books on "still life" lighting?

[stradibarrius]

I need help learning about still life lighting. There are many images that are lit in a way that they look like at Rembrandt painting. Some of the light is so soft and small it almost looks like it comes from a flashlight with weak batteries.
Are there any good book that teach this technique?

[Ed Bray]

Soft and small don't normally go together when talking about lighting. Soft lighting is usually produced by using a large diffused light source close to the subject (think of light on an overcast day), whereas hard light is produced by a small light source at a distance (think of the sun on a sunny day). Typically the smaller the light source the harder the light.

If you can direct us to the image/s you are thinking of then perhaps we can dissect the lighting to give you more idea of what was used.

[stradibarrius]

look at this. It looks like a painting from the Renaissance.
http://500px.com/photo/11569555

[stradibarrius]

or this one...
http://500px.com/photo/19274713
you get the idea. The light is small and appears to only shine directly on a section of the image and creating illuminated shadows.

[Cletus]

Lighting for Still Life, Steve Bavister, RotoVision is an excellent book with excellent examples - if you can find it. Otherwise the bible, "Light: Science & Magic" will have the answers you're looking for.

[Ed Bray]

look at this. It looks like a painting from the Renaissance.
http://500px.com/photo/11569555

There are at least two light sources lighting this image, possibly even three. The main light from the LHS as you look at it is a relatively hard light, you can see the shadows it leaves from where it hits the straw and they have hard edges, the second light is a back/side light (from RHS) which again is quite hard illuminating the hopsack and the scrim of the sieve (where it becomes diffused and adds to the softness of the image), where the two lights meet there is a cancelling out of each others shadows again adding to the overall feeling of a soft light.

[Ed Bray]

or this one...
http://500px.com/photo/19274713
you get the idea. The light is small and appears to only shine directly on a section of the image and creating illuminated shadows.

Small softbox or soft window light 'feathered' from mid height LHS. shadows fall where they will. dark background aids in the overall feel.

Diagnosing light from images is a good way to get a feel for how the subjects are lit. Some subjects (glossy/shiny) are more efficient at reflecting light and therefore give a clue as to what the light source is, dull/matt surfaces obviously do not reflect the actual source but can still give clues as to where the lighting originates from.

[SergeiR]

Easypeasy. You will have more trouble with getting interesting compositions than with actually ighting it.

There used to be very nice online tutorial on how to shoot things like that. In general your simplest possible solution - get a LARGE cardboard box (for average size bottles - 1x2' ) . Put it sideways. Make sure all your stuff can comfortably in there. Make a slit in one of sides to let sidelight in. Shoot away using either hard or soft sources, or even just a window light.

[ghostcount]

or this one...
http://500px.com/photo/19274713
you get the idea. The light is small and appears to only shine directly on a section of the image and creating illuminated shadows.

Small softbox or soft window light 'feathered' from mid height LHS. shadows fall where they will. dark background aids in the overall feel.

Diagnosing light from images is a good way to get a feel for how the subjects are lit. Some subjects (glossy/shiny) are more efficient at reflecting light and therefore give a clue as to what the light source is, dull/matt surfaces obviously do not reflect the actual source but can still give clues as to where the lighting originates from.

I suspect a black panel was used on the RHS too; there's quite a bit of fall off from the diffused to the shadow side.

[lenser]

Find anything about table top lighting from Dean Collins. He was a brilliant commercial shooter and had a mastery of how to create lighing effects that will not lead you astray. He created magic with his lighting and was a fantastic educator as well, so his DVD's really communicate. Once you understand what he teaches, you can branch out any way you want with complete control. Lighting still lifes is of the same thought process as table top commercial work, so working from his techniques and using adapting them to your goals should be an easy step.