• We just finished moving the forums to a new hosting server. It looks like everything is functioning correctly but if you find a problem please report it in the Forum Technical Support Forum (click here) or email us at forum_moderator AT aawforum.org. Thanks!
  • Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details)
  • Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Peter Jacobson for "Red Winged Burl Bowl" being selected as Turning of the Week for April 29, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

light bulbs for photo work

Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
61
Likes
0
Location
Claxton, Georgia
I just got my new photo tent that I ordered off of ebay yesterday. It came with two lights that seem to work great, but I promptly dropped one of them on the floor twice and blew the bulb. The ebay lister says that it is a 50W 5100k lightbulb It has a GU10 plug. Is this something I will be able to find locally. ie Lowe's,Home Depot, or specialty photo store.
Stacey
 

Steve Worcester

Admin Emeritus
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
2,693
Likes
96
Location
Plano, Texas
Website
www.turningwood.com
will be a part# on the bulb somewhere. Most often the part# is a universal number. Without knowing anything about the bulbs, I would venture a guess that there will be some type of replacement available. They are kind of fragile, to the point of you should install them without directly touching them (kleenex or as paper towel around it, as the oil on your hand can cook the bulb and lead to premature failure
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
21
Likes
0
Website
www.michaelvickery.com
Stacey S said:
The bulb only had the base type and wattage on it. It is a Gu10 50watt. I did look at Home Depot and found at GE REveal 50 watt halogen. Think this will work? I have tried a couple of camera places around town and no one carries them.
Here's a link to the bulb I found:
http://genet.gelighting.com/LightPr...®AS&ModelSelectionFilter=FT0001:Reveal®

Thanks for the help.
Stacey

As far as I can tell the color tempature of that bulb is not close I believe it is 2600K. I was using a differenta Reveal Bulb for a while and was not really happy with it.

Sorry can't help you with a source for the bulb you are looking for but I have read many warnings about mixed light sources. You might want to consider changeing both bulbs if you can not find an exact replacement.
 
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Messages
74
Likes
0
Location
Ames, Iowa
you can find something similar at walmart or home depot or something. i found some 6500k bulbs at walmart, they were only 30 watt, but i'm pretty sure there was some 50W ones there as well. And as long as your color temp is between 5000 and 6500k you should be ok to mix and match. or you could just buy two new ones and go with those.

was the bulb that broke a compact fluorescent? was it two bulbs kindof twisted together? or did it look like a regular light?
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
2,051
Likes
356
Location
Martinsville, VA
news item

on the stock market daily show they had a news item about the new curly lights that are suppose to save a great deal of energy

the problem with some of them is that they have mercury powder inside, cleanup in range of $2k

i would not venture to guess if your light was of that type :confused:

i just wonder where we will put the used bulbs if they cannot go in a landfill???????????????
 

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
8,337
Likes
3,595
Location
Cookeville, TN
Reveal bulbs are still low on the color scale and will photograph as orange even with the Tungsten setting. I tried them when they first came out. My color meter read about 2400 degrees Kelvin.
 
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
61
Likes
0
Location
Claxton, Georgia
Thanks for everyones input. John you mentioned that they would show orange(i think) but I don't think mine are looking like that. I will try to post one of those pictures later.
Stacey
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
1,049
Likes
35
Location
Tallahassee FL
See if your camera (digital, right?) has a feature called something like "custom color balance" or "automatic white balance" among its lighting settings. This can enable combinations of different light sources. Not perfect, because it sets an average, whereas actual illumination temperature could vary across the picture field. Deviations from the average are less pronounced than deviation from a particular setting. This is also what a film lab would do on entire frames, e.g. partial fluoro lighting on tungsten film; I suspect that's why gummint offices used to be painted that icky green. Generally satisfactory for computer display because monitor responses can be all over the lot anyway.

Joe
 

Steve Worcester

Admin Emeritus
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
2,693
Likes
96
Location
Plano, Texas
Website
www.turningwood.com
baitbegger said:
on the stock market daily show they had a news item about the new curly lights that are suppose to save a great deal of energy

the problem with some of them is that they have mercury powder inside, cleanup in range of $2k

i would not venture to guess if your light was of that type :confused:

i just wonder where we will put the used bulbs if they cannot go in a landfill???????????????
What they were referring to are the "new" flourescent bulbs that have a screw base (not really that new). There are low mercury versions, but i don't know about mercury free yet.

I find it humorous everyone pushing to go green and use these bulbs but no one talking about the waste involved. Sure, it uses less electricity to produce more light and they last longer, but you can't feel real good about tossing them in the garbage.
 
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
284
Likes
1
Location
Ballard (Seattle) WA and Volcano, Hawaii....on top
Stacey,

You don't say if the bulb is 110 Volt or some other voltage? Without knowing that I can't steer you to a replacement bulb. But......

You might try B & H Photo and Video, a New York Photography and Video Supplier. They have a reallllllly wide selection and are a very reputable photo supplier. www.bhphotovideo.com

The link below will take you to their bulb section. You can choose a wattage on the left side and narrow the choices down. There are photos so you can match the bulb visually. Double check the description to make sure you have a GU10 base to be safe, and also to make sure you have the color rating you want, 5100K. And order extra bulbs. You always go through these faster than you think you will. They generally don't last that long.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/6302/Choose_by_Voltage_Wattage_Bulbs_Lamps.html

you can drill down to this menu from their main menu by selecting Lighting and Studio, then under General Lighting Accessories select Bulbs and Lamps, then under Choose by Voltage and Wattage select Bulbs and lamps. On the screen that follows you can make further selections in the left sidebar.

You might also want to look at some of the graduated backgrounds that many of us use to take our photos. They are under Lighting and Studio, then under Studio Equipment click on background Materials, then Graduated Backgrounds. Most of us are using what they refer to as Thunder Gray. This can also be done in a program like Photoshop, but again, I prefer to do it when I shoot and avoid later time spent editing.

You can also make use of most any light provided you correct the photos for color. This is best done on the camera before you take your shot.

You will need to look in your camera manual for the term Color Balance. There should be directions for a custom color balance. The steps will involve putting a sheet of white paper in your tent and turning the lights on. Then have the camera zoom in so that the paper is the only thing in the frame. You then tell the camera to record this as "white" and then save that setting for later recall.

Later on when you use this lighting setup to photograph something you recall that custom setting and use it for those shots.

Basically, the camera knows what white is supposed to look like. If you show it a sheet of white paper that is lit by a light source that is NOT white (most lights are slightly pink, green, blue, etc, depending on the bulb) the camera will correct itself until that white object matches what it knows white should look like. You then save that setting and recall it later on when you need it.

It sounds a bit complicated, but is usually pretty simple. Almost any decent digital camera has this "custom white balance" ability now.

You could also correct the color in a program like Photoshop, but this takes more effort. Better to do it at the camera and eliminate editing later on.

Have fun!!!

Dave
 
Joined
Nov 2, 2005
Messages
224
Likes
1
Location
Lancaster, PA
Website
www.gvpencheff.com
Stacey S said:
I just got my new photo tent that I ordered off of ebay yesterday. It came with two lights that seem to work great, but I promptly dropped one of them on the floor twice and blew the bulb. The ebay lister says that it is a 50W 5100k lightbulb It has a GU10 plug. Is this something I will be able to find locally. ie Lowe's,Home Depot, or specialty photo store.
Stacey
Stacey, go to www.topbulb.com and search for GU10. They offer 10, 35 and 50 watts models, they're listed as "twist lock base" and "halogen" but no color temp is mentioned.

Is this what your broken bulb looks like? If so, looks like specialty bulb to me.
 
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
61
Likes
0
Location
Claxton, Georgia
Thanks again everyone for the help. I will try the custom color balance I remember seeing it on my camera just not sure what to do with it. It seems that the bulbs I got yesterday seem to work ok. The pictures are the best I have done although some of them were a little underexposed. I have attached a couple. Tell me what you think of the pictures and what I could do to correct any problems present in them. This is definitely a learning experience.
I have attached three picutures. The spalted oak vessel looks to me to be underexposed and has some hotspots(how do I correct?). The second picture( poplar natural edge seems ok might be underexposed? and the Third(the spoon) I intentially over exposed it to brighten it(was this correct?). So did these turn out ok. Also tell me is the color ok on these?
Stacey
 

Attachments

  • spaltedoakvessel.JPG
    spaltedoakvessel.JPG
    68.3 KB · Views: 5
  • poplar natedge.JPG
    poplar natedge.JPG
    70.5 KB · Views: 5
  • woodspoon.JPG
    woodspoon.JPG
    61.1 KB · Views: 5

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,899
Likes
5,188
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
A 5100 degree K color temperature bulb is a photographic bulb and its color temperature is considerably different from a household light bulb. As mentioned previously go to a local photo store or a mail order/online dealer such as B&H. Whatever you do, do not mix bulbs of different types such as general purpose lighting and photo bulbs or you will never be able to color balance a shot. Since different parts of of a turning would be receiving different amounts of light from sources with different color temperature, you would never get the color right over the whole turning, not to mention having strange colored shadows. Also, do not use fill flash when using photoflood lights because the flash color temperature is considerably higher than the lights.

You need to put a diffuser panels between the lights and your subject and background or alternately use umbrellas. The light that you are using is not diffuse enough. You also need to set up some barn doors to block the lighting from the lights and diffuser panels or umbrellas away from the camera lens or you will get flare. If you are going to photograph with a high-key background such as in the pictures that you have posted then the background needs to be much further away from the subject. Also, a high-key background is nearly impossible to keep from picking up the color of the subject as can be seen in the shadow areas of your pictures. That is one the reasons that I prefer a neutral gray or graduated background. The strong lighlights in your trurnings are caused by having too strong direct lighting or it is much too close to your subject. Make cetain that your background paper is smooth and does not have any wrinkles as they will greatly detract from the overall image quality. Another thing to remember is to not use a colored background, especially if it is brightly colored because it will turn your photographed object the same color as the background unless you are really good at lighting. There are also occasions where a black background will do wonders for a lighter wood (not ebony). One of the best examples of woodturning photography that I have seen are the ones shown in David Nittmann's online gallery.

Bill
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
284
Likes
1
Location
Ballard (Seattle) WA and Volcano, Hawaii....on top
Stacey,

They all appear overexposed or washed out. Try knocking an Fstop or two off the exposure and see. While you are at it, pick one item and take a series of exposures, one at what the camera wants, and then at least a shot overexposed from that by 1 Fstop ( I would do two shots, one 1 Fstop overexposed, and the next 2 Fstops overexposed) and then do the same thing underexposing from what the camera thinks is right. Again, do 2 shots, 1 1Fstop underexposed, the next 2 stops underexposed. That way you can see the relationship and the changes to the image with one easy to compare image. You are comparing overexposed apples with underexposed apples so to speak.

Regarding your color balance. They all seem to be a bit blue to me. I assume the background is the white background that usually comes with a tent? If so then the color balance is definately off.

Regarding the highlights you mentioned. There are a couple of ways to deal with that. One would be to move your lights further from the tent. Another would be to angle the lights so they are not striking the tent walls face on but are instead angling towards the walls. For example...If you think of a straight line running from your object to your camera, your lights would normally be on a line running at a 45 degree angle to either side of the object. You can change that angle, and change the distance of the light along that angle to soften it and reduce hightlights. You can also aim the lights up towards the top of the tent rather than directly at the object, helping to diffuse the light even more. Once you get things looking pretty good you can play a bit. Try having one light be twice the distance or more from the object than the other light is and see if that helps the picture at all. In some cases it can help give some depth to an object that is just looking kind of flat and two dimensional. Try using different angles instead of both lights being on a 45 degree angle from the object.

Again, take a series of shots with the lights at different distances and angles so you can see the differences and replicate the one that works best next time. Take notes. And remember, digital pictures don't cost anything but your time. Dink around and see how you do.

A last option to reduce the highlights is to bounce your light at the tent. Don't aim the lights directly at the fabric of the tent or even at an angle. Instead aim each light away from the tent at some white paper or white cardboard and bounce the light off that white surface at the tent. That should soften the light enough to eliminate the highlights.

I haven't been using a tent, opting instead to use a graduated background that the object sits on. The graduated background goes from white below my obect, to black behind the object, with a smooth gradient going from white to black. The white below the object helps to reflect light to the underside of the bowl. If I aim my lights directly at the bowl I will definately get annoying highlights. So instead I aim my lights up at the ceiling and let the white ceiling reflect the light back down to the object. Between the light reflecting off the ceiling at the object and the light reflecting up from below the shots have been coming out pretty good. The idea is the same with a tent though. The tent does give you the advantage of helping diffuse the light even more though. The downside of a small hobby sized tent is that your background is very close to the object. Try moving the object forward in the tent if possible to throw the background more out of focus, and to reduce color reflection from the object to the background. That can be hard to do in a tent though if it is small.

Dave
 
Last edited:

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
8,337
Likes
3,595
Location
Cookeville, TN
I just read through all the responses and they are accurate. Your hot spots seem to be mostly because the lights are too close to the diffusion material. If you can't back them up try putting a smaller piece of diffusion material between the light and the panel. Keep a good air space so you don't burn anything up.
All digital cameras have a limit on how far they will white balance. Most that I have looked at won't go below 3000K even on Auto. this means that house hold bulbs will still look a little orange no matter what you do. I have used the quartz work light quite successfully even though they read 2700K on my meter.
You might also be getting flare into the lens which will also cause the hazy kind of look. Flare is caused by light that hits the lens directly. Make sure your lens is clean and then shade it from the lights as much as possible. One of the downsides of using a white back ground is that it increases the flare problem.
 
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
61
Likes
0
Location
Claxton, Georgia
Thanks again everyone for all of the help you have really helped me. Now all I have to do is take all this information process it and take some better pictures.
Stacey
 

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,899
Likes
5,188
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
I noticed tht the GU10 bulbs are the bulbs that are used in miniature track lighting. They are not photofloods, but could be used provided that they are the only source of lighting that you are using. Just don't follow the advice that it is OK to mix lights with different color temperatures because the results cannot be corrected in post processing. BTW, if you shoot in RAW, you have the ability to correct color temperature during post processing without loss of image quality PROVIDED that you do mix light sources that have different color temperatures.
 
Back
Top