Highlights and Shadows
by Russ
eBay Staff Member

Last time we looked at one way to keep the highlights low and shadows soft. Now let's look at a couple of others.

Keeping shadows soft and highlights down is, in most cases, the goal of what we're doing when we make a photograph. The medium, of course, has its limits, and one is the range of lighting values it can record. Our eyes do a much better job than any camera available right now.

When I was a kid, I used to make a little pup tent by stringing a piece of rope between two trees and folding a blanket over the rope. It turns out that this is actually a good photo technique. Of course, you'll want to use something other than a blanket -- say a sheet, a piece of white cloth, or perhaps butcher or tracing paper. First make your tent, and then place your lights on either side of the tent. Use a background, of course, and take the photograph from the opening in the tent. This is an excellent technique for photographing highly reflective objects, such as shrink-wrapped items.

Another excellent method for reducing highlights and shadows is to use a sunscreen (the same thing you would use for your car's windshield). Use the one-piece kind that is white on one side and rolls up. Unroll it so that it will curve in front of the item you're photographing, keeping the cutout for your rear-view mirror where you will want to place your camera. Then place your lights behind the background, facing toward the screen. The main thing you'll need to avoid here is glare from the lights shining on the camera lens. You can avoid that by adjusting the height of the lights and using a lens shade.

Similarly, you can use two flat reflectors at approximately a 90-degree angle in front of the item. The two-piece shades for a car windshield work well (use the dull side), or if you have them, you can use projection screens. Remember, you can often get these in a thrift shop for just a few dollars.

If you're using an on-camera flash, you have some options as well. If it has swivel capability, you can bounce the flash off a bright reflective surface. You actually won't loose much light if your surface is reflective enough, and you can use parts of the other techniques as well. If you don't have swivel capability, try putting a layer or two of tissue paper over the flash. This will soften shadows very effectively.

I haven't said much so far about lighting larger objects. The main thing you'll want to do is light them naturally. Use (or create) open shade. Just like with smaller items, the idea is to reduce the highlights and keep the shadows from going too deep. If you have enough room to maneuver, sunrise and sunset both offer soft light along with excellent color. Trying to use artificial light, though, will likely put big, glaring highlights on the object, particularly if it's highly reflective. In the past couple of columns, I've spoken a little about equipment. Sometimes, your ancillary equipment can make as big a difference as the camera you use. We'll get into this topic more next month.