newbie, product photography question

[jjdewitt]

I am new to the photography scene and need to take photographs of printed pieces that I printed with a letterpress printing press. The resulting printed areas are recessed in the paper (with ink). My intent with photographing these pieces is to capture the detail of the recessed printing and overall quality of the design and printing.

I have a lightbox that I made with a continuous backdrop and I have several spot lights ready to use with 100W daylight cfl lightbulbs.

I am using:
Olympus EPL-1
Olymput MMF-2 Lens Adapter
Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm f/3.5 Macro ED Lens

I am learning as much about product photography lighting as possible but am struggling a bit. I have a lot more to learn, clearly, so I thought I'd ask the experts here for advice.

Can someone recommend a good lighting setup to show this depth of impression well? I have found that the best results are when the main light is "low" and at or near level to the printed piece. I'm trying to determine where the lights should be positioned so that I can show the depth of the impression but also have the overall piece lit very well. When I just use one main light at the level of the piece, the impression shows well but it is too dark. When I introduce other lights, I lose the detail of the impression but the piece is lit better.

Thanks for any assistance that you can provide.

Josh

[EOSThree]

This definitely shows the relief, but you're right it's too dark. I guess I'd try some side lighting at the level and angle of the product to help produce shadows, then fill from the top and side. I don't know much about product shots, so I'd be experimenting too.

[Photo-John]

Too dark is an exposure problem, not a lighting problem. Should there be white in this image? If so, you're going to need to brighten up your exposure. Thanks for including the EXIF data, that helps a lot

Looking at your settings I see you're using Aperture priority. That being the case, I'd go at least +1 on exposure compensation to get some real whites. Your shadows will still be there but everything will be brighter. I think you're overall lighting setup is fine, though. If you want darker shadows, put your light closer to the subject. If you want to soften them, move it away.

[jjdewitt]

Thanks so much for your feedback. It is greatly appreciated. I have tried increasing the exposure compensation but felt that everything looked washed out. I'll continue to test further and will post results.

Thanks again.

Josh

[Photo-John]

I have tried increasing the exposure compensation but felt that everything looked washed out. I'll continue to test further and will post results.

Like I said, move the lights closer and you'll increase the contrast. Also, with studio photos that have lots of white, I find some post-processing is always necessary if you really want good white and shadows. If your images look washed out, try increasing the contrast in Photoshop with a contrast or levels adjustment.