Help with bright metallic photos

bren

Firstly hello, this is my first post on dgrin

I have a Canon 350D and use it to take photos of products for my business. The photos are used in various forms of marketing. I have a basic studio with a couple of Tungsten lamps and then a desk top mini studio for the smaller products.

I use an Expodisc to help set white balance.

Im really struggling to get any decent shots of shiny products, its easier to show the problem rather than explain. Im trying to avoid using a darker background. Has anyone any advise they could give as to how to improve the quality of the images?

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0245lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0234lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0226lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0231lg.jpg

LittleLew

It looks like a couple of problems.
1) focus is way, way off. If you aren't using a tripod you should be. What are the shooting data for the pictures?

2) you are getting reflections from outside the 'tent'. You could stretch a piece of white cloth over the opening and shoot through a hole. THis will eliminate many of the bad reflections.

BTW, you don't need such a big watermark. It makes seeing your picture that much harder.

bren

I have a tripod, Ill start using it more.

ISO 200
Shutter speed of around 100
5.0 aperture
Partially metering
RAW large file

What other info do you need?

What size watermark is generally considered acceptable?

Thanks for you help so far

LittleLew

First, Sorry, I didn't mean to sound huffy about watermark. I just mean that it gets in the way.

My suggestions are:

1) use tripod
2) see 1)
3) see 2)
4) use smaller f stop (try in the f11 or f14 neighborhood). That will give you much better DOF.
5) to avoid shaking camera, set shutter to time release.
5) focus manually

ziggy53

As LittleLew mentioned, you should be using a "light tent" and possibly a "product table" as well.

A light tent is simply a wrap-around shooting environment, translucent to allow external illumination.

A product table has a transparent or translucent surface upon which you place the part to be photographed and under the surface is reflective material (white sweep usually), independantly illuminated to avoid shadows.

At my previous employers' shop I shot in a "white room" and bounced the light into the walls and ceiling as well as surrounding the objects with a tent of various sizes and styles, depending upon the size of the object and the angle of view.

I also had a 4' x 8' custom made product table to shoot many of the objects on.

Much of the product was:

Bright brass
Chrome
Polished stainless
Enamel painted
etc. (reflective and high gloss)

When you shoot reflective objects, you really have to think "mirror" and provide a suitable environment to surround the objects. Sometimes you also want to include a dark shape in the inside of the tent to provide a sense of depth and dimension. Likewise a spot light or gobo on the tent can provide a spectral highlight for additional visual hinting as to shape and contour and shine.

Pretty good information here:

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/HowTo_page.htm

Product table examples (B&H calls them "Still -Life Tables"):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=still+life+table&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=productlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

Light tent examples:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=light+tent&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=productlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

Zanotti

Many here have also built home made light tents with some success. Here's mine:

http://digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=51457

If you do a search, you will find others.

Z

bren

No probs re the watermark, I understand completely what youre saying. If theres a general standardised way to size them then Im all ears. If not then your opion of size and pisitioning would be great. Im all ears to constructive input, Im by no means an expect when it comes to taking photos so Im happy to listen.

1) use tripod - will do
2) see 1) - see 3)
3) see 2) - see 1)
4) use smaller f stop (try in the f11 or f14 neighborhood). That will give you much better DOF. Okadokay.
5) to avoid shaking camera, set shutter to time release. Will do.
5) focus manually. Check.

Thats great, thanks

I already use a product table with translucent base and 6 built in lights for the smaller products.

Ill do some reading here:

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/HowTo_page.htm

Thanks guys, great stuff, Ill have a play at work tommorrow to see how things improve

jfriend

bren wrote:

Firstly hello, this is my first post on dgrin

I have a Canon 350D and use it to take photos of products for my business. The photos are used in various forms of marketing. I have a basic studio with a couple of Tungsten lamps and then a desk top mini studio for the smaller products.

I use an Expodisc to help set white balance.

Im really struggling to get any decent shots of shiny products, its easier to show the problem rather than explain. Im trying to avoid using a darker background. Has anyone any advise they could give as to how to improve the quality of the images?

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0245lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0234lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0226lg.jpg

http://82.110.105.84/apexperformance.co.uk/catalog/images/IMG_0231lg.jpg

You have several issues to contend with for these kinds of shots. First, you have to get uniform lighting so the lighting tent recommendation is a good one, commonly used for product shots. There are all sorts of ways to make a home made tent as long as you get bright enough lights.

Second, reflective surfaces like this have real issues with capturing image reflections from elsewhere in the room you are shooting in. You will probably want to avoid those reflected images in the metal. How you avoid them is a bit subject dependent, but if the rest of your room is dark and the only lights you have are the ones in your light tent and you carefully position them so that they don't cause these kinds of product reflections, then you might be mostly there. You definitely need to look for them in the viewfinder when composing the shot.

Third, shiny objects are often much more pleasing with a dark background. The shots you have the overwhelmingly bright background which, in my opinion, really detracts and distracts from the subjects. If the background was black, the only thing your viewer would see is the foreground object and the overall image wouldn't seem to bright. The black background would also reduce reflections from your lighting setup. If you have to have a white background, you can make due with careful exposure and positioning.