Need some advice

We are in a dilemma. We own and operate an ecommerce website that

sells sunglasses. We are going to need to take professional photos

of our product to display on our website. We know nothing about

photography, but we are going to purchase a nice digital camera

(unless someone points us in another direction) We currently have a

2.1 megapixal HP 315 digital camera but that's not getting the

quality that we need. Can anyone recommend 1) a good camera for this

job and 2) the technique to take quality pictures, i.e. lighting,

positioning, etc? If you would like to contact me you can reach me

at info@sunglassreplicas.com

Ron I don't fault you for wanting to try this on your own, but if I had a nickel for

every time someone like you without experience posted a thread to learn how

to do photography, well, I'd be still poor, but at least I'd have a new camera.

Seriously, you have 3 options as far as I see it. 1st, do the best you can; 2nd,

read as much as you possibly can and practice, or 3rd hire someone to do the

job for you that knows lighting, film, reflections etc. To educate somone all

about product photography, one of the harder disciplines in photography, in

some written text, would take a book, so I suggest go getting one at the local

bookstore since it will explain things much better, and then ask questions

here along the way. Otherwise, hire someone and let them do what they do

best so you can dedicate your time to what you do best. Best of luck. P.S. if

your on a budget go to a local school and ask the teacher for a student

referral. It's extra credit for them and cheaper for you.

Ron,

 

Curved highly reflective surfaces are among the hardest items to light. Plus, having looked at your website, you're choice of high-key lighting will complicate things a bit.

 

The lens will be far more important than resolution or even the sensor, in order to avoid flare from the high key background. Hence, I'd consider a used D30 and a Canon 100mm f/2 lens. The upside is you can upgrade to a 10D, 1Ds or whatever else comes along later.

 

Also, consider a light tent or cloud dome for these shots. These are the simplest way to get uniform lighting accross the whole surface of the lens. Then you just need to be sure you're lights cover the light tent evenly and watch for your lens' reflection in the image.

 

Best of luck!

I suspect it'll be cheaper to hire a professional. But

books are cheaper than equipment, so you might as well

start by buying a copy of "Light, Science and Magic" to

learn what you're up against. It'll either go a long way

toward teaching you what you need to know (further than any

answer on this forum can possibly go), or it'll cause you

to give up and hire a pro. Either way, it'll be money well

spent.

IMHO, if you have time and interest, get a digital camera with manual controls and can drive external lighting like Canon G3, Olympus C5050, Sony 717; a bunch of lights, backdrops, instruction books and experiment w/ different setups. If you don't want to go through the hassle I think you could find an art student to take the picture for you for real cheap. Just a thought.

Hire a Professional. They know what they are doing and can make a product snap!

I agree, but we can not afford what we have been quoted.