Common Seamless Background Lighting Technique

Amazon Patent Shows Common Seamless Background Lighting Technique

• Michael Zhang · May 05, 2014

Is Amazon attempting to patent an age old photography lighting technique? A recently published patent seems to suggest that, and it’s getting some photographers up in arms.

Multiple readers have sent us (rather angry and bewildered) tips about the patent, which was first reported on by Shoot the Centerfold. The document itself was published on March 18, 2014, is titled “Studio Arrangement,” and features the diagram above showing a lighting setup.
Here’s the description of the patent:

Disclosed are various embodiments of a studio arrangement and a method of capturing images and/or video. One embodiment of the disclosure includes a front light source aimed at a background, an image capture position located between the background and the front light source, an elevated platform positioned between the image capture position and the background, and at least one rear light source positioned between the elevated platform and the background. A subject can be photographed and/or filmed on the elevated platform to achieve a desired effect of a substantially seamless background where a rear edge of the elevated platform is imperceptible to an image capture device positioned at the image capture position [emphasis ours].

Here’s the patent itself embedded into this page:
Sound familiar? Shoot the Centerfold writes that many photographers “will recognize this lighting set-up and method as being a very old, very common and very widely used lighting technique to photograph a subject against a white cyclorama background.”

An example of a studio product photograph utilizing a seamless background

How controversial the patent really is depends on how wide-reaching it is when it comes to the technique. Among comments on Shoot the Centerfold calling the patent “BS” and asking fellow photographers to boycott Amazon, a reader named Gwo offers a more thoughtful explanation:

[...] this patent claim 1 only applies if you have ALL of
4 rear light sources, in a 10:3 intensity ratio, in exactly
An 85mm lens at f/5.6
ISO 320 set
An elevated platform with the object on it, and a reflective top surface on that platform

So, it appears that Amazon is attempting to protect its “secret sauce” for creating product photographs in front of a seamless background, perhaps in order to prevent competitors’ photographs from looking 100% identical in terms of lighting.
Still, it’s not often that we hear of a patent for a specific lighting setup and/or technique, so this particular one is definitely worth looking into and discussing.

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Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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Image credit: Product photo example by Carl Berkeley

Splash Photography - how to capture a splash

Splash photography: how to freeze motion and capture split-second action

Splash photography: how to freeze motion and capture split-second action

jmeyer | Photography Tips | 06/05/2014 00:01am

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Capturing the exact moment a falling object splashes into liquid can produce amazing photos, but to get good results you’ll need sound camera skills, the right kit, and a good deal of patience. In this splash photography tutorial we’re going to show you how to shoot a staple of TV cereal ads – the classic combo of strawberries and milk.

The aim is to freeze the motion of the falling strawberry at the split second it breaks the surface of the milk for spectacular close-up splash photography.

It’s not an exact science; you might nail the shot on your first try or your hundredth, but that’s all part of the fun!

As well as the strawberries and milk, you’ll need a tripod and a flashgun. Frontal flash destroys depth, and depth is exactly what we need in order to capture the contours of the splashing milk, so we’ll light the splash from the side by firing the flash off-camera.
We also need to make sure the flash duration is short, in order to freeze the motion without blur.

SEE MORE: Flash photography tips – external flash techniques anyone can understand

Splash photography step-by-step: 1-3

01 Set up the shot
Fill a wide tray with milk. Things can get a little messy, so lie a towel underneath, and keep plenty of kitchen paper to hand. Mount your camera on a tripod and compose the shot, using a long focal length so you can keep the camera away from the spray of milk.
It’s hard to predict how far the splash will spread, so frame the shot loosely; you can crop in tighter later if necessary.


02 Pre-focus
We need to pre-focus on the spot where we intend the strawberry to hit – this will be our ‘drop zone’. Place a small, heavy object in the milk, then focus on it and switch the lens to Manual focus to lock it.
Next we need to make sure we land precisely on this spot: here we’ve rigged a wire hanger directly above the spot, so that when we drop the strawberry through the loop it’ll land within the plane of focus.

SEE MORE: High-speed photography – how to use flash, not shutter speed, to freeze action

03 Light the splash
We’ve used a Gloxy flash to light the scene, positioned to the left and angled down from above. We can trigger the unit using our DSLR’s pop-up flash. First set the flashgun to act as a slave – this means it’ll fire when another flash triggers it.
Next open the pop-up flash, go to the Built-in Flash options in the Flash Control menu, and dial in a low flash power of 1/128. Our pop-up flash will now trigger the flashgun, and it’ll also act as a fill flash to lift the shadows.

Splash photography: how to freeze motion and capture split-second action

jmeyer | Photography Tips | 06/05/2014 00:01am

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Splash photography step-by-step: 4-6

04 Diffuse the light
If we fire the flash directly at the strawberry it’ll create harsh shadows, so we’ve used a diffuser to soften the light.
A five-way reflector comes in handy here; we positioned the diffuser between the flash and the tray to soften the light, and placed the reflector’s soft silver case opposite the flash to bounce some of the light back into the shadows.

SEE MORE: Flash photography made easy: master everything from pop-up flash to multiple flashguns

05 Control flash power
To capture splash photography without motion blur we need a very short flash duration. This is easier to achieve with a low flash power, so set the flash to Manual at around 1/8, set your camera to Manual and fire some test shots to determine the exposure (1/250 sec at f/18, ISO400 here).
Keep the ambient light to a minimum by turning off lights and closing curtains, so the flash alone captures the action.

SEE MORE: 8 flash photography mistakes every photographer makes

06 Drop and shoot
When you’re ready, hold the strawberry with your finger poised on the shutter, then drop it and try to capture it on impact. Fish the strawberry out, dab it with a bit of kitchen paper so it looks clean for the next shot, then try again.
What we’re looking for is a nice clean splash, and a mostly visible strawberry. Be prepared to work at it; it took us about an hour, and 140 shots, to capture three or four good splash photography frames!

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/05/06/splash-photography-capture-split-second-splashes-with-our-tutorial/2/