Product photography

fredjclaus

Does anyone around here do product shots? My church wants me to photograph some products they have for sale in their "SERV Store". They want to put a catalog together along with a website.

I've found many instruction videos about how to photograph tabletop products but have just one question.

Is there a difference between photographing with seamless paper and your lights coming through a difussion screen and photographing the products in a photo tent?

ziggy53

fredjclaus wrote: »

... Is there a difference between photographing with seamless paper and your lights coming through a difussion screen and photographing the products in a photo tent?

You might see differences in any 2 setups but either that you mentioned is an improvement over bare lights or ambient lighting.

What sizes are the products?

Any special color requirements?

Shiny, polished metals?

Glass?

fredjclaus

There are many different types of products we are looking to photograph. There will be jewlery both large pieces and small pieces. Wooden product from tiny figures, to large Nativity scenes. Also there will be pottery, and products in plastic bags. There will also be some metalic items, but not that many. The pottery has a glossiness to it as well.

ziggy53

Anything polished and/or glossy is a potential reflector and you need to be careful about the camera, lens, lights and anything else showing in the reflection.

Plastic bags can be a pain. If these are display/marketing bags you may want to consider opening the bags and mounting the product on the surface. If the stuff needs to be photographed in transparent bags just try to remove any shiny reflections and count on boosting the product contrast to compensate for shooting through the plastic.

fredjclaus

Thanks Ziggy. I'll keep that in mind. Right now I'm looking for some equipment to help shoot the product. I've never done product shots before so seamless paper or photo tents are not something I have in my home studio.

Sam

Fred,

Lets start with what you do have. Do you have speedlites? Strobes? Stands? Reflectors? Light modifiers? Tripod? Remote switch? Big window? Constant lights?

There is no one answer to your question, but a good approach is to start with envisioning where you want the light to come from and what your trying to do with it. Are you just trying to get a clean shadow free image? Or maybe have a few dramatic shadows?

Is the product reflective or light absorbing? Jewelery and glass are going to be your biggest challenge.

Light tents are probably the easiest to use and get a shadow free image but I find the light is so soft and diffused it takes some detail away. so I haven't set up my tent in a long time. I fact i think I hear sobbing coming from the equipment room.

Sam

fredjclaus

Thanks Sam. I do have everything on your list except a remote switch. Products will be a mixture of reflective and absorbing light. I don't have a tent or seamless background paper right now. I'm looking for just shadowless lighting for the photographs and something that can be on a white or black background so that it will stand out on the web and possibly be removed from the background to put other backgrounds in.

ziggy53

For true "shadowless" you need a product shooting table. The concept is a glass/plexiglass surface, on which the product sits, and a draped background underneath. Any shadows are cast underneath and generally both out of the field of view as well as out of focus.

If you use a frosted table top you can illuminate the frosted surface as an alternative.

This was taken on a product table and 3 - lights were used, 2 - lights for the subject and 1 - light for the white background "sweep" below.

fredjclaus

So a glass table with white paper roll sweeping behind and under the table. How does that work when photographing glass?

fredjclaus

By the way, are we talking a glass shooting table, or just a white paper draped over a table and a plexiglass box sitting on the paper with the product on it?

ziggy53

fredjclaus wrote: »

So a glass table with white paper roll sweeping behind and under the table. How does that work when photographing glass?

You still need a light tent or similar to offer very diffuse lighting. The product table simply helps to eliminate shadows. There will still be some post-processing cleanup, but it's much simpler and faster without the major shadows.

Photographing transparent and translucent objects requires careful attention to both highlight and shadow accents in order to provide depth and separation. White reflectors and dark "flags" are often used.

fredjclaus

Thanks Ziggy and Sam for the advise. Im going to do some tests with some equipment I can borrow and post them here for you to review. Who knows, with event photography not in high demand right now in my area and no product photographers local, I might have just found my niche.

ziggy53

fredjclaus wrote: »

By the way, are we talking a glass shooting table, or just a white paper draped over a table and a plexiglass box sitting on the paper with the product on it?

While window glass can be used I prefer plexiglass for a more neutral tone and lighter weight. You need to be more careful about scratches with plexiglass, however.

You can purchase a product table but I prefer the DIY approach. Start with the size of plexi that you need, remembering that it must be much larger than the products to photograph. For small items I saw where someone took the top off an old folding table and replaced it with a plexi top.

My current product table is small and constructed of a PVC pipe frame and the plexi is just taped to the frame with 2" clear plastic package sealing tape. Ideally you want the "back" of the product table "frameless" so that you just have to deal with the edge of the plexi when shooting at an oblique angle.

The backdrop or sweep can be white seamless paper or a white sheet or anything like that.

M38A1

I used this link to make an inexpensive lightbox for smallish items which has worked quite well.

http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

.

fredjclaus

Sam wrote: »

Fred,

Light tents are probably the easiest to use and get a shadow free image but I find the light is so soft and diffused it takes some detail away. so I haven't set up my tent in a long time. I fact i think I hear sobbing coming from the equipment room.

Sam

Sam,

What size tent do you have and would you consider selling it to an inspiring product photographer?

Sam

fredjclaus wrote: »

Sam,

What size tent do you have and would you consider selling it to an inspiring product photographer?

Fred,

I have two sizes. One is somewhere in the three feet per side range. The other one is smaller. The kit came with different colored sweeps, two constant lights and two small stands.

I bought it off craigslist last year from two gals who couldn't seem to give it away. Maybe it was the $20.00 asking price that scared everyone off.

At that price I can't afford to sell it.

Sam

fredjclaus

Funny you mention that. I found one on Craigslist in my area too. 32" cube and the guy is asking $10.00. It doesn't look like it comes with any inserts but at least it has a cube part, and a storage pouch.

Sam

fredjclaus wrote: »

Funny you mention that. I found one on Craigslist in my area too. 32" cube and the guy is asking $10.00. It doesn't look like it comes with any inserts but at least it has a cube part, and a storage pouch.

For $10.00 bucks you can't go wrong!!

Sam

Sam

Fred,

Don't forget we want photos!

Sam

fredjclaus

I will surely put pictures here. Honest Feedback and practice is the only way to learn.

fredjclaus

Too late for the 10.00 option Sam. By the time he answered me back it was already sold. Back to the drawing board.

Art Scott

with a few flat bed sheets and some PVC you can construct a shooting tent of most any size....any more i put a white sheet across a smallish (4') folding table and light with a set of AB800's in brolley boxes or a 30 x 60 softbox.......getting the best angle is sometimes tough as for the softest light you need to have the light source as close as possible.....to get really good angles with the light you need boom stands with counter weights for the boom arm...this allows for better placement of lights......even if shooting with a light ten a boom stand is invaluable for placing light over the top of tent....I made the walls of my light tent just slightly smaller in width than a kingsized flat bed sheet and i attach the sheet to the fram with inexpensive plastic pliers styled clamps from Harbor Freight (a bag of like 20 was way less than $10) the 4 bed sheets were like a$1 or 2 each at a Goodwill store...it took me about 3 weeks to get the bedsheets as i wanted pure white not any prints of any sort....and no store in Wichita carries just flat sheet...everything comes in pairs...it sucks......... any way.......i do plan of using velcro of some sort for attachment in the near future......I also washed all the pvc with MEK (methyl-ethyl keytone...found at most any good hardware store or lumber yard....Ace Hardware, menards, homedepot, lowes....etc etc...sometimes walmart has it....it cleans a bit faster than acetone, which I also use if I cannot find the MEK on my side of town...also sand the pvc pipe just a bit so that it is really easy to take down and store...you do want to have to fight the set up or tear down.....Good Luck

fredjclaus

Thanks Art. I've seen many ideas online for making them, but never one with bed sheets.

Art Scott

fredjclaus wrote: »

Thanks Art. I've seen many ideas online for making them, but never one with bed sheets.

I did think of going to the fabric store and getting bleached muslin which is a bit heavier than bed sheets, however in Wichita I can only get small widths...like 30 - 36 inches...if I could have gotten 48-60 inches (without having to special order a whole large bolt) i would have adjusted my tent size accordingly.........

Good Luck.....

Snowgirl

I use a plastic (pvc pipe) quilt frame and white bed sheets - like Art but I didn't have to make the actual frame - just bought one at a craft store.
Still working on the light requirements, though.

fredjclaus

Well I'm starting slow. I just picked up a white sheet to use instead of the tent or paper. Now to do some test shots with it.


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