then I'll often pull in a third hard light for the background.

Or if filming both the interviewer and interviewee, one soft light for each as a key which then double as the kicker.

You should be able to get all the light you'd need out of these.

Dracast 500 LED Panel Special Pricing

B&H Photo has special pricing on Dracast's 500 bi-color LED Panels toady. If you're in the market, these are worth considering with their 95 CRI spec (I haven't tested that but other reviewers are saying that the color is quite good). This model comes with a v-mount for Sony v-mount batteries and it can be powered via AC as well.

They look to have a pretty thoughtful design with the yoke that can be mounted vertically or horizontally to enable a good range of motion for aiming the head. Cooling is passive so no noisy fans.

It seems to me that LEDs are finally here with decent amounts of output and color that will blend decently with other sources. I have to imagine that in not too many years  we'll remember back to the days when a decent LED lighting instrument ran at least $1000 USD...