Product Photography

ziggy53

Adrian van Ammers asked me about Product Photography and if I had any links that would pertain.

Here are some links, not pretty and not in any particular order:

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=article_080403&sid=10628406723764973
http://www.cameratown.com/guides/tutorial_listing.cfm/hurl/id%7C276
http://www.dansdata.com/phototute3.htm
http://www.deviantart.com/download/15616122/
http://fs6.deviantart.com/f/2005/059/c/8/ShootingTent.zip
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2004/09/15/food_photos.html
http://www.ezcube.com/
http://www.tabletopstudio.com/images/Ebay/EZcube-on-card-table-wcutou.jpg
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/advertising_marketing/food_ads.cfm?RenderForPrint=1
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=009xtA
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-one-category?topic_id=1824&category=Administration
http://www.studiolighting.net/foam-core-homemade-softbox


Shooting Tables
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=1409
http://www.photography-lighting.com/shooting-tables.html
http://www.shutterbug.com/test_reports/0699sb_astro/
http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/ilflpa.html
http://www.tallyns.com/ShootTbl.htm
http://www.warehousephoto.com/CAT/STUDIOPROD.htm
http://www.webphotoschool.com/Lesson_Library/_0.99_Lessons/Internet_Auction_Photos/Building_a_12_and_18_inch_Shooting_Table/

I am not affiliated with any of these sites and don't use or endorse anything here. I built a product table (shooting table) and I don't use softboxes at all. I intend for these links to help illustrate what I will describe in a following message.

ziggy53

ziggy53

The basics
I am a product photographer for a large-ish American manufacturer. I started with the company as a support photographer and offset printer over 30 years ago. I've held several different positions at the company over the years, but now I am the principal photographer. (I did an 8 year stint in I.S. just prior, don't ask...)

I can't show any setups or actual photos because I am bound by a non-disclosure agreement with my employer and I rather like my job (and want to keep it.)

My approach to photographing products depends upon the ultimate use for the photograph. As often as possible, I shoot for the greatest denominator, best quality and size, and then resample to the lesser sizes.

I usually photograph individual items on a custom made product table/shooting table. The table is similar to those in the links in the previous article of this thread. I generally use 3-4 studio flashes, Bowens monolights. The product table I use has a transparent shooting surface and I cover that with tracing vellum or other paper as required. I use a white sweep under the table and that is illuminated with one of the monolights.

Two more monolights flank the table and are generally a little closer to the camera than just opposite the product. This arrangement seems to lessen reflections.

A fourth monolight is sometimes used as an overhead light when needed.

None of the lights are used direct. I have a small studio with white walls, floor and ceiling; a "whiteroom". I generally bounce the flanking lights off the walls and ceiling and bounce the over light off the ceiling as well. The "under" light is bounced off the sweep (I repeat myself sometimes.) Occasionally I will use umbrellas for the flanking lighs, when I need a bit more concentrated light.

I additionally use light modifiers like cylinders made of tracing vellum or single sheets of thin white paper folded to stand on the table to help control and diffuse the light. Butchered/altered plastic gallon milk jugs also make good small light-tents.

I use foam-core board as reflectors to hide myself and the camera, as needed, and to hide other objects as well.

I will also use more reflective pieces to provide highlights for products with more of a matte/dull finish.

Very rarely, I also use black-cards to provide a dark accent if required to create a sense of depth.

The camera.

I shoot mostly with a Sony F828, which I chose because, in early 1994 (when I convinced my employer we needed it), it was the camera with the best combination of qualities for the job. What I like about it are:

Real-time preview on a video monitor. I often shoot down from over the products, so a direct camera view would be difficult. I also mark the monitor with a dry-erase pen to mark the position of a product when shooting similar items.

7:1 zoom ratio, with 28-200mm equivalence (in full-frame 35mm film terms). The zoom means I can change the cropping without adjusting the tripod or copy-stand height. This is a major time savings.

The extended DOF of the small imagers. In the case of product photography, more DOF is almost always a benefit.

f2 lens aperture. A fast lens when I need it.

Macro capabilities built-in to the lens, not bad at that.

I also use an older Kodak DCS460 6MP dSLR when indicated. It has some unusual properties which I won't go into here because I can't recommend it for most uses. More modern dSLRs might make some sense for some applications.

I sometimes use my personal camera, a Minolta A2, when the company camera is tied up, and it works complimentary to the Sony.

Next up, some observations, hints and tips.

ziggy53

ziggy53

Tips, observations and opinions.
Digicams for product photography.

I mentioned before the increased DOF that smaller sensors have and, for the same lens f settings, that's true. The Sony at f8, its smallest aperture, is about as much DOF as you could want. It actually makes seperation from a background difficult, so you have to be more careful about background and how it's used in the shot.

One of the things many folks forget is that the 8MP digicams can sync with electronic flash all the way out to their maximum shortest shutter speed. I have tested the Sony F828 to 1/1200sec and it works fine syncing the flash perfectly, no banding or blotch. Try that with any dSLR and you are going to be disappointed. There is a bit of light reduction at 1/1200, so typically I use 1/500 to 1/800sec.

dSLRs have a conventional FP shutter, and are very limited in their ability to sync electronic flash. Currently Nikon is king with most of their cameras in sync to 1/500, although their "Pro" cameras in the D2x segment are 1/250. Canon is more restricted with 1/250 for their more adavanced digital cameras and 1/200 for the dRebel series (some places say 1/250 for the dRebel XT, but the manual says 1/200.) Some cameras allow for an FP sync (FP means "Focal Plane"), or similar, which does allow faster "effective" shutter speeds at sync, at the expense of flash power, and only a few flashes support FP mode. (It's all so messed up.)

I often have very specific finish colors I'm trying to photograph, with only subtle differences between certain finishes. Lighting control is crucial to getting those colors correct for the product. I do turn off the room flourescent lights when shooting, but even the modelling lights of the strobes can affect the exposure. Short exposures is the solution and it also controls the light poisoning caused by the lights outside the room. (I know I could just shut the doors, but then people would wonder, even more than they do now, what I am up to.)

Light tents and home-made modifiers.

Light is best diffused up close and personal. Working with shiny metal gives you a rapid appreciation of this simple fact. I tend to have tons of light modifiers available for both reflective and transmissive use. I do try to mainatin a similar approach to similar product finishes, but the product shape and size definitely plays into my ultimate success, or lack of success.

I also "dumpster dive" and have been know to grab things out of the garbage, literally. It's like, "how could people throw away this perfectly good whatsit, when it could work so well with my photography." I recently grabbed a bubble insulated bag somebody threw away, and adapted it to work as a reflector/diffusor for a hot-shoe flash. It works, and the price matched my budget. Woohoo. I wrote it up at:

http://www.sonycams.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2687

... and it looks soooo nice!

The point is, don't be afraid to try.

Light is everything..., almost.

I use studio srobes at work and hotshoe strobes and slaves at work and at home. Lighting and the control of it, is at least as important as anything about the camera. You have to use a 2 dimentional medium to display mostly 3 dimensional objects. Proper lighting allows you to perform this bit of magic.

Before there were digital cameras, indeed before cameras and photography, there was a medium which attempted to likewise depict 3 dimentional scenes on a 2 dimentional medium.

The art of painting and the art of photography often require very similar approaches to lighting. A study of lighting styles in painting can offer considerable insight into the similar needs of photography.

Recognizing that many of my photographs will require halftone printing, I tend to use fairly flat lighting, compared to many portrait and still-life lighting styles.

One of the best lighting technicians I have come across, for product photography, is Brooks Short. An example of the way he thinks, and the results he gets, is here:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008P4t

I think that's all I have for now. Sorry for any typos. I'm writing this between other tasks and spell checking is low on my priorities just now.

ziggy53

Dee

This is GREAT!!!!
And extremely thorough! Thank you so much for posting this here!

I just started experimenting with light tents, although I used something similar -- a big carton box -- in the past.

I had to shoot mylar stickers -- impossible -- until someone told me to use hair spray, which led to dulling film -- that did the trick although it ruined the product -- which was OK because it couldn't be returned to stock anyway.

Now I have all those links to pursue! : : :

Thanks again for a great post!

Adrian van Ammers

I agree, I agree, this is mint!

ziggy53 wrote:

Digicams for product photography.

Woohoo, one simple question leads to such a nice burst of info! Boy, I'm happy I asked the question I will come back to this thread lot's of time. Thanks soooooooo much, Ziggy.
I'm amazed that you prefer the 828. But IMO you are right. It's a wonderful cam, but I learned even more about the possibilities and advantages. Thanks again.