What is dark field lighting, and how do you use it for photographing glass?
Asked 1/22/2011
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I’ve seen the term “dark field lighting” used in reference to glass photography and want to understand what it means, why it’s used, and the basic setup needed to try it myself.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
13
Well, since you used my shot as an example, I suppose I should answer... ;)
Dark field lighting is about lighting glass, a subect that is both highly transparent and highly reflective. The idea is to catch the edges of the glass, creating form and definition without dominating highlights. To do that, you need:
- Light source
- Black Gobo
- 2 white reflectors
Now, you can do all of that with a table lamp, a black bristol board, and two white bristol boards. The idea is that you set the light up behind the black board or gobo and place the white reflectors forward and to either side. Like so:
Excuse my quick and dirty CorelDraw example... With this set up, basically, the light reflects off the white sides and defines the glass edges while the black card prevents direct light through the glass.
For a lot more information, on this and a whole host of other lighting techniques, check out Light: Science and Magic in any book store you can get it in. It's probably one of the best books on lighting you can get and is my source for this technique.
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Dark field lighting is a technique commonly used to photograph glass and other very transparent, reflective subjects. The goal is to define the shape of the glass by lighting its edges, while avoiding bright direct highlights that can overpower the subject.
A simple setup uses:
- a light source
- a black card or gobo
- two white reflectors
Place the light behind the black card so the glass is not lit directly. Then put the two white reflectors slightly forward and to either side of the glass. The hidden light illuminates the white reflectors, and those reflections appear along the edges of the glass, giving it form and separation from the background.
The black card blocks direct light from passing through the glass, which helps keep the center darker while the edges stay bright and defined. That contrast is why the technique is called “dark field.”
You don’t need studio gear to try it: a table lamp, a piece of black board, and two white boards can be enough to experiment with the effect.
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