Lighting a model car on a table. A 1/16th metal model purchased at a local Toys-R-Us store. I needed a product shot done so I put together a not-so-costly homemade table top test studio . Below is a simple list of items you'll need to create your own shot.
The items you'll need:
1) High shine and glossy acrylic plastic; around $75
2) A spool of 2 lb test fishing line, just step back far enough and the clear line practically disappears
3) Black and white foam-core found most art stores; Aaron brothers or Michaels
4) Modeling clay; Michaels
5) Utility knife or X-Acto type knife; Michaels
6) Pencil
7) Clear scotch tape
8) A lint-free cloth to wipe away lint and dust off the acrylic
9) Light absorbing black cloth: fabric store
10) Basic metal home construction lights and household bulbs; found at Lowes or Home Depot
Hopefully I didn't leave anything out.
My homemade creative light box
Here's how to do it.
Wondering how cool this would look, I used my dining table and the chandelier to set up a makeshift light bank. The size of the light opening in the black overhead foam-core is 4 by 8 inches and then is covered and taped with plain ole grocery store wax paper for excellent light diffusion. I also cut small slices into the corners of the black board for fishing line suspension, tied little knots into the string, wrapped them into the slices three or four times, and then strung the line through the chandelier and attached the line to the opposite corner. After carefully balancing the board out under the chandelier, it hovers perfectly over the car.
The Impression (a 10 inch collectible based off a 1936 Ford Roadster), is a Chip Foose die cast product. It was chosen for it's metal texture because of the high key reflection properties which contrast against black very well. Plus the Foose rims are cool. One idea here is to shoot the image without a lot of post processing in Photoshop so it comes out clean and ready to use. However there is some in-camera white balancing that does occurbecause of the household tungsten bulbs. Amazingly enough though some lint always manages to land on the plastic just seconds after wiping it away but you really can't see them in the image because they goes out of focus and disappear. The focus is only on the car. A fan is perfect to blow them buggers away which I didn't have but I just work around it.
Stepping back though you can also see the set up with light stands and where I clipped the lights for position. Only the top light is direct light but it is diffused by the wax paper while the other lamps are indirect light meaning they are bounced off the white foam-core. In more light detailing, I created a right side horizon line along the door with a black foam-core for the final image. Simple huh? Well from here a lot more can be done and I hope to show you my next creative project.
This set up, it's all about light control, direction, and intensity as the main factors to focus on. Kind a cool, isn't it? See the close cropped final image with a little more light detailing.
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