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Re: Feb 2012 issue. Wow!
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
It's a flashgun constructed as an annular ring to sit around the lens. Simpler versions place two small flashgun bulbs on either side of the lens. The idea is to provide a very even illumination with few shadows visible in the photograph and it works because the origin of the light is very close to the optical axis of the lens, and eminates from all around it. It works in a similar way to a very large softbox light directly overhead, but can be more convenient.
Well, to clarify, a ring light It doesn't work similar to a soft box (even directly overhead), different principles going on here. Ring flashes are pretty flat and hard light - it's a popular fashion look. It does give fairly hard shadows but that's part of the style, and because the light is right on the axis of the lens, shadows are thrown directly backwards which can help hide them (subject depending).
Soft boxes diffuse the light to make it softer, primarily softening shadows and giving a smoother, less contrasty look. And because you are free to position soft boxes rather than having the light light directly coming from the lens axis lets you create much more interesting and flattering directional light with much more depth and dimension than the flat ring look.
Directly overhead you're still flattening out the light, but you are still getting much more diffusion than a ring light, which is a fairly small light source...
But reading again what you wrote I get what you mean, you weren't saying they were the same, just identifying a particular characteristic in common - so I was just embellishing a bit...
Product photography is an art in itself though, and every item produces it's own, er, interesting challenges of how to best present and shoot it, particularly in the case of SOS gear with shiny, reflective and metallic surfaces and dark recessed shadowy bits, and presumably not a huge amount of post time meaning you have to get it fairly bang on in-camera...
Edited by desmond (26/01/12 12:53 PM)
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