Commercial Product & Speed, Special Photography He

haunted4life

Am looking to set up a studio with a few of my friends from scratch. We are going to specialize only in Product Photography enhancing it with Speed & Special Effect Photography.

We will be shooting Products and adding in elements such as Shadow, Smoke, Water, Sparks, Fire, Bubbles, Ripples, Mist, Glow, Splash, Drop, Break, Burst and so on. After some post processing this would be made into Web content, Catalogs, Brochures, Flyers and so on. Very few posters and such if any.

The size of the Products would be a Maximum of about 1.5 x 1.5 Mtr and a minimum of about 100 x 100 mm. Products of Different Texture, Leather, Matt and Gloss Bodies.

I need help with pretty much everything such as but not limited to

1. Camera (Camera with HD Video is preferred)
2. Tripod
3. Lens
4. Filters
5. Flash
6. Lights
7. Domes, Reflectors, Backgrounds

I do understand it’s not about the Kit but the Photographer, but at the end of the day you still do need your kit to get you where you want to go with it. Especially when you’re looking to do it for commercial reasons. Other than the space we have nothing else available at the moment.

Total Budget is about 5000 USD, The lesser the better but we don’t want to cut any corners and are ready to spend a little more if needed.

Any and every help or advice is much appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Ps : Might not be exactly in the right section of the forum, but not exactly which is. So Mods Please move my thread if need be, am sorry for that.:dunno

perroneford

You were doing SO well.. until you got to your budget. I don't know where you got the $5k number from, but this is wholly unrealistic if you are attempting to purchase new equipment, or even pro level gear used.

If we assume you are going to buy a used camera with HD Video you're talking about a 7D, 5Dmk2, or similar. So there's $1k or so. And you're going to need at least 2 decent lenses. So there's another $1500 or so. That's half your budget. Decent used tripod for $200.

Now let's talk about lighting. If you intend to shoot video, you're going to need continuous light. The cheapest option is used tungsten. A common 1Kw light used is going to be about $400. You'll need at least 3 on the subject, and probably two on the background. That's $2k. But maybe you start smaller, so we'll cut that back to $1200. You have no strobes yet, no umbrellas, or reflectors. No stands or other grip gear.

Am I saying that what you want to accomplish cannot be done? No. An experienced photographer who understands his or her craft could probably cobble together something for the budget you listed But it would undoubtedly be a compromise. I would STRONGLY suggest you either scale back what you want to accomplish, or you find more budget to work with.

haunted4life

perroneford wrote: »

You were doing SO well.. until you got to your budget. I don't know where you got the $5k number from, but this is wholly unrealistic if you are attempting to purchase new equipment, or even pro level gear used.

If we assume you are going to buy a used camera with HD Video you're talking about a 7D, 5Dmk2, or similar. So there's $1k or so. And you're going to need at least 2 decent lenses. So there's another $1500 or so. That's half your budget. Decent used tripod for $200.

Now let's talk about lighting. If you intend to shoot video, you're going to need continuous light. The cheapest option is used tungsten. A common 1Kw light used is going to be about $400. You'll need at least 3 on the subject, and probably two on the background. That's $2k. But maybe you start smaller, so we'll cut that back to $1200. You have no strobes yet, no umbrellas, or reflectors. No stands or other grip gear.

Am I saying that what you want to accomplish cannot be done? No. An experienced photographer who understands his or her craft could probably cobble together something for the budget you listed But it would undoubtedly be a compromise. I would STRONGLY suggest you either scale back what you want to accomplish, or you find more budget to work with.

Thank you so much for your reply.

All the kit bought would be only new, nothing used or refurbished. I do agree with your pricing. A brand new Canon 7D costs about 1500 or so. Also the lens would put me behind with just about as much. But question is do I need a 7D for the results to be on Brochures, Catalogs and such. And the Objects I shoot are inanimated with a Maximum size of 1.5 Mtrs.

Also quick question, Since the whole shooting is going to be indoor, do I really need to care about how the Tripod weight and such much. Can I stick to something like Sunpak Ultra Series, I know its just a difference of about 100 bucks or so, but still.

I don't Intend to shoot video, I might but am surely not going to invest much in them, if any.

About the Budget yes 5000 Might be a little too harsh, but we don't want to splurge on buying the best of everything unless needed. Though if needed we surely can increase the budget.

Again Thanks for your reply, it does make a lot of sense hearing totally unbiased opinions.

ziggy53

I agree with "perroneford" that your budget is probably a level of magnitude too small to meet the sum total of your given goals of "Product Photography enhancing it with Speed & Special Effect Photography" plus "Camera with HD Video is preferred".

I suggest that you will probably need a product shooting table for efficient shooting.

For the high-speed photography of the larger objects with splashes you will probably want an Elinchrom pack system with several Elinchrom A3000n Flash Heads (3000ws), or perhaps a bunch of Paul Buff Einstein E640 monolights (more in keeping with your budget).

Smaller items can probably be shot with manual or auto flash speedlights. How many will you need?

For the camera suggestion you need to better define your anticipated file specifications. For lens suggestions please indicate potential product orientations and required DOF, as well as your studio dimensions.

For instance, a product of "1.5 x 1.5 Meters" in your first post (which indicates a 2 - dimensional product?) shot at an oblique angle and with enough DOF to render the entire product sharply is much different from a flat shot of the same product. The studio dimensions will indicate the FOV requirements of the lens for the larger products.

Any glass or clear plastic products?

What sort of light tents will you require?

How many, and what size, flags and reflectors will you use? (Appropriate stands, clamps and booms are an extra cost.)

The more you tell us about the exact nature of the products and the customer requirements the better we can advise in particular recommendations.

puzzledpaul

haunted4life wrote: »

... Since the whole shooting is going to be indoor, do I really need to care about how the Tripod weight and such much. Can I stick to something like Sunpak Ultra Series ...

Using a tripod in a studio suggests that weight and (feel in the cold) are unlikely to be as important as when choosing one for outdoors use in the winter - especially if hiking.

You're unlikely to regret getting a really substantial one (+ decent head(s)) that's a pleasure to use - rather than something that's a pita in some way or other 'cos you saved a few pennies.

There's a lot of good used gear around for decent prices too - not suggesting selling a kidney

pp