Product Photography

[Joerg Rockenberger]

This is off topic for this board but hopefully I still get some constructive feedback...

For better or worse, the startup I work for identified me as their "product photographer" ever since they learned that my hobby is bird photography. I know, I know... I've been telling them myself. Never mind that product photography has as much to do with bird photography as football with soccer... Nonetheless, previous "assignments" actually resulted in several images I took being printed in some industry publications.

I know the basics for product photography (uniform lighting, out of focus background, very accurate color reproduction etc.) but lack the right equipment especially regarding lighting. I've used a simple light tent in the past but don't feel it's appropriate for the next request.

If anyone has a recommendation for a professional product photographer in the San Francisco Bay area, preferably South Bay, I'd appreciate it very much. As well as any tips re taking such images myself of course...

Thanks, JR

[John Chardine]

Hey JR- I play around with this at home, mainly to do flower images. You can get some pretty nice results with the following:

1. Various drop cloths rolled up on dowels with hooks on each end + two cheap umbrella stands to mount the dowel and unfurl the cloth for backgrounds and underlay.
2. Two umbrellas and stands. I have two-layer umbrellas with inner white layer for shoot-through, plus two flashes.
3. Remote flash transmitter (in my case Canon ST-E2) to be able to fire flashes and change balance of one flash versus the other.
4. With this setup I usually use the Canon 100 mm F2.8 macro

This is "workman-like", but does the job and is not that expensive to get into.

[Cal Walters]

Joerg
Michael LaMotte is the guru in this area - He is based in SF. I have a branding firm (Oakland) and we use him extensively for photography of all kinds - mostly food, but toys and robotics as well - his images for us end up all over the world.

http://www.lamottestudios.com/

As far as tips goes (I am the manager not the creative - so take accordingly), it all depends on where they will be used / reproduced. Start with the end in mind if in high quality litho - you need higher quality to start with than if you are using 72 dpi on the web. Also, consider the product itself and how much the image will sell the product (what is the viewer using the image for - confirming it is the right item or hoping it is enticing enough to choose that one out of the choices - clothes, jewelry and food are much different than industrial nuts and bolts. Granted you can make many things look sexy - and sexy always sells!

Sometimes we use a simple white sweep and natural diffused light on a bright day - (don't shoot under flor lights, etc.) if we need a less manipulated image - but this is rarely for real use - for that we generally go to Michael.

[Joerg Rockenberger]

John & Cal,

Thanks for getting back to me. I've decided to punt on this one and hire a pro. It's for a cover of a magazine doing a profile of our company. I'll check out Michael as well as some other local photographers.

JR

[Chris Hansen]

Joerg,

If you ever decide to do some more work on your own check out my old blog.

http://diyphotocheapodepot.blogspot.com/2008/06/diy-product-photography.html

You can make the foamcore boxes in various sizes to fit your product needs.

I think it was a wise decision on your part to hire a pro. Hopefully you can get to watch them work so you can pick up a few tips and maybe try some more on your own.

Good luck,

chris

[Dug Threewitt]

If you want tips for yourself, check out www.strobist.com There are many tips in the lighting 101 section.

[Helene Coner]

Hi JR, The American Society of Media Photographers at ASMP.org lists all of their members in their "Find a Photographer" directory by specialty. Maybe they have members in the Bay Area plus you might find some useful tips in their forum. Good luck, HC