Although these tips are written primarily for product photography, you can use them for several other genres. We'll talk about the actual shooting. I'll show you how to set up your shoot and list some tips I've collected over the years of use.
Preparation
I start almost every shoot by turning on the lights. These include lights behind and below my stage so that the surface is illuminated (see photo above).
I have one of my Spiderlite TD6 flashes placed above the table and pointed straight down. This helps illuminate the top of the product and remove shadows caused by the backlit table. My second TD6 light is the one that moves around my work surface. This is my main light source because it is set brighter than the others and it controls the main direction of the light.
The settings for my lights will be slightly different from what you need, but this is a good starting point. The TD6 flash on top is set to 30% power. Two Flashpoints under the table set at 50% power. I have two small fluorescent softboxes at my desk on full blast. My main TD6 usually has 66% power (two switches on).
This setup usually works for all my clients who need photos taken for their Amazon, Ebay, Etsy stores or online business directories. You need to understand that the lights are not all the same, and if you mix different daylight fluorescent lights, the colors in your photos may be distorted.
Setting White Balance
To prevent this problem, purchase an Xrite palette. Create a custom profile for your camera using your light sources to ensure accurate colors.
Setting the Exposure
For my camera, I have one of my custom settings pre-programmed and ready to go, so I just switch to the C2 and I'm ready to shoot in a second. My C2 settings are locked to manual at f/16 and 1/6th of a second, with highlight indicator and square crop enabled. If I need a little more highlight on a white table, I'll increase the shutter speed, or if any highlights appear on the product itself, I can make the shutter speed faster.
I also find that manual focus is much faster in this situation. Finding the focus point takes time, especially when you're shooting 20+ products from 4+ angles. With a quick click of a button on the back of the camera I can enter Live mode View, zoom in and get the exact focus I'd like. I shoot with a highlight indicator so that when the image appears on the screen, anything that is overexposed will appear black.
This way I can tell if I got the proper exposure. The histogram doesn't help much here since it will always be clustered on the right because I'm intentionally overexposing the background. I also set the camera to crop the image to a square, as this is usually the only format my clients want for this style of photography.
Making a platform
If you leave them unrolled, you will end up with black streaks reflecting on your product. The next thing I did was buy a sheet of clear acrylic from Lowes that was a quarter inch thick and measured 18×24". It cost me about $20. I place this acrylic on top of the packaged boxes, which raise the shooting surface by seven inches.
This allows the table to be overexposed, but due to the fall of the light, it prevents the product from being overly illuminated from below. I also wrapped two other small boxes of different sizes in white paper. I use them quite often as reflectors.
You can place an object
Now that we've got the lights set up and the camera set up and talked about highlights and surface lift, let's do the actual shooting. We'll make it easier and start with something simple. Let's take a photo of an ordinary mug.
I placed the mug right in the center of the acrylic. The overhead light is directly above the mug, pointing downwards. The other TD6 is at a 90-degree angle, illuminating the mug to the right of the camera.
The resulting image will be 95% ready for publication on the web, almost straight from the camera. There are a few things you might want to add, such as more white reflection or narrowing the dark gap. But to be honest, he's ready just the way he is. I said this is not an easy topic, so let's move on to something more complex, shall we?
Let's choose a more complex object
The next thing we'll try to do is something that a lot of photographers struggle with; white object on a white background. Since we have a blown-out surface and we control the amount of light that hits the subject, it's actually not difficult to get great results.
Let's start with the same lighting. One light directly above the subject and another light at a 90 degree angle to the right of the camera. Straight from the camera we can see that we did a good job.
There is no overexposure on the subject, but the background is completely white. However, there is not enough volume. So let's move the right light so that instead of being 90 degrees, it's 45 degrees. Now the light will hit the front panel of this USB hub. Bingo.
Now we have the main edges highlighted, which helps give the device shape and dimension. It's very close, but we can still do a little better. Let's add one of those white wrapped boxes we made earlier to the shadowed side and reflect some of our key light back onto the product.
Now we have a light shadow fill and it works well for this product. Yes, we could get obsessed with further details and subtleties, but remember this is a quick shoot. We try to change products quickly.
Shooting reflective surfaces
For our final demonstration, let's take a reflective surface. Leaving the light exactly the same as for the previous shot (again, because it's speed), I'll remove white box, which acts as a fill and I'll take a photo of this RCA adapter.
Once again the shot straight out of the camera looks pretty good. You can see the red reflected on the shadowed side in the bottom left corner, which is coming from the red bag outside the frame, and there's a really dark streak on the left/center side. Let's clear these two things and try again. I'll remove the red bag and place the smaller white box fairly close to the adapter.
These two changes greatly affected the photo. Let's try to clean it up a little more. The reason for the black line is that it reflects the much darker room behind the camera. Using the angle of incidence, I will use my large white box just below my lens and bounce the light back onto the subject.
Here it is! A perfectly acceptable shot for an online catalogue. The RCA adapter is fully illuminated, there are no hard black lines, a completely white background, and it's already fitted into a square due to the camera settings. This image is ready to go.
Bottom line
The reason I built this system is speed. If you're trying to photograph 100 products a day, you can do it with this system. I know because I did it.
Of course, there is a third and final part of the process, and that is editing using your favorite software.
I use Lightroom and this really works for subject photography. You need to catalog all of your client's images, track part numbers, export them to BOMs, and eliminate shooting errors in a short amount of time.
This quick guide created on the basis of advice from experienced photographers who have a studio for product photography, and who shared their skills in topics dedicated to product photography on foreign photo forums.
There are two main scenarios for product photography: product photography of an isolated object and in a specific connection with a group of other objects.
IN this material shooting of one object on white is considered . This is the simplest, cheapest and most effective method show a separate thing. This type of photography is most often used in practice when it is necessary to photograph various items for catalogs or online stores. (Additionally, read the material.)
Isolated items can be photographed in a simple way when the whole thing is filled with almost no shadows or with some minor shadows studio light. In a similar way, you can photograph a subject with deep shadows while the background remains white, using direct light. There are practically no lighting schemes for such subject photography; the more diffuse sources, the better.
There are an endless variety of lighting sets, from a single light source to complex sets consisting of multiple sources and different backgrounds. The simplest lighting set is a sheet of white cardboard and one source diffused light, which is placed on top (usually a medium or large softbox) under the ceiling. A complex set of props includes a lightbox and several lighting fixtures. For the DIY photographer, most accessories can be homemade. Since no secret technology is used, you will need simple plexiglass, adhesive tape, and a metal or wooden frame. Well, everyone else will have to use factory or .
And how a budget option, to photograph a subject, you can consider a plastic studio background on which the subject is placed, plus one diffuse light source is used, located on top, for example,.
Professional photographers recommend, of course, using more sources. A larger number of devices in a set will give better results. For example, the diagram may look like this: the main lights are placed on both sides of the object, at 70 degrees (the angle can be changed according to needs).
If you are shooting in a white room, you can try directing the light from the two main sources towards the walls of the room (perhaps in the corners), this will diffuse the light even better. If you don't have a small flash, you can put a reflector under the transparent/translucent base of the photo table and make sure that some of the light from the main flash is reflected and additionally illuminates from below.
Object shooting. Lighting equipment
Softbox- a universal tool for a photographer involved in product photography. Softboxes can compensate for the lack of a photocube, provide soft diffused light and, in some cases, allow you to reduce the number of lighting sources involved in the scheme. They should be in any photographer's arsenal. Softboxes can be used to photograph isolated objects, as well as objects located contextually (in composition with other objects).
Photographers divide light into several types of lighting , regardless of the lighting scheme. In each light kit, a specific source can perform different functions. Depending on their position relative to the subject and the photographer, it has a specific name.
- A key light (key light) is the main light source that creates the main pattern of light and shadow, as well as the main/primary lighting of the subject.
- Compensating light (fill light) balances the shadows created by the key light, reducing contrast. Usually a soft diffused light source with lower power and light intensity. As a rule, a softbox is used.
- Contour (backlight) light - placed behind the subject so that the subject is directly between the camera and the backlight. Used to highlight shapes and contours.
- Background light - used to illuminate the background in such a way as to separate the model from the background, to make the boundary between the subject and the background sharper and more contrasting.
This article is just a quick guide for those who want to start understanding such an exciting part of photography as product photography.
Blog article was conceived and written by Costa007 and Sangiorzboy.
Free translation S.Zavodov
This article will give you some great tips for creating attractive product and product photography. We hope this information will help you rethink the idea of marketing and advertising. The recommendations are suitable for masters who have different financial capabilities. Tips on installing lighting and how to increase the amount of light with limited options will be useful. Also in books and articles there are descriptions of interesting tricks with post-processing, which will help in creating the most attractive look.
Ken Rockwell, one of the pioneers in creating marketable photographs. He is the one who knows what and how to shoot. The photographer takes excellent photographs, knowing how to create a background and lighting. He takes bright, memorable photographs.
How to photograph jewelry. Photography lessons
One of the favorite and expensive subjects of photography is jewelry. This lesson contains all the important tips and tricks for shooting jewelry, and as you understand, such photography has its own interesting features. Everything is important, from choosing a camera to getting the focus right. Also, when shooting jewelry, you will need a photo box. You can read how to create a box for macro photography yourself in this article.
For more information on setting the right light, placing items correctly, and framing, click here. Very often, photographers forget about the correct cropping of images, although this is very important for the attractiveness of the frame.
Smash and Peas - This interesting blog teaches us about various concepts, including information on lighting, framing and delicate post-processing. All of this will help in creating captivating product photos.
Tips for creating studio photos at home
Of course, not all of us have the opportunity to work in a studio with professional equipment. However, with ingenuity and perseverance, you can recreate studio-like conditions on your own.
What Every Beginner Should Know About Product Photography
Of course, not everyone knows where to start and what to do, especially if they are new to product photography. Basic recommendations and tips on where to start can be found here.
5 common lighting mistakes that many photographers make
So, what mistakes can be made in setting up the light and what can ruin your shot, you will find out here. In the blog, the author points out errors and gives his recommendations for eliminating them.
A step-by-step guide to product photography
In this article you will find a guide that will show you step by step where to start and what to do when photographing various subjects.
In this short tutorial you will learn a lot of interesting things about how to remove bottled drinks. The author talks about how to control reflections and adjust lighting.
The best photos of small objects
When photographing small objects, precision in settings is of great importance. This lesson should help those photographers whose subjects will be very small.
Photographing products. Books
Lighting for Product Photography: A Step-by-Step Guide to Digital Photography
The guide describes the shooting process in detail, pointing out all the issues that may arise during shooting. The list of products is constantly growing. The good news is that in the book everything starts with the basics; photographers are taught to take slightly primitive photographs at first, gradually increasing the requirements for the level of work. In the book you will learn all about setting the necessary lighting, preferred colors and their combinations, as well as the tools that will be used to control these components of the frame.
Convenient platinum photo studio for photographing objects
Lightweight and easy to use, the stylish softbox is made of special heat-resistant fabric. The mini-studio is made of 100% velor, which provides uniform lighting, eliminating harsh shadows and glare. The softbox folds for easy storage and transportation.
Photography Handbook: Using the Built-in Flash and Other Tricks to Help You Take Professional Photos
Imagine breathtaking, professional-looking product shots that weren't taken in a professional studio. Seems unreal, doesn't it? But with this book you can see that this is not so. Here you will find everything necessary information to create professional photographs without the use of expensive equipment.
Commercial Photography Handbook: Business Techniques for Professional Digital Photographers
This book was created based on the work of experienced commercial photographers. This is an invaluable guide that addresses various aspects and challenges of this industry. Each section begins with the author setting out what photography should be like and what your clients expect from it. Then, you have at your disposal all the necessary information about the tools and principles that will help you achieve better results. As you continue to delve further, you will learn more about marketing itself. The author will detail how to better negotiate, price your work, and maximize profits while minimizing costs.
From snapshots to professional photographs. Photographing food
This book describes in detail all the intricacies of food photography. Now you can not only cook deliciously, but also shoot deliciously! The information presented in this book will help you shoot dishes and food correctly and efficiently, correctly setting the lighting and objects in the frame. At the same time, all the tips can be implemented even without having specific expensive photographic equipment.
Object shooting. Video
In order to sell something to someone, you need to make sure that the buyer trusts the seller that his product is of high quality, and that is what he needs. How can this be achieved? The solution is simple: you need to show the product to the consumer in such a way that it looks attractive. This is what it's all about the main task advertising photographer. An advertising photographer needs to take into account all aspects that influence the consumer’s subconscious, competently, but at the same time, delicately and unobtrusively highlight all the advantageous features of the subject. Plus, when working on advertising a product of a company, you need to take into account the style of this company.
In the article we recommend to you today, you will read about how to create attractive and memorable photographs of products and other products, and you will receive many tips in this regard. I'd like to think that the information contained herein will give you reason to rethink some of your marketing and advertising ideas. The recommendations that the reader will receive in this article will be useful for photographers who have different financial capabilities. Good advice The author gives information on how to install effective and proper lighting, talks about how to increase the amount of light with limited project funding. Also in the article you will find a description of unusual and interesting tricks with subsequent computer processing, with the help of which you can achieve maximum attractiveness of the subject.
Product photos from Rockwell Kon
Ken Rockwell was one of the first to create “sellable” photographs. He knows how and what to shoot in this regard. Ken takes wonderful photographs, knows how to organize good and effective lighting, and what background to choose for a particular product. His works are bright and long remembered by the viewer.
How to photograph jewelry. Photography lessons
Advertising photographers love to shoot jewelry and other expensive and beautiful objects and goods. In the lesson that the author offers you, various important tips are very well selected and clear and understandable recommendations are given for photographing all kinds of jewelry products. Naturally, there are a lot of interesting features in a job like jewelry photography. Everything here is essential and important, starting from the right choice cameras for operation and ending with correct and accurate focusing. When photographing all kinds of jewelry in your work, you may need a photo box. In this article you can read about how to make such a photo box yourself in order to use it to remove small jewelry.
After reading this article, you will get an excellent Additional information about how to properly set the light when photographing food, how to place the subject in the frame, how to correctly determine the boundaries of such a frame. By the way, photographers often forget about framing. But in vain. Framing is very, very important when shooting subjects like this.
A very interesting blog is Smash and Peas. By looking into it, you can learn about numerous product photography concepts. In this blog, you will read about the correct framing of a frame depicting certain objects, you will find in it stories about the correct and interesting lighting of such shooting objects, about the delicate, but very effective post-processing of photographs of this order. This will provide you with invaluable assistance in your work on photographing food and food in general.
Tips for creating studio photos at home
It goes without saying that not every photographer, especially a beginner, has the opportunity to work in a well-equipped photo studio and good photographic equipment. But ingenuity, ingenuity and some perseverance in achieving your goal will help you do without all this, and in the conditions of an ordinary apartment, on your own, create good conditions that could be quite close to studio ones.
What Every Beginner Should Know About Product Photography
Where does an inexperienced photographer start when he receives an order for product photography? This can sometimes confuse a beginner, and it will be very difficult for him to get out of it. You can get very good recommendations on this matter by reading this article.
5 common lighting mistakes that many photographers make
In this blog, you'll learn the most common lighting mistakes food photographers make. You will read about what kind of light can completely ruin your shot, get great recommendations on how to avoid these mistakes and how to get rid of them in the post-processing process of photographs.
A step-by-step guide to product photography
This article provides you with a wonderful step-by-step guide on how to take photos of various subjects step by step, where to start, what to pay attention to Special attention in the process of work, and about much, much more.
How to shoot various drinks in beautiful bottles various shapes, for example, wine, you will learn from this short lesson. In it you will receive very valuable and necessary advice for a photographer engaged in such photography on how to control the reflection on the glass of a bottle, on how to correctly arrange the lighting of such a difficult object to photograph as a glass object, and much, much more.
The best photos of small objects
In this lesson you will learn about the importance of precision in camera settings when photographing small objects. It will help those who photograph very small objects.
Photographing products. Books
Lighting for Product Photography: A Step-by-Step Guide to Digital Photography
An excellent guide to lighting for food and culinary photography. It describes the entire process of such shooting very well, in detail and in detail, draws attention to all stages and moments of the work, and describes the solution to problems that are very likely to arise in this work. The list of products is described in detail. This book compares favorably with other similar books in that the entire process of work is described there from beginning to end, so to speak, from the very beginning, from the basics. At first, the authors of the book will teach you how to take seemingly primitive photographs, but then the requirements for the work will become stricter and stricter with each new step, and your work will be improved from one stage to the next. From this useful book, you will also learn how to properly set lighting when photographing food, what colors will look best in photographs, and how to choose the right combination of these colors. You will also learn about the tools that can and should be used in your work as a food photographer.
Convenient platinum photo studio for photographing objects
Softbox, which is made of specialized fabric that is resistant to high temperatures, very simple and easy to use. Plus, it looks quite stylish. The material of this miniature tabletop photo studio is 100% velor. This material provides excellent, uniform and well-diffused lighting, which does not create sharp shadows from the subject and allows you to avoid bright highlights on it. The softbox folds easily, and in such a compact form it is easy and convenient to both store and transport.
Photography Handbook: Using the Built-in Flash and Other Tricks to Help You Take Professional Photos
Imagine that you are looking at beautiful, professionally executed photographs of any objects. These photographs sometimes evoke unique sensations and even take the viewer’s breath away. Sometimes it just seems unreal. But, nevertheless, all these pictures were not created in a professional photo studio! After reading this book, you will easily see that this is not the case at all. This wonderful publication will give you comprehensive information on how to create wonderful photographs of various objects without a professional photographic studio or expensive photographic equipment.
Commercial Photography Handbook: Business Techniques for Professional Digital Photographers
A book that we think is simply wonderful. It was written with a focus on the work of experienced commercial photographers. The advice in this book is truly invaluable. It covers almost all aspects and problems of being a commercial photographer. Each section of this publication begins with the author talking about what a photograph should be like and what the person who ordered it expects from it. In addition, each section of the book contains comprehensive information about what tools need to be used in this or that type of commercial photography in order to achieve the best result, what principles work when creating this or that type of commercial photography. The author will tell readers in detail, in every detail, delving into every detail, about marketing as such, and teach how to negotiate with potential customer works, will tell you how to determine the cost of a particular order, how to set a price for your work, how to maximize profits and minimize costs. A very useful book in practice! Be sure to read it!
From snapshots to professional photographs. Photographing food
Very decent book, in which it is fascinating, in all its subtleties, about how to photograph food. After reading this book, you will learn not only how to cook various dishes wonderfully, but also how to beautifully, as they say, deliciously photograph your culinary creativity. The information you will receive from this wonderful publication will help you do beautiful pictures not only culinary dishes, but also various food products in general. You will learn how to correctly set up lighting for such shooting, and correctly position various objects in the frame. The great thing here is that all the tips and recommendations contained in this book are not intended for professional photographer, which works with food and culinary masterpieces created by famous chefs, in a well-equipped photo studio, and for the simplest amateur photographers. The authors will teach you how to create wonderful culinary photographs at home, in your own kitchen, practically without leaving the stove!
© 2013 site
In this article, I do not set myself the task of covering all the nuances of subject photography without exception in all its diversity. Rather, I strive to help a novice photographer who is thinking about product photography for the first time (for commercial or other purposes), but does not know how to approach it.
We will talk about shooting isolated objects on a white background, since it is this type of subject photography that is most in demand in photo banks and, by a happy coincidence, is extremely easy to learn. First of all, you will need accuracy and attention to detail.
Comfortable and uncomfortable items
Not all objects are equally suitable for isolation on a white background. I don't want to say that you should limit yourself to photographing only simple objects - you can photograph almost anything. However, shooting some things involves considerable difficulties, both directly during shooting and during post-processing.
Let's consider the properties of an ideal object:
- It is noticeably darker than the background and has no white areas. This makes it easy to adjust the exposure so that the subject is exposed normally and the white background is slightly overexposed.
- The object has clear boundaries. Fur, fluff, and the like make it very difficult to selectively bleach backgrounds in Photoshop.
- The object has simple form. Complex openwork structures, through which the background shines through, are not easy to isolate.
- The surface of the object is matte. Glossy shiny objects reflect everything around, including you and your studio, requiring special attention to the highlights and their shape. Transparent objects are even more difficult to work with.
- The object is motionless. Photographing pets is extremely fun, but requires skill and agility. Still lifes allow you to work slowly.
- The object is not large, but not too small either. Small objects definitely need a macro lens and are very demanding about the cleanliness of the workspace. Large objects are simply too bulky for a home studio.
Thus, the ideal objects for shooting on a white background are: walnut; unglazed clay pot; wooden box, etc. An example of the worst object would be, say, a white long-haired cat trying to fish a goldfish out of a round glass aquarium.
Purity
Make sure that the items you remove are clean. The dust, invisible at first glance, will be clearly visible when carefully viewing the images on a computer monitor. If you are shooting a small object so that it appears larger than its actual size in the photograph, then be prepared for the fact that any dirt and dust will become intrusively obvious at 100% magnification.
To bring your shooting subjects into a marketable state, it is best to use optical brushes and microfiber cloths, i.e. those tools that do not leave marks or fibers.
On smooth and especially glossy surfaces, fingerprints are clearly visible and must also be eliminated. To avoid leaving new prints, it is sometimes advisable to wear medical gloves made of latex or nitrile before work.
Of course, dust, small stains of dirt and individual fingerprints can be removed in Photoshop. Another question is, how long will it take? In my opinion, it’s easier and faster to take care of proper cleanliness once than to then remove the same specks of dust over and over again on each of the hundreds of processed images.
Equipment
Camera
I had the opportunity to do subject photography even in the fresh air, setting up a table in the middle of the lawn at my dacha. On a moderately cloudy day, the cloudy sky is a source of perfectly diffused light, quite suitable for subject photography.
Typically, isolates photographed for photobanks have a slight blurry shadow underneath them. If complete isolation without any shadows is required, then the objects are placed on frosted glass or thin white plastic and additionally illuminated from below.
To isolate without shadows, I placed a piece of glass on top of four clear glasses, thus raising the cup above the paper.
And if I had not been too lazy to find frosted glass,
the reflection would also disappear.
Exposition
General information about exposure can be found in the article “Exposure: Theory”. About exposure when working with studio flashes, see the article “Studio flashes”.
If you use studio flashes, you should prefer manual mode determine exposure, and for constant light, aperture priority mode will do.
I usually use an aperture around f/16, but sometimes you may need a greater depth of field.
Use a histogram to evaluate exposure. Your goal is to work the subject well without overexposing it. White background You can overexpose completely freely, provided that the overexposure area does not interfere with the object. Don't try to make the entire background completely white - you'll still have to etch it out in Photoshop. Just try to get as close to the final version as possible to make later editing easier.
Thank you for your attention!
Vasily A.
Post scriptum
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