- Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:02 pm
#78808
Hello X-site,
Our studio setting is very simple : we render on very slow computers (P4 1.4Gz or less) so we need something simple.
We mostly use a singe emiter vertical plane about 2mx2m, 3 or 4 meter away from the products D65 - 1000w. Our experience is that with a single emiter you get much less noise than with 2. The emiter is usually on the left of the object, perpendicular to the camera to get a good shadow distribution.
We use a reflector (white diffuse plane) oposite the emiter to fill the shadows, like in a real studio. The objet is sandwiched between emiter and reflector, both just out of the frame. We find it less costly in render time than a second emiter.
Size of the emiter is key to increase shadows visibility and overall contrast. We usually end up with and emiter roughly the size of the object.
The background is a simple extruded L shape.
One thing we struggle with is the white background.
We normall use 220-220-210 because anything higher would create a milky fog in the picture, reduce contrast and increase noise. Grey or brown background create noiseless and contrasty pictures much faster.
In general, with a white background we struggle to get a decent contrast and a natural light. We stick to the default 0.8 - 2.2 settings for gamma and burn, since changing them usually leads to distorted colors and burns, so we find it easier to boost contrast in PS in a more controlable way. But we invariably end up with level curve all in the middle, very narrow peak. Any tip on how to get a better contrast welcome.
I have tried using natural light. ie skydome light coming throught a window, light is warmer and more diffuse, but rendering time is huge (ie 12 hours + when our usual render 800x600 would take about 3-4 hours.) I have tried Cool white light for a warmer look, but it does not look warm, rather a yellowish cast on the picture.
Hope this helps, feed back welcome, and you are welcome to drop by the shop, we might be interested by your Maxwell expertise.
Olivier
- By choo-chee
- By Andreas Hopf
