Documenting 3D Objects

Setting up my back drop was probably the easiest step, though the largest paper I had was still pretty small so I chose a small item and had to be strategic when shooting. For lighting, I used a light box I built last year because it has one warm toned bulb, one cool toned bulb, and a light diffusing sheet over top, creating a smooth and ambient lighting. However, I noticed the opposite side of where I put the light box still had harsher shadows. The only other lamp type lights I had were all too yellow and clashed with the light box light, so I decided to try using my blacklight. This was a challenge as black light can be very overpowering when shining directly on something, and the camera doesn’t pick up colors as well under it. After fiddling with the blacklight for a bit, I did find a position, pointing slightly away, that gave my hello kitty rockstar a nice glow and undertone. I was very excited about this, because the combination of lights added to the aesthetic of the object by referencing light shows/club type lighting that happens at concerts. Setting up a tripod was easy- I’ve done make shift tripods many times before because I keep putting off actually purchasing one. I always put my phone in a box, up against the edge, and wedge something behind it to make sure it stays upright and in place. In this instance, I used a box lid and supported the back of my phone with some pads of paper and a pen. Once my camera and lights were all positioned to my liking, shooting only took maybe 5 minutes and I was satisfied. I then picked out my favorites and ran them through lightroom (I prefer it to photoshop when it comes to editing color, lighting, contrast etc because it provides a lot more tools and more control over the image) After trying out a few different edits, I found the balance of light and color I liked best and batch edited, applying the same edits to all my photos for a cohesive look. Here are some snippets of my process.