R10 Photos appear dull

[albionshire]

I'm using an R10, the first photo is my photo, the peach-coloured fabric, no matter what I do I just can't produce crisp-looking photos of the fabric, it just looks dull, in order for me to get accurate color, I have to reduce the exposure which makes the photo look dark. The other issue is, I have my brightness on my monitor LCD set to half of the full amount and the other two photos appear well exposed, mine on the other hand looks dull, I have to set my LCD brightness to max to see the detail. There are two other photos which I've attached from the internet and what I'm aiming to achieve they are so crisp and clear, how do I get my photos like so?

F11 / 1/6 and ISO 100 - I'm using the  RF-S 18-45mm lens. I have two 5600K lights each with a lantern style soft box. Any ideas on how I can achieve the same effect as the 2nd and 3rd images?

My photophoto from internetphoto from internet

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

The position of tbe lights is important for this kind of picture. With a rippled suffer like this the direction of the light in relation to the fabric determines where shadows fall. Your picture has lights evenly placed from both sides, so while there are shadows they are both sides of the peaks in the fabric and this makes the fabric look flatter. Also the relative size of the light is important. If your lights are further away the shadows will be sharper. 

Looking at the second shot from the internet it would appear that the light was placed so that it lights from the top right edge of the frame. It also appears to be a large light due to the softness of the shadows. 

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

Agreed with Brian about the positioning/direction of the light.  It's just something that you'll have to practice with.

I would recommend starting out with a single light.  This will be your main or key light.

The following images are simulations in 3D software showing the same fabric from the same camera angle.  Single light source, but the light in two different positions.

If you'd then like less dramatic shadows in the folds, add a second light, but at lower power to fill in the shadows a bit.  This will be your fill light.

If you end up using two lights and they both have equal power, that can indeed lead to very flat lighting.  The following image is of the same fabric above, though with both lights turned on at the same power.

[justadude · Accepted solution]

An increase in shutter speed will help, maybe also set your timer to a 10 second delay (assuming you are using 2 seconds?).  Also try either reducing the power of one light, or better yet, use a reflector instead of the second light.  Your shadows will look much better.

[justadude · Accepted solution]

An increase in shutter speed will help, maybe also set your timer to a 10 second delay (assuming you are using 2 seconds?).  Also try either reducing the power of one light, or better yet, use a reflector instead of the second light.  Your shadows will look much better.

[albionshire]

Many thanks Gary, I'll give those suggestions a try.

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

This is a job for Av mode with ISO 100 dialed in. 

Walking around when the shutter fires could be a factor.  I would doubt it, not unless you have really loose floorboards.