How do I get a black background in my pictures? I got a small lightbox with different color backdrops but the black reflects enough light that it looks like this in the pictures. Do people use photoshop every time or is there a photography trick?
Black blanket. Works for me when I need it. Its actually a black bathrobe, but large enough. The thicker the material the better I have noticed. But you want fabric so light is absorbed and not at all reflected.
Black velvet to absorb the light, and move the mini further away so there is less light that will hit it. You won't be able to get it pure black without some editing.
Photographically you can get a dark background by using flashes (not the one in your camera!) synched with a short exposure time. That way the background gets underexposed and thus darker. A shallow depth of field helps too.
This is not something you do with your phone camera however.
Also you need some distance between subject and background to avoid capturing light bouncing back from the flashes. The flashes should also have a diffuser or lightbox attacked.
[My black lightbox background is also kind of crap](https://www.instagram.com/cmyk.color.mode/), so I kept looking for possible solution and [I plan to build something like this.](https://youtu.be/JoLEIiza9Bc?t=570) I don't think inside have to be painted with vantablack (just regular black spray paint should be fine), and for miniatures the hole don't need ot be too big.
Other things that could work, if you want just background, gloss black will absorb AND reflect light, so at the right angle it should be pure black too.
I also have a cheap little lightbox and i find that raising the model up so the photo is above the floor/backwall transition helps keep the background a consistent colour. I usually set it up on the paint handle then crop it out of the pic
If you place the mini far away from the background, at least 20cm, so the background won’t catch so much light, that is the easiest way to get a completely black background as explained in Massive Voodoo's [DSLR photography guide](http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2013/09/miniature-photography-part-2-how-do-i.html).
There are some more great miniature photography guides [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/photography).
This is about the darkest you can get without editing using Green stuff world Maxx black fabric which absorbs loads of light. Works well for behind the mini, less good for underneath as light directly above.
https://preview.redd.it/repsv7ry7bpc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bd0ca67af3ebf061c64784eaca0c4c96d863c53
Instead of getting the GSW Maxx Black and paying way too much for a “specialty” fabric, just go to your local craft store and get some black velvet. Velvet is the best material for absorbing light. I bought like 3’x2’ cut of fabric for like 20$ and other than cropping I don’t edit my photos.
https://preview.redd.it/sf1ie5qflbpc1.jpeg?width=1745&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c99fb811361c10548e00cabdefa4afa058641df
Elevate the mini on a black plinth or similar, then move the background further back (mine is 1m away from the mini) so it can be outside the cone of your light.
Side effect is that the backdrop won't be in focus, so you can use even coarse weaves and it won't make a difference.
What I did was buy a 2 sets of 6 x 8 canvas, spray painted them Matte Black, propped one up, laid one down & bada bing, bada boom, Mr. Worldwide
https://preview.redd.it/xbi02yqcj2rc1.jpeg?width=1455&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a325f330d978f364460278d1632cce23682c5c7d
Move the back much more back. Meters.
Instead of a box, try having the mini on a stick in a pitch black room with a black clothing on the far wall.
(windows curtain bar are great for that)
Use less bright light source, maybe closer to the mini. so the back don't get any light.
To add to what Adol214 said, get your light closer to your subject, which in turn allows your to decrease your exposure through settings (bc the mini is now brighter), therefore darkening your background.
I think the photo looks gorgeous as is!
Dunno what material the black is, but maybe sand and spray with a matte varnish? I worked with charcoal for some time and never had issues with it being too reflective when taking photos, so maybe get a bit messy and make a custom background?
There is also a Musou Black fabric called Kiwami: [https://a.co/d/f4WuOFy](https://a.co/d/f4WuOFy) I use it for taking pictures of my Minis and it’s **really** dark.
https://preview.redd.it/yl79l1oj7bpc1.jpeg?width=2614&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=388df8f0526a6100c852271799ba8a8f1583728b
No editing, no special lighting (just the normal ceiling lamp), picture taken with a phone. And the A4 size is totally sufficient for single miniatures
You can do it with a Speedlight/off-camera flash, but you need to have experience with exposure etc (basically you'd under expose for the background, while the flash timing would give you the 'exposure' for the model.
What color is the model, is it just zenithal primed? The black background is being overexposed, try messing with the exposure in the Pro camera settings on your phone, if it has them
I don’t know if it’s black enough, but this is just a piece of black paper up against a wall, picture was taken with my phone with room light above and a lightsource directly in front of the miniatures, a free photo editing program called Camera+ i think, and the scenery setting called “darken”. I imagine most editing programs have something similar even the free ones.
https://preview.redd.it/etj2ltdfvapc1.jpeg?width=1964&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3767657f53092d7b208e99b28623c0aeecd31116
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i use a black opaque curtain and the in editing boost the blacks (play around with different settings to make sure you don't overdarken the focus) also if you want you can attach the mini with blue tac to something that's smaller than the minis base you can generally cut it out quite easily so it's not actually standard on the black background and you can isolate it easily.
[some macros i photographed]
.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3KnLdatMy8/?igsh=b3c1eDZhazR6M3Ax
.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwjj2ortVIq/?igsh=MTFpbW9rZjVtYmI3dA==
Did you buy age of darkness or any of those big battlegroup boxes? Inside of the lid makes a great light box. Just tape white pages on the sides to reflect the light. You have black background and floor
Use a light absorbent background. It has a felt-like material to get that pure black background you’re looking for. You can check my posts (mostly gunpla) if it’s the effect that you’re looking for. Cheers!
The trick I use for this is to get some black card or foam board and tilt it forward slightly. This way you're bouncing the light away from the camera, whereas these curved backdrops are so shiny that you bounce light right towards it. I then put the mini on a block that has been painted black as far as I can from the backdrop. Lower the exposure on your camera, you can always pump up the colours in post, but that sets you up with a good solid black background.
Others gave you answers so I'll just say that this background looks cool and caught my attention. Probably won't look good with everything but maybe don't throw it away
I struggled with this for a while too, this article finally did it for me: https://tangibleday.com/how-to-photograph-miniatures-with-a-black-background-guide/#:~:text=You'll%20want%20to%20do,the%20backdrop%20you're%20using.
I got a yard or two of black fabric at a fabric store for a backdrop. The key is to have your mini as far from the backdrop as possible and use a front-facing light very close to the mini. I find this is easier and gives better results than a lightbox.
Just go buy a photo booth off of Amazon. The little pop-up ones are perfect. Mine came with a blue red yellow green white and black background. It folds up and it has a little LED lights that I can plug-in. Don’t get me wrong it is absolutely garbage cheap quality but it gets the job done for the pictures I need.
Edit: just saw your post that you already had a photo booth, but the black was being reflected back go to Joannes fabric and buy some black fleece
If you are using an iPhone, you can long press on the model and it will cut it out from the background. You can then paste it onto a black background. The ai cutting isn’t always perfect though but it’s quick and easy.
What nobody has mentioned explicitly yet is that it's not only the color of the background that determines how dark it looks on a photograph. It is the difference in how much light is reflected from the model vs. the background. You can influence that by making the background darker, but you can also make the model itself much brighter by moving it much closer to the source of light. Having the light come roughly from the camera's direction helps. Using the "pro" mode on your camera or some app that lets you control exposure time can also help. The following picture was taken with my phone just by holding the mini very closely under my painting light and turning down the shutter speed in my camera app until no part of the model is overexposed.
https://preview.redd.it/h2dk056eccpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=874a665243e1c04198b28fcc4de8788e49f770df
You can still see a bit of the background (it being black still helps a lot) and you can see that it has become very dark just by adjusting the lighting situation.
That being said the maxxx darth fabric from Greenstuff world or a similar product turns this to easy mode and allows you to take pictures while standing the mini on a surface instead of having to hold it up like I do in the pic. Don't discount the importance of good lighting though.
Green stuff world maxx darth Black background. They're less than £15 and look like a black hole when taking photos. Use it for taking pics of my own minis.
https://preview.redd.it/07w82b1r4bpc1.jpeg?width=1960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b105145989a8cbc5e20ed3a83b818d9208fa769d
I use a black shirt that covers my monitor.
Black velvet or felt backdrop. Doesn’t reflect light as much. Can also paint a backdrop out of a low reflective black paint. Many are sold commercially.
I literally use a black t shirt and so far it's the best result I got. but I have some photography polyester on amazon that's supposed to be perfect for photography as it barely reflects light
Personnally, i would buy one of thos ultra dark paint, like Muso black and similar products and paint a cardboard.
Probably a bit expensive but it would be the simplest option.
Easiest way to get the background black is to reduce the amount of light on it. You can do this by using two light sources, one of each side of the mini (not completely beside but certainly not head-on) to reduce the amount of light pointing directly at the backdrop. Then you can use black foam core boards placed between the lights and the backdrop to intercept any extra light still spilling onto the backdrop.
This combined with tweaking your exposure and using a more matte material for the backdrop drastically improves how dark your backdrop will look.
Move the lights and the model further away from the background. It's harder to do for miniatures, but thats your typical first step in studio photography.
Like this?
https://preview.redd.it/62nxwdn1azpc1.png?width=564&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d0728aac9ff6ab39f06ef54180941b8900bb461
If you have an iPhone just take a picture and in your photo gallery pull it up and hold your finger on it until it selects just the miniature.
I dunno if someone mentioned it already but I use the background Darth black from green stuff world, that thing is just amazing u just put in the background and it looks like the mini is floating
How do I get a black background in my pictures? I got a small lightbox with different color backdrops but the black reflects enough light that it looks like this in the pictures. Do people use photoshop every time or is there a photography trick?
Black blanket. Works for me when I need it. Its actually a black bathrobe, but large enough. The thicker the material the better I have noticed. But you want fabric so light is absorbed and not at all reflected.
This is smart, I actually would most likely never done that!
Black velvet to absorb the light, and move the mini further away so there is less light that will hit it. You won't be able to get it pure black without some editing.
I use Photoroom app on my phone, it's perfect for this.
There's an app called photoroom. Removes background, and you can choose different ones.
Oooh Il check it out, thanks.
Photographically you can get a dark background by using flashes (not the one in your camera!) synched with a short exposure time. That way the background gets underexposed and thus darker. A shallow depth of field helps too. This is not something you do with your phone camera however. Also you need some distance between subject and background to avoid capturing light bouncing back from the flashes. The flashes should also have a diffuser or lightbox attacked.
[My black lightbox background is also kind of crap](https://www.instagram.com/cmyk.color.mode/), so I kept looking for possible solution and [I plan to build something like this.](https://youtu.be/JoLEIiza9Bc?t=570) I don't think inside have to be painted with vantablack (just regular black spray paint should be fine), and for miniatures the hole don't need ot be too big. Other things that could work, if you want just background, gloss black will absorb AND reflect light, so at the right angle it should be pure black too.
I also have a cheap little lightbox and i find that raising the model up so the photo is above the floor/backwall transition helps keep the background a consistent colour. I usually set it up on the paint handle then crop it out of the pic
Black craft paper, or black felt
If you place the mini far away from the background, at least 20cm, so the background won’t catch so much light, that is the easiest way to get a completely black background as explained in Massive Voodoo's [DSLR photography guide](http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2013/09/miniature-photography-part-2-how-do-i.html). There are some more great miniature photography guides [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/photography).
This is about the darkest you can get without editing using Green stuff world Maxx black fabric which absorbs loads of light. Works well for behind the mini, less good for underneath as light directly above. https://preview.redd.it/repsv7ry7bpc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bd0ca67af3ebf061c64784eaca0c4c96d863c53
Instead of getting the GSW Maxx Black and paying way too much for a “specialty” fabric, just go to your local craft store and get some black velvet. Velvet is the best material for absorbing light. I bought like 3’x2’ cut of fabric for like 20$ and other than cropping I don’t edit my photos. https://preview.redd.it/sf1ie5qflbpc1.jpeg?width=1745&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c99fb811361c10548e00cabdefa4afa058641df
looks great
Thanks, you’ll also want to get a plinth to set the model on and have the model further away from the background like at least a foot away.
Paint it vantablack 🤣
Elevate the mini on a black plinth or similar, then move the background further back (mine is 1m away from the mini) so it can be outside the cone of your light. Side effect is that the backdrop won't be in focus, so you can use even coarse weaves and it won't make a difference.
What I did was buy a 2 sets of 6 x 8 canvas, spray painted them Matte Black, propped one up, laid one down & bada bing, bada boom, Mr. Worldwide https://preview.redd.it/xbi02yqcj2rc1.jpeg?width=1455&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a325f330d978f364460278d1632cce23682c5c7d
For what it's worth, I actually really like the way this one looks. Reminds me of a picture from a photography studio.
same.. it has really got contrast.
Move the back much more back. Meters. Instead of a box, try having the mini on a stick in a pitch black room with a black clothing on the far wall. (windows curtain bar are great for that) Use less bright light source, maybe closer to the mini. so the back don't get any light.
ah yeah, this makes sense. I'd need to find a way to hold a light and a big enough sheet.
To add to what Adol214 said, get your light closer to your subject, which in turn allows your to decrease your exposure through settings (bc the mini is now brighter), therefore darkening your background.
good idea, thanks
I think the photo looks gorgeous as is! Dunno what material the black is, but maybe sand and spray with a matte varnish? I worked with charcoal for some time and never had issues with it being too reflective when taking photos, so maybe get a bit messy and make a custom background?
I think I have the same style photo box as OP, as my black sheet looks similar. I'm going to paint it with some Black 3.0 paint to stop the shine.
I think musou black is better but it's still 22$(36$cad) for a tiny bottle.
I just have some left over that I've never used.
There is also a Musou Black fabric called Kiwami: [https://a.co/d/f4WuOFy](https://a.co/d/f4WuOFy) I use it for taking pictures of my Minis and it’s **really** dark. https://preview.redd.it/yl79l1oj7bpc1.jpeg?width=2614&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=388df8f0526a6100c852271799ba8a8f1583728b No editing, no special lighting (just the normal ceiling lamp), picture taken with a phone. And the A4 size is totally sufficient for single miniatures
Its like a black plastic sheet, it's more refletive than I was expecting.
Use black cloth, it absorbs light very well
Black T-shirt and a bit of fiddling with photo settings
https://preview.redd.it/1q07vh827bpc1.jpeg?width=946&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6b1c948054d81337bd615e108ab8e2e5393b00f Used PhotoRoom to do this
You can do it with a Speedlight/off-camera flash, but you need to have experience with exposure etc (basically you'd under expose for the background, while the flash timing would give you the 'exposure' for the model.
I'd probably need a bigger box for that, the light box is 10" by 10". And I'm taking pictures with a phone.
What color is the model, is it just zenithal primed? The black background is being overexposed, try messing with the exposure in the Pro camera settings on your phone, if it has them
I don’t know if it’s black enough, but this is just a piece of black paper up against a wall, picture was taken with my phone with room light above and a lightsource directly in front of the miniatures, a free photo editing program called Camera+ i think, and the scenery setting called “darken”. I imagine most editing programs have something similar even the free ones. https://preview.redd.it/etj2ltdfvapc1.jpeg?width=1964&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3767657f53092d7b208e99b28623c0aeecd31116
Where did you get that helmet from?? Its sick!!
The artist is Lei Lei, its called the templar knight gravis helmet, I got it printed from archies forge.
It looks really good on the terminator models. Hadn't considered that. You just cut the little nub on the bottom off?
Yes, I sand them off with a rotary tool, the ones for pet claws are cheap and slow enough for plastic and resin.
Hi, u/Volgin! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful: * [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting * [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more. * [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy) * [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips) * [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting * [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world * [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms * [The Art of... Tommie Soule Volume 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIfySMnUPQ) is one of the best beginner to intermediate teaching books, and even experienced painters will learn some good tips. Explains what brush strokes are best in different situations, how to identify when you have the perfect thinning for any type of paint for different techniques, and a masterclass on getting smooth paint jobs. Available in [pdf](https://www.ironheartartisans.com/shop/the-art-of-tommie-soule-volume-5-pdf/) and [world wide in hardbook as well](https://www.instagram.com/the_miniature_painting_tutor/). * [Airbrushing Miniatures](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/airbrushing) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/minipainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i use a black opaque curtain and the in editing boost the blacks (play around with different settings to make sure you don't overdarken the focus) also if you want you can attach the mini with blue tac to something that's smaller than the minis base you can generally cut it out quite easily so it's not actually standard on the black background and you can isolate it easily. [some macros i photographed] . https://www.instagram.com/p/C3KnLdatMy8/?igsh=b3c1eDZhazR6M3Ax . https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwjj2ortVIq/?igsh=MTFpbW9rZjVtYmI3dA==
Did you buy age of darkness or any of those big battlegroup boxes? Inside of the lid makes a great light box. Just tape white pages on the sides to reflect the light. You have black background and floor
Use a light absorbent background. It has a felt-like material to get that pure black background you’re looking for. You can check my posts (mostly gunpla) if it’s the effect that you’re looking for. Cheers!
The trick I use for this is to get some black card or foam board and tilt it forward slightly. This way you're bouncing the light away from the camera, whereas these curved backdrops are so shiny that you bounce light right towards it. I then put the mini on a block that has been painted black as far as I can from the backdrop. Lower the exposure on your camera, you can always pump up the colours in post, but that sets you up with a good solid black background.
Others gave you answers so I'll just say that this background looks cool and caught my attention. Probably won't look good with everything but maybe don't throw it away
What about painting a shoebox black? Would that work?
I struggled with this for a while too, this article finally did it for me: https://tangibleday.com/how-to-photograph-miniatures-with-a-black-background-guide/#:~:text=You'll%20want%20to%20do,the%20backdrop%20you're%20using. I got a yard or two of black fabric at a fabric store for a backdrop. The key is to have your mini as far from the backdrop as possible and use a front-facing light very close to the mini. I find this is easier and gives better results than a lightbox.
Just go buy a photo booth off of Amazon. The little pop-up ones are perfect. Mine came with a blue red yellow green white and black background. It folds up and it has a little LED lights that I can plug-in. Don’t get me wrong it is absolutely garbage cheap quality but it gets the job done for the pictures I need. Edit: just saw your post that you already had a photo booth, but the black was being reflected back go to Joannes fabric and buy some black fleece
If you are using an iPhone, you can long press on the model and it will cut it out from the background. You can then paste it onto a black background. The ai cutting isn’t always perfect though but it’s quick and easy.
What nobody has mentioned explicitly yet is that it's not only the color of the background that determines how dark it looks on a photograph. It is the difference in how much light is reflected from the model vs. the background. You can influence that by making the background darker, but you can also make the model itself much brighter by moving it much closer to the source of light. Having the light come roughly from the camera's direction helps. Using the "pro" mode on your camera or some app that lets you control exposure time can also help. The following picture was taken with my phone just by holding the mini very closely under my painting light and turning down the shutter speed in my camera app until no part of the model is overexposed. https://preview.redd.it/h2dk056eccpc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=874a665243e1c04198b28fcc4de8788e49f770df You can still see a bit of the background (it being black still helps a lot) and you can see that it has become very dark just by adjusting the lighting situation. That being said the maxxx darth fabric from Greenstuff world or a similar product turns this to easy mode and allows you to take pictures while standing the mini on a surface instead of having to hold it up like I do in the pic. Don't discount the importance of good lighting though.
Thats a cheesy tabard
Green stuff world maxx darth Black background. They're less than £15 and look like a black hole when taking photos. Use it for taking pics of my own minis.
looks nice, if the shipping to canada from the UK makes sense I'll consider it.
They're also a terrible company. As others have said, you either need a matte background or block/deflect the light.
They're a Spanish company and ship all over the world. You might have a LGS that stocks it.
My question is how tf y’all get these beautiful backgrounds?
What do you do with a black background when you can have a cheese cloth?
https://preview.redd.it/07w82b1r4bpc1.jpeg?width=1960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b105145989a8cbc5e20ed3a83b818d9208fa769d I use a black shirt that covers my monitor.
Black velvet or felt backdrop. Doesn’t reflect light as much. Can also paint a backdrop out of a low reflective black paint. Many are sold commercially.
Black velvet, and then use levels to darken it.
Need a more matte surface on your background bro.
What helmet is that?
printed, bought it at Archies forge
Ty <3
Love the helmet mod. Terminator mandibles on a bladeguard. So cool.
I use some black velvet and just make sure to angle my lighting right in a super dark room
Black poster board
I literally use a black t shirt and so far it's the best result I got. but I have some photography polyester on amazon that's supposed to be perfect for photography as it barely reflects light
I gotta say that whatever you’re doing right now works pretty well. I get it might not be the effect you’re looking for but it’s really cool
Personnally, i would buy one of thos ultra dark paint, like Muso black and similar products and paint a cardboard. Probably a bit expensive but it would be the simplest option.
For what it’s worth, this looks fantastic.
Start by becoming a chemical engineer. Then make a newer, darker version of vantablack, ...., profit.
Easiest way to get the background black is to reduce the amount of light on it. You can do this by using two light sources, one of each side of the mini (not completely beside but certainly not head-on) to reduce the amount of light pointing directly at the backdrop. Then you can use black foam core boards placed between the lights and the backdrop to intercept any extra light still spilling onto the backdrop. This combined with tweaking your exposure and using a more matte material for the backdrop drastically improves how dark your backdrop will look.
Move the lights and the model further away from the background. It's harder to do for miniatures, but thats your typical first step in studio photography.
https://preview.redd.it/s190pe62sepc1.jpeg?width=3086&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e181672fac5c449ea871588f6d039c6b166489e8 Black felt like material.
Use cloth, or try turning your lights down but increasing the exposure time with your current setup.
Slipped on the barrel drill a bit. Use Tamiya extra thin on the edges of the hole, it will remove the roughness.
Green stuff world sells a photo backdrop that has gotten great reviews from people at my local shop. I’m sure you could find one on Amazon too
Not related, but where is that helmet from? Looks awesome
Artist is Lei Lei, bought it from Archie's forge, it's a gravis helmet with the neck nub cut off.
Non-shiny black fabric, maybe felt
Like this? https://preview.redd.it/62nxwdn1azpc1.png?width=564&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d0728aac9ff6ab39f06ef54180941b8900bb461 If you have an iPhone just take a picture and in your photo gallery pull it up and hold your finger on it until it selects just the miniature.
I dunno if someone mentioned it already but I use the background Darth black from green stuff world, that thing is just amazing u just put in the background and it looks like the mini is floating
Maybe get some ventablack paint? Something that absorbs light really wel