Product Photography

Hello,

Is there a place to find discussions on things like Product Photography? Thinks like techniques for taking photos of products for posting to websites etc? While I consider some of that to be Macro it seems to me like that is just part of the equation.

 

Thanks

Buddy C

One of the critical elements in product photography, like portrait work, is lighting.

I'm no search engine wizard and photo.net is maybe not the best organized place? If you have questions, fire away.

Agreeing with @JDMvW above, I highly recommend acquiring a used copy of "Light Science and Magic", for hair loss prevention's sake, to all fellow product photographers.

You could also look up Amazon's lighting patent.

Further elements of product photography are placing stuff for assembly line shots and maybe arranging / preparing / styling it or product specific QC. Less hassle if you aren't shooting food or fabrics.

Maybe product photography is more macro related than the subject distances hint? - Macro lenses seem popular workhorses in that field.

Most threads I read were like: "I know less than nothing and need a fairly inexpensive kit for my company." or struggling with nasty stuff like jewelry desiringing focus stacking results, without going through that exercise.

I highly recommend acquiring a used copy of "Light Science and Magic", for hair loss prevention's sake, to all fellow product photographers.

You could also look up Amazon's lighting patent.

Further elements of product photography are placing stuff for assembly line shots and maybe arranging / preparing / styling it or product specific QC. Less hassle if you aren't shooting food or fabrics.

Maybe product photography is more macro related than the subject distances hint? - Macro lenses seem popular workhorses in that field.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been shooting several nights a week for the last 8 years for things to put on eBay etc. Since I already enjoyed photography I took it as a challenge to see what I could learn. I'm cheap so I got along with home made lighting and things for quite a while before I upgraded last year.

 

Maybe the subject itself is not glamorous enough for a book of it's own or a class but it might be interesting to see the response. Or maybe a group just for the subject to share experiences and ask questions. I know lots of people just use a smart phone for eBay and such but I can't take a good picture with one to save my soul and I don't plan on improving on that one.

Some things are easier to put into words than others and product photography seems among the nastiest ones to talk about?

While I don't own a phone worth shooting, I admit that those little buggers already made ebay possible and / or better, when enthusiast DSLRs still only had 6MP...

I took pictures of my ex' stuff with a macro lens and bounced on camera flash. - They were good enough for used books or such.

I also side jobbed a couple of years, shooting spectacle frames and ended deploying at least 4 flashes sometimes more. Light tents didn't work; they don't convey the nature of chrome.

 

I guess the really good thing about products is: They give you time to chew on your lighting problems. OTOH: If the background gets retouched out, you'll face no need to learn lighting still lives realistically.

 

Maybe get a semi verbal discussion going by creating a thread on a common subject? Like average 35mm camera porn, with lighting diagram, behind the scenes shot and verbalized issues?