Settings & flash for still shots indoors

kheimann

I have an Ebay store and I shoot bedding, clothing and accessories under fluorescent lighting indoors with very little natural light. My pictures often come out yellow.
What would be the best settings for ISO and AV and the best model external flash attachment for my camera? Thank you in advance for your time.

Moose

Hey @kheimann - Right off the bat, setting your white balance to incandescent or fluorescent will fix the coloring issue.

With regards to your studio, you might think about moving it to a garage (if you have one). This is the most affordable "studio" option, as it allows natural light to fill the space without and harsh direct light. If using a garage is out of the question, then the next best "affordable" option would be to purchase continuous lights and insert daylight bulbs. You can purchase continuous lights (and daylight bulbs) at your nearest home improvement store. If you look online (ebay or amazon) you'll find third party continuous light kits that work perfectly fine for the type of product photography that you do.

As for settings, you'll want to mount your T3i on a tripod and shoot in Manual mode. Set the aperture to the lowest available f/#, the ISO to 100 and then take a test shot. If the scene is too bright, increase the shutter speed. If the scene is too dark, decrease the shutter speed. Lastly, I would also engage the self timer (or purchase a remote) so that the camera captures the photo without you having to manually press the shutter button. This will reduce any chance of camera shake and ensure you end up with a sharp shot.

kheimann

Thank you for all your great tips and fast response. I will take everything you said under advisement. I have my white balance set to the florescent setting.
The garage is not an option. The only real spaces I have to take pictures is on top of my kitchen counter (which is a very small area and under 4' florescent lights) and a bedroom that has yellow walls and florescent light bulbs with no natural light. The bedroom is where I take pictures of bedding and the colors are always yellowed and have to be explained in my listing. I have been told to purchase an external flash for my Canon T3i but there are so many and the price swing is considerable.
I really just want the close still shots. I'm not interested in outdoor or action shots so looking for any light (ha) you could shed on a good make/model of external flash attachment. Thanks for all of your help, I truly appreciate it.
Kathy

Moose

@kheimann - Hey Kathy, so even using an external flash, you'll still run into coloring issues when shooting under florescent/incandescent light.

The only way around it if you can't use a garage or room with lots of natural light, is to build yourself a lightbox. If you Google "diy lightbox" you'll see a number of tutorials and options for building your own setup.

Once you get the lightbox created, you'll want to turn off all the florescent/incandescent lights and only use daylight bulbs and/or an external flash like the 430EX II.

This will give you much better looking product shots that trying to battle the various light sources you currently have at the moment. All the best!

kheimann

Thank you so very much. You have been more than generous with your time and advice. Have a great week!
kathy