Reflecting On A Spotted Shell
I find sea shells to be objects of considerable beauty, and a challenge to light. I placed this on a mirror because I wanted to see the extra dimensions that the reflection reveals. The disadvantage of using a mirror is that every speck of dust shows up. The way I deal with it is crude, but I think effective, in that I just paint over the dust with a black paintbrush in Photoshop. I mention that because I get asked about it.
Lighting stuff: I backlit the shell by putting a YN560-II with a Rogue Grid behind the shell and to camera right. That helped reveal the translucent qualities, and also emphasized the color of the interior.. Fill light came from a YN560-III in an 8.6 inch Lastolite softbox at camera left, and pointing toward the center of the shell.
I have photographed quite a few shells over the years, and if you like this sort of thing, they're in my creatively named Shells album. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157626043932290
Reflecting On A Spotted Shell
I find sea shells to be objects of considerable beauty, and a challenge to light. I placed this on a mirror because I wanted to see the extra dimensions that the reflection reveals. The disadvantage of using a mirror is that every speck of dust shows up. The way I deal with it is crude, but I think effective, in that I just paint over the dust with a black paintbrush in Photoshop. I mention that because I get asked about it.
Lighting stuff: I backlit the shell by putting a YN560-II with a Rogue Grid behind the shell and to camera right. That helped reveal the translucent qualities, and also emphasized the color of the interior.. Fill light came from a YN560-III in an 8.6 inch Lastolite softbox at camera left, and pointing toward the center of the shell.
I have photographed quite a few shells over the years, and if you like this sort of thing, they're in my creatively named Shells album. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157626043932290