DIY
Backlighting
Backlighting is a technique whereby you light the subject from behind. That is, the light source (or sources) is in front of the camera but behind the subject. If the subject is opaque in nature such as the kiwifruit example you get a nice glowing effect.
You can take a couple of different approaches with this type of photography. Use available light, off camera lighting or a combination of both.
With my example here I needed a controlled environment so went with a single off camera flash triggered by a Flash Wave radio trigger. I also wanted a Hi-Key image which emphasized the dark areas of the kiwifruit slice (something a little different to the thousands of other kiwifruit images I have seen on the Internet).
Building a Homemade Light Tent
With it raining off and on (more on than off) for the past few weeks I have had little chance to use my new Olympus E-510 since getting it.
So, as the rain poured down on Saturday afternoon I decided to build myself a light tent. Not that I really have a keen interest in product type photography, it is still an area that I wanted to explore. It is a great inexpensive way to learn more about lighting and what does and does not work.
I decided to build a PVC framed box covered with a white cloth. For lights I used some cheap lamps with a clip rather than a base which meant that I could clip them to the frame and position them where required.
At the moment I am using 20 Watt Eco Bulbs (Equivalent to 100Watts incandescent lights). They have a colour temperature of around 2700K. I will try some other light sources as the time permits.