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Paul Broomfield's picture

What makes the quality of daylight, daylight?

Hi all,

I'd like to talk about how there is always a certain something that allows the viewer to know this was shot under studio lights rather than by window light. Whether it's the highlights, or the intensity of a reflection on a plate or shiny piece of food or the depth of the shadows - there is always something that gives it away - and yup I'm aware I'm over analysing things :)

We've all recreated that big soft light somehow, my go to method is flash head with a silver cone reflector that fires into a massive white diffuser a few meters away, which is placed as close to subject as possible.

I'm a food and product photographer, and much prefer to shoot with window light rather than studio lights, but the problem is the darn sun moves, clouds cover it and white balance changes all the time.

I've been talking with other photographer buddies of mine and trying to think what makes daylight look like daylight - is there a way to create controllable daylight using studio lights.

I'm yet to try it, but I'm thinking of trying multiple layers of diffusion with different thicknesses placed off-center to each other, to try and duplicate how layers of clouds act.

Has anyone else experimented with this?

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1 Comment

I've shot had have had strobes and I could have sworn they were natural daylight and vice-versa.

I think it's a matter of controlling the light