Pixiq

I have a menagerie of light tents that range from a mini-tent (barely 8 inches across), to a sideshow of mid-sized tents, to one huge walk-in tent. Over the years, I’ve written about light tents in my two books, in many magazine articles, and here at PIXIQ. I have, I guess, become a “friend” of the tent industry because for a while, manufacturers of light tents, were sending me a new model every couple of weeks to test and review. I test few and reveiwed none, but they kept on coming. Luckily, they all collapse into relatively small, flat bundles, and so today I have them neatly stacked to one side of my working space.

When I first wrote about light tents over a dozen years ago, there were very few models available. Today, thanks largely to inexpensive production in China, there are dozens of light tents of all sizes and shapes you can purchase. The problem for me is the growing abuse of light tents.

My issue is that they are sold as the “be all” and “end all” tool for tabletop photography, which they are not. In fact, while the light tent has a specific use in the world of tabletop photography, if used incorrectly it can actually reduce the quality of photos. Moreover, as you can see from the Google found image with this article, misuse of tents abounds.

However, let me start at the beginning, the basics. Photographing in a studio, the main lighting task is to adjust the contrast range of the lighting so that the contrast range of the subject best fits the ability of the camera sensor to record it. Sensors do not have a wide tonal range and from the least bit of light they can record (details in black) to the highest intensity (bright textures) it is only perhaps six or seven stops or tones. For the best image, you want the contrast in the scene to fit this narrow range.

In the real world, tonal scales vary widely.ing. At the beach, the tonal range between the dark ocean waters and the white beach sand can be perhaps dozen stops, far beyond the ability of most sensors. These photos have either blown out highlights and/or dead black shadows areas. In the studio, the photographer has complete control of the lighting and by adjusting the "quality” of the lighting can control the tonal range in the scene, to make it best match the capability of the camera sensor.  

 "Quality” of light refers to the contrast of the light illuminating the scene. At one end of the scale, there is hard light. This is very contrasty, harsh, and directional light that produces very dark shadows. The light beam of a flashlight or a floodlight is a good example of hard light. At the other end of the scale is diffuse or soft light, like the light on a very overcast day. It has no direction and produces faint almost non-existent shadows.

Besides the quality of light, the other factor to be aware of is that objects have different surface contrast qualities. These may be flat or polished, smooth or rough, colorful or dull, but the trick is always to get the most out of these surfaces with the contrast range of the light.The way to do this is simple and easy to remember.

Hard surfaces need soft light and soft surfaces need hard light. It is a yin/yang kind of thing. 

Hard light for example, produces deep shadows and bright highlights. That makes it my choice for photographs of flat, matte surfaced objects like fabrics, stamps, documents, dolls, and so on. The hard light of a floodlight adds highlights and shadows, expanding the contrast range of the flat subject. Soft subject/hard light.

Most of the time, in tabletop photography, you are dealing with objects that they fall somewhere in-between flat and shiny. That is why there is a whole bunch of light modifying tools in the marketplace, from photo umbrellas, to reflectors and soft boxes to over the light diffusers. Each of these tools provides a different level of softening and control. The trick is to use the one that works best for your particular subject. (I’ve written a lot more about this in my book, Photographing Arts, Crafts, and Collectibles.”)

So when does an object call for a light tent? Well, following our yin/yang model, if a light tent makes very soft light, you would use it when an object has a very hard surface--like a polished metal, high glaze pottery or jewelry. For jewelers who work with reflective materials-- gold, silver, and gemstones—using a light tent absolutely makes sense. If fact, if you are a silversmith making polished teapots and such, you literally you have no choice but to use a light tent.

However, if you are photographing ordinary things--toys, memorabilia, clothing etcetera--a light tent is not the way to go. You have better choices such as the open tabletop setup I’ve described elsewhere on PIXIQ. 

In addition, there is a downside to using a light tent with it is not needed. Soft light/soft subject produces low contrast images. Flat and dull, these images lack the “pop” that gives photos life and energy.

This is a real problem because dull pictures can affect online sales. I’ve gotten emails from folks concerned that their online photos were not selling their products. Looking at their photos, I’d see lifeless images of objects lying listlessly on a background. When I’d ask how they were shot, too often the response was “in a light tent.” 

When I am doing tabletop photography, I rarely use a light tent but turn instead to other light modifiers. For me, the light tent is the tool of last resort. When all else fails and the object I am shooting is just too shiny then I turn to the light tent. However, until then I am happy to keep my tent collection safely folded up, collecting dust, in a corner of my studio.