Product photography session example

Product Photography, Using a combination of macro 100mm lens & 85mm lens

Setup using 2x large glossy kitchen tiles as a mini studio setup and 3 light sources enough to light the product and to completely white out the background.

Other items can be used for example some polystyrene boards or a light cube.

Camera settings using manual mode with a shutter speed of approx.: 1/60th up to 1/250th of a sec depending on aperture settings which were between f2 – for sine details worth some nice bokeh or to get everything in good detail f/5.6 is a good place to start. Having a fine balance of both aperture & shutter speed is important to watch at all times.

Main light source 3x light stands with two reflector dishes. One video light for the background light source.

So what to photograph this time round I decided to photograph something shiny such as jewellery watches & rings, as being shiny can have its issues of reflections and glare, to combat this place your lighting in such a way that you cannot see yourself reflected in the product or too much light is being reflected off the product, taking a few minutes to set up your light and product is important to start with, Some professional studios such as Apple will take hours to set up their products to photograph with a multitude of light just for one IPhone for example, as an end result it makes sales and they always look great. So using white background, even though I am using glossy white Kitchen tiles you will not notice the difference as the lighting will turn the already bright white tiles even whiter to ensure a perfect background

Remember a tripod at lower shutter speeds to avoid camera shake, is very important, and however at higher shutter speeds not always needed.

Placing the items in question, it takes a little thinking it is not simply to put the jewellery down and snap away, take a few minutes to carefully wipe down the items you’re photographing to clean off unwanted finger prints or dust that can be removed in Photoshop but to save time why not save you some time.

Placing the item at a slight angle will make all the difference as people can see what they may be buying, so they would want to have a good look round, also ensure that you capture the most detailed of angles, for example rings and watches, rings are good to take at angles, where watches work taking an image straight on, however you may have to watch your lighting set up as light reflections can sometimes obscure the final image, With watches it’s always a good practice to ensure that the hands are facing away from each other and if it has a second hand as well that also to face away from the other hands, it can make all the difference of selling a product to making it look good to the consumer.

In some cases using a simple item like a kitchen tile can give a great reflection to your image this also can help with the final image and can give the illusion of a quality photograph.

Trying moving your products around and looking at different angles always keeping in mind composition making sure your images are straight even though Photoshop can correct this but as a time saver later it’s good practice to get as much right in camera as possible, as we don’t want to get to independent on Photoshop as they will take away the ability of learning, camera techniques.

And lastly enjoy what your doing have fun with it and never be afraid to experiment, try different techniques, try moving  your light sources around, try different camera settings, photographing products is not rocket science & there is no set procedure, it is all about starting at the basics and working up to a system that works well for you.

This simple process above can be used on many types of products, and is the basis for most portrait photography, getting the lighting correct to suit the style of your photography, ensuring an even amount light is key.

Thanks for reading & my thanks to my good friend Christian for posting this blog.
if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

To see more of my work can be found at the following website address.
www.simoneverettphotographykent.co.uk

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