product photography help

[jl255]

Hi, is it possible to achieve pictures of this kind of standard from home?

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/sonyericsson-w710-en.shtml

If so, how do i go about doing it? What is the minimum hardware requirements? Newbie in this area of product photography.... Any tips/guides will be greatly appreciated!

 

[nikonrus]

Any camera with a zoom lens that can take closeup/macro + A computer with any version of Photoshop (or equivalent).
You'll need some knowledge on how to use photoshop (or its equivalnet) as well.

 

[Adelfin]

plus most of the time u'll need a little light at back and front of the product.. experiment with the angles and strength of the lights such that the background will be white (easier for editing later) and the front doesn't reflect the light back (if u have money get a diffuser.. but it's not neccessary)...

 

[jl255]

Any camera with a zoom lens that can take closeup/macro + A computer with any version of Photoshop (or equivalent).
You'll need some knowledge on how to use photoshop (or its equivalnet) as well.

so u r saying that the way the phones appear suspended and how they get a perfectly white background are all done through photoshop?

is it possible for someone to teach me real quickly how to do these? just point me to the feature or function and i shld be able to figure it out. tks!

 

[jl255]

plus most of the time u'll need a little light at back and front of the product.. experiment with the angles and strength of the lights such that the background will be white (easier for editing later) and the front doesn't reflect the light back (if u have money get a diffuser.. but it's not neccessary)...

yah, that's one of the things i cannot understand. Any websites to recommend that teach how i shld do my lighting? I also get alot of problems with reflections of the shiny surfaces. How do i handle that?

 

[blazingflames18]

hmmm...there are no shortcut la ..check with SLCC whether they still conduct such courses ..you have to learn the basics of still life lightings and handling of various surfaces...if it was that ez, many pro still life photographers out there will be out of biz liao ..... ;p

cheers

 

[OlyFlyer]

so u r saying that the way the phones appear suspended and how they get a perfectly white background are all done through photoshop?

is it possible for someone to teach me real quickly how to do these? just point me to the feature or function and i shld be able to figure it out. tks!

There are no shortcuts in life. You must learn at least the basics first, then get a good dSLR camera (just any camera won't do) and some flashes and other stuff for lighting, then learn some more. You have to learn how to handle the camera and how to set the light. You also have to get a computer and an editing software and learn that too.

Come back again when you have a specific question, not just a "teach me quickly how to..." type of question. Do you think things that stuff that takes years to learn can be tought in a few lines "quickly"? You must really believe most other people are stupid idiots because they spend years on different courses and read loads of books when it actually can be done quickly in a few lines. Also most other people take thousands of images and look critically at each in an effort to learn even more.

I suggest you start posting pictures and asking for criticism. You will get many answers to learn from, since there are many helpful people here on CS.

 

[OlyFlyer]

Any camera with a zoom lens that can take closeup/macro + A computer with any version of Photoshop (or equivalent).
You'll need some knowledge on how to use photoshop (or its equivalnet) as well.

I would't say "any camera" and actually a zoom is not a good choise. You'd need a dSLR, a lens with close-up or macro possibilities, external flash (preferably more than one) and some more stuff. Most of all, gadgets will not be of any help if there is no knowledge in the photographer's head...

 

[zac08]

Hi, is it possible to achieve pictures of this kind of standard from home?

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/sonyericsson-w710-en.shtml

If so, how do i go about doing it? What is the minimum hardware requirements? Newbie in this area of product photography.... Any tips/guides will be greatly appreciated!

SLR,
macro lens for sharpness even at close range
light tent
2 lights or 2 flashes
Computer to edit the shots

 

[zac08]

yah, that's one of the things i cannot understand. Any websites to recommend that teach how i shld do my lighting? I also get alot of problems with reflections of the shiny surfaces. How do i handle that?

A light tent...

read more abt it...

 

[Adelfin]

seriously... to do it cheaply without all the gadgets... get a nice white wall/paper/background inside a well lit room (the light better be white and not some tungsten lamp) from the top... shoot with a flash and diffuser like LS to bounce off the ceiling and light the background while lighting the front... pls use a tripod too.. and if u want to reduce glare and reflections, use a polariser... all these items u should already have so u don't have to buy anymore... cheap and easy... any touch up just do with photoshop...

if u want to hang items... decide on the angle and use fishing line to hang from somewhere.. then use photoshop to delete any visible line.....

not the best results.. but u don't have to buy anything...

 

[jl255]

There are no shortcuts in life. You must learn at least the basics first, then get a good dSLR camera (just any camera won't do) and some flashes and other stuff for lighting, then learn some more. You have to learn how to handle the camera and how to set the light. You also have to get a computer and an editing software and learn that too.

Come back again when you have a specific question, not just a "teach me quickly how to..." type of question. Do you think things that stuff that takes years to learn can be tought in a few lines "quickly"? You must really believe most other people are stupid idiots because they spend years on different courses and read loads of books when it actually can be done quickly in a few lines. Also most other people take thousands of images and look critically at each in an effort to learn even more.

I suggest you start posting pictures and asking for criticism. You will get many answers to learn from, since there are many helpful people here on CS.

think u have mistaken my intent. I think u must believe i am idiot for asking this type of question. What i mean is to point me in the right direction and i will do the searching myself. some terminology or whatever, at least a starting point.... notice i said, that i will figure the rest out myself.... pls take time to read my messages properly before jumping to conclusions

 

[jl255]

seriously... to do it cheaply without all the gadgets... get a nice white wall/paper/background inside a well lit room (the light better be white and not some tungsten lamp) from the top... shoot with a flash and diffuser like LS to bounce off the ceiling and light the background while lighting the front... pls use a tripod too.. and if u want to reduce glare and reflections, use a polariser... all these items u should already have so u don't have to buy anymore... cheap and easy... any touch up just do with photoshop...

if u want to hang items... decide on the angle and use fishing line to hang from somewhere.. then use photoshop to delete any visible line.....

not the best results.. but u don't have to buy anything...

wow... tks. exactly what i'm looking for! tks. i can do research on all the things u mentioned. tks to everyone else for your patience too.

one more question, why is it only a SLR can do the job? why can't my canon ixus with macro function do it? have tried it and i can take very close up zoom shots sharply, what else am i missing?

 

[jl255]

will a light tent like this do?
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Photo-Studio...90159624QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3352QQcmdZViewItem

thinking of getting a cheap one to experiment around with....

 

[Adelfin]

wow... tks. exactly what i'm looking for! tks. i can do research on all the things u mentioned. tks to everyone else for your patience too.

one more question, why is it only a SLR can do the job? why can't my canon ixus with macro function do it? have tried it and i can take very close up zoom shots sharply, what else am i missing?

u don't need an slr... u just need good lighting... esp if u're hanging ur products... take note of any shadow that can occur below it, or diagonally below in the background... have to compensate for all that...

http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/HowTo_page.htm
look at the above to see how some people do it.. u may not have the equipment, but u can learn how to compromise and create the same lighting effects with what u have at home.. even some study lamps can be used to do the job.. just experiment..
:thumbsup:

 

[zac08]

will a light tent like this do?
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Photo-Studio...90159624QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3352QQcmdZViewItem

thinking of getting a cheap one to experiment around with....

Yeah.. possible.

You can start with that, but lighting... you'd still need lights to give it even lighting inside the tent. Most would aim 2 lights at an angle into the tent to give it a even bounced lighting.

Some to diffuse even further would bounce the light off walls beside the tent to lower the power even further.

Experiment more and you'll get the idea.


Cheers,

 

[zac08]

wow... tks. exactly what i'm looking for! tks. i can do research on all the things u mentioned. tks to everyone else for your patience too.

one more question, why is it only a SLR can do the job? why can't my canon ixus with macro function do it? have tried it and i can take very close up zoom shots sharply, what else am i missing?

Selective focus... PnS cameras have limited selections for aperture control.
Cable release for taking photos from the same spot without touching the camera at all.

You can try using your Canon ixus, but it may not be able to meter well with the lights. May even give wrong metering. Also, you can't trigger off slave flashes with a PnS camera like a DSLR can....

 

[Stratix]

actually, if you have a DSLR, an ext flash, and a room with relatively low celing, just point your flash up at a certain angle, and bounce off the celing.

anyway, with that, here's some macros of what i got: http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=258159 =)

 

[Adelfin]

actually, if you have a DSLR, an ext flash, and a room with relatively low celing, just point your flash up at a certain angle, and bounce off the celing.

anyway, with that, here's some macros of what i got: http://forums.clubsnap.com/showthread.php?t=258159 =)

It may not always work, coz it depends on the kind of product u are shooting... u shot a camera, which is relatively non-reflective. Notice the lcd is unclear? that's coz of the harsh flash that reflected back into the lens...

On more reflective objects like watches and jewellery, using such a method is likely to cause white spots everywhere due to overexposure from reflections... this is where u use a light tent to diffuse the light and reduce reflections... u can do without it to save costs, but it's a little more troublesome and u gotta improvise...

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

Selective focus... PnS cameras have limited selections for aperture control.
Cable release for taking photos from the same spot without touching the camera at all.

You can try using your Canon ixus, but it may not be able to meter well with the lights. May even give wrong metering. Also, you can't trigger off slave flashes with a PnS camera like a DSLR can....

with tripod... u forget to emphasize...

actually quite simple...