Freezer Burn

[Loose Canon]

Hey Mike Buckley, I met up with some folks who have apparently heard of you!

I was in a huge walk-in freezer doing a shoot with these guys, having a popsicle and since you are an Internationally Famous as well as Known All Over the World glass shooter they wondered if I knew you!

I told them I knew who you were but they got a little nervous when I showed them your broken wine glasses!

Handmade Glass Snowmen!

(I later found out that no, you pinhead! Glass snowmen will not melt into a little glass puddle at room temperature so no need to freeze your kiester off in this stupid walk-in freezer! Hey! Learn something new everyday!)

[Mike Buckley]

Now that you have accused me of being internationally famous, you owe all of us an explanation of the entire set up (lighting, tabletop, etc.). I really like the lighting at the base of each object and the appearance that they are lit from within. Very well done!

I would also like to see a larger file to determine if you captured the shape of the two black hats. At this tiny size I can barely see part of the shape on the left one but not on the right one.

By the way, it's OK to come out of the cold now.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful and perfectly photographed, and highly amusing...

[Wavelength]

I really enjoyed this

[Loose Canon]

Now that I have defrosted my kiester a little I’m told I owe an explanation! Guess I’ll think twice next time before I go throwing around accusations!

They are lit from within… sort of! They were under-lit Mike. The big one is actually hollow frosted glass and has a hole in the bottom.

Savage Thunder gray seamless on a glass tabletop. Snowmen about three feet from the vertical background (the Glass makers insist on a non-reflective surface). Small hole cut in the seamless and flash fired from below under the glass tabletop. The smaller ones are solid but semi-opaque on the bottom, which makes for a nice diffusion effect.

I used another small softbox on a boom as a background light to give it a tad bit of gradient and the small highlight you can see on the tops of the hats. The softbox was positioned just enough over and slightly behind to get the highlight.

Since it was hard to get the lighting even from below I used a little lighting “trick” in Photoshop because I really didn’t want to nuke these things from outside with a light. Very easy and very effective. This little “trick” is as follows:

Open a new transparent layer on top of your existing layer stack. Blend mode to overlay. Use a white brush to brush in what you want “lit”. Just paint the layer white where you want it “lit” a bit more. Since the layer is transparent you can look directly at your subject while you are painting to stay in the lines (I have a bad habit of coloring outside the lines then breaking all my crayons!). Adjust either brush opacity (before brushing) or layer opacity (after brushing) to suit if necessary.

I should have posted this sage advice on the “Top Three Most Valuable Photography Lessons” thread, but never, and I mean ever, break down the set until you’re darned good and sure you are finished with that particular shoot!

I finished what the Glass Makers asked for and then a couple of days later I decided they might like a “Family Portrait” for a site banner. It was something I thought I might do to spread joy and goodwill above and beyond. I had already returned the product and broken down the set, so I made them this three shot composite. Fortunately I shot consistently enough (for once) that it wasn’t extremely difficult.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Terry. The details are so good that you are forgiven for taking so long to provide them.

It's actually good to know your Photoshop technique, as I was having a devil of a time figuring out how you did that with lighting. Though I try to get the lighting right as much as is reasonably possible, I am happy to forgo taking a huge amount of time with a particular lighting detail in favor of using a quick post-processing technique.

[Loose Canon]

Though I try to get the lighting right as much as is reasonably possible, I am happy to forgo taking a huge amount of time with a particular lighting detail in favor of using a quick post-processing technique.

Ain't that the Truth!

And thank you for forgiving my oversight! You have a Heart the size of the Great Outdoors Mike!