Product Photography. Best practices for this style?

TheGenerous · Jan 3, 2013, 05:02 PM

I've seen this style of photography for print and typography related material. I wonder if there is a name for it, I'd like to research best practices for it. My goal is to be able to reproduce some of these shots with some well-designed stuff I got.

Please let me know what keywords could I be searching for. Thank you.

The author of these shots is a quite busy person and unfortunately he announced not replying to questions.

salacious · Jan 3, 2013, 05:13 PM

The apple method

kevinfulton.ca · Jan 3, 2013, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGenerous

I've seen this style of photography for print and typography related material. I wonder if there is a name for it, I'd like to research best practices for it. My goal is to be able to reproduce some of these shots with some well-designed stuff I got.

Please let me know what keywords could I be searching for. Thank you.

Image

Image

Image

The author of these shots is a quite busy person and unfortunately he announced not replying to questions.

It's pretty straight forward. You'll need a white surface, two lights on either side and soft boxes to diffuse, and a tripod with a swinging center column so that you can hang the camera directly over the product. You can pick up a very basic product photography kit that includes everything you need (except for the tripod) for very cheap.

Things to keep in mind while photographing would be to use a regular or slightly telephoto lens to make sure the products are not warped by any lens distortion. Also, you may want to experiment with your exposure to keep that white background bright and crisp. Start with the regular metered exposure then try over exposing by one of two stops. You can also try doing bracket exposures (1 stop under, 1 correct, 1 stop over) and merging them together in Photoshop. Similar to HDR, but not so heavy handed and terrible looking

Hope this helps!

DarrenUK · Jan 3, 2013, 05:31 PM

Search the Internet for "light box" or "light tent" that will give you an idea where to start.

I use a small light box for my product photography (I sell small items, I.e body jewellery) and the results from a basic light box, reasonable camera and tripod are very good.

wolfpuppies3 · Jan 4, 2013, 10:02 AM

It's all about lighting and depth of field.

Check out http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.shtml and http://strobist.blogspot.com/ for hints and guidance.

Have a good macro lens too. I have couple and use them with either fixed or natural lighting or a twin tube macro light (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...n_lite_mt_24ex)

ocabj · Jan 4, 2013, 10:25 AM

I don't bother with light boxes. I simply use a couple lights with modifiers (e.g. softbox, umbrellas or even a beauty dish).

Example: http://www.ocabj.net/canon-bg-e11-battery-grip-review/

TheGenerous · Jan 4, 2013, 03:06 PM

Many thanks. It's great getting help from you.
I'll work hard on this!

Jan 3, 2013, 05:02 PM	#1
TheGenerous macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: I'm an Austronaut	Product Photography. Best practices for this style? I've seen this style of photography for print and typography related material. I wonder if there is a name for it, I'd like to research best practices for it. My goal is to be able to reproduce some of these shots with some well-designed stuff I got. Please let me know what keywords could I be searching for. Thank you. The author of these shots is a quite busy person and unfortunately he announced not replying to questions. __________________ I have a cool Alf picture in my profile!
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 10:02 AM	#5
wolfpuppies3 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Virginia, USA	It's all about lighting and depth of field. It's all about lighting and depth of field. Check out http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.shtml and http://strobist.blogspot.com/ for hints and guidance. Have a good macro lens too. I have couple and use them with either fixed or natural lighting or a twin tube macro light (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...n_lite_mt_24ex) __________________ 2012 MBA 13, 2 Ghz i7, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD; 2011 MBA 11, 1.8 Ghz i7, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD; 2010 MB Pro 15, 2.66 Ghz i7, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD; two iPad 3s and a mini, two iPhones and a bunch of iPods
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 10:25 AM	#6
ocabj macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2009	I don't bother with light boxes. I simply use a couple lights with modifiers (e.g. softbox, umbrellas or even a beauty dish). Example: http://www.ocabj.net/canon-bg-e11-battery-grip-review/ __________________ http://jocabphoto.com http://ocabj.net
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 03:06 PM	#7
TheGenerous Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: I'm an Austronaut	Many thanks. It's great getting help from you. I'll work hard on this! __________________ I have a cool Alf picture in my profile!
	0

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Jan 3, 2013, 05:13 PM	#2
salacious macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2011	The apple method
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Jan 3, 2013, 05:31 PM	#4
DarrenUK macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Southampton, UK	Search the Internet for "light box" or "light tent" that will give you an idea where to start. I use a small light box for my product photography (I sell small items, I.e body jewellery) and the results from a basic light box, reasonable camera and tripod are very good.
	0


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