Thanks, I will use this idea!

Last time I tried this, my Lego burnt. Figures....

Excellent work here! This inspired me to try something out with lighting. It's smaller and obviously not as good as yours but would you mind checking it out? thanks, Sam

taking pictures at night is NOT common sense, it's pure genius!

Wait a sec, you live in CA? Thanks for the help! :)

Of course you must shoot at night. To pull off your shots, you need to be in control of all aspects of the light. Even with blinds, natural light will seep in. The only solution, of course, is to shoot in a windowless room. Have you tried bouncing light off your foamcore to create a softer effect or lessen shadows?

Wow, that's a really good way to make "real but fake" items just from lighting effects! Nice Job!

Great as ever!

Well well well, the secrets out. I might try the window wall on a small Moc 'cause i don't have many windows, It would have to be a very small one. Like 16x16 tops. sigh.... Pce out check out my creations. :D

The windows aren't part of the room, and blinds require money and incentive, both of which I'm lacking.

Wow. Pretty amazing stuff, but there's something a little up with him having traditional, shuttered windows in his ceilings. Yes, it looks beautiful, but who has ceiling windows like that? And also, couldn't you just buy some blinds to put over your (as in YOU, not the minifig) windows? That would save all this night-time stuff.

great work. I'v only just started with lighting, and you have given me plenty to think about. Many Thanks. Allan.

thats cool, like an office building..

You truly are a master of effect lighting.

This will help if I ever need to build a vig or dio in your style, thanks for sharing!

All right Alex, I respect your decision. I too used to occasionally suffer from writer's block. Alright I need to get cracking. Anyway, keep building, my friend. You've got talent. C ya~Nick ("ElNickre")

ElNickre - Hmmmm... this sounds suspiciously like a MOCtag tagging about to happen. If that's the case, I'm afraid you'll have to count me out. I bowed out of the MOCtag sign-up list before the whole thing started. Not because I didn't like the idea - I've been following Rory's exploits since day one with eager anticipation - but because there are other things I want to do. Plus, I suffer from the most brutal writer's block when it comes to stories and such. And I don't have a good Chuck Norris minifig head. So, if you were planning on doing what I think you were planning on doing, thank you very much for considering me, but, as I told Shannon, I'm sitting in the bleachers for this one. A thousand pardons, ElNickre: thanks but no thanks. (By the way, I'm replying via comment instead of email because apparently I deleted the Mail program off my computer, so I couldn't get your email address)

Hello again Alex. This may sound like a strange request, but I would like to know your e-mail address so that I can put forth a project for you (possibly involving a CHICKEN, hint hint).

Congrats on this getting blogged by the Brother's Brick! You've got mad lighting skillz. So you've got an interesting evening job. How much for an hour? Of lighting tutorial, of course. Dirty lighting tutorial.

Freddie - Home Depot

All right: Heather gets the prize for best comment.

Wonderful tutorial! Thanks for sharing!

Did someone say schoolgirl?...

The window wall is a simple yet clever solution. You've definitely hit the nail on the head with this MOC. C ya~Nick ("ElNickre")

You got it, Phipson. The secret's out: Lego fan by day, gigolo by night. Just like Keith Goldman. Wait, what?

Blushes like a school girl AND won't tell us what he does to pay the rent? Do I detect a secret lifestyle choice? I'll stop now before I get thrown in detention again with Kelso. He tried to take my apple juice last time... bully.

Yeah, those camera's can be pretty touchy can't they? I am SO on the same level as you with those pictures. Twenty-five to one is a GOOD day! =)

Wow! Maybe I really can follow that crazy dream of starting a home business -- there appears to be a bigger market for my WWAD bracelets than I thought!

Kelso - Hey, what I do to pay the rent is none of your business.

Thank you for this very informative article. Lighting has always been a trivial issue for me, for photographing Legos or anything else really, but this answered a lot of my questions.

Excuse me, Professor...did you say Eylar puts out? *sigh* Yeah, yeah. I know...another detention.

Kelso, Phipson, Eggplant: Well gosh, fellas. *blushes like a shy schoolgirl*

Oh yah, you're building is also really good. interiors are difficult to do and everything you put out looks awesome. btw, your time machine is on the brothers-brick blog!! That spinning effect is superbo.

This is great!!! thanks for putting it together =) Now all I need is for Kelso to show me what he does in photohsop.

I have some good sets I made, but I can't get the lighting I need for good shots. Check my creations and give me some tips. Good creations too, I love the way the lighting on the "Lesson in Lighting" gives it that lonely office boredom feeling of having to do repetitive tasks forever. Good Job!

awesome effects, a useful lesson, thanks

Mark's right. No amount of lighting skill will save a bad moc. God knows I've tried. But there's no lack of skill 'round here! And the lighting just makes it that much better! and um Mark, Inkers just trace. At least that's what I learned from "Chasing Amy". Thanks Alex ~ Chris.

Okay, seriously...First: no amount of skill with lighting or photoshop is going to save a bad MOC. So I'm saying it now, folks - the man can build, too! Second: Hats off to ya, for sharing the technique. You've also got a talent for value contrast (much like a skilled ink artist in the comic industry, for example), and it's that ability to select and control the placement of light and shadow that really makes your presentations sing.

Frak, he's on to me.

This encourages me even more to build a modern interior, thanks for the tip. What'd beeen pushing me before were MOCs like Mission: Impossible and Arkham Asylum. I need a few more white trans 1x2 plates before I get started, though.

Really helpful Alex. I appreciate the tip. I might try that window technique next time I build something smaller. Thanks for adding to the knowledge base. Learning something new every day, that's a good thing. see ya. garth

I saw him first people-take note! Check the link man. I should be a highly paid Lego talent scout!...So, the wizard has unveiled his secrets has he??? (Gotta get me some windows...) Great post BTW :D

its good I have the same lamp :)

I have a lamp exactly like that one! I might have to try that window wall idea sometime.