Where to focus in this type of pic ?

[90blackcrx]

I shot a lot of pics of these, just for kicks and noticed none really came out sharp looking. Was using a nifty fifty and a tripod, I was wondering if it has anything to do with the design of the light, making it hard for the lens to focus ?
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/90blackcrx/IMG_3559.jpg

[Beau Hudspeth]

When shooting multiple product, I always try to align the pieces with the plane of the 'film'; that way no one piece is closer then the other.

Another thing I do is throw as much light on the subject as possible - that way you can shoot with a much smaller (f/16+) aperture and remove some depth of field. When I was shooting product (for over a year) I used 2000 watts for an object this size - one 1000wt overhead and 2 500wt on each side, sitting on a 6 bulb light table.

The third this is: don't shoot with a 50mm - your too close. Shoot with a 100mm or more. You will be farther away but will not have such a pronounced depth of field issue.

Lastly, shoot a gray card to help with color-casts.

Hope that that helps!

[90blackcrx]

Helped out a lot.

[ilovemycamera]

When shooting multiple product, I always try to align the pieces with the plane of the 'film'; that way no one piece is closer then the other.

Another thing I do is throw as much light on the subject as possible - that way you can shoot with a much smaller (f/16+) aperture and remove some depth of field. When I was shooting product (for over a year) I used 2000 watts for an object this size - one 1000wt overhead and 2 500wt on each side, sitting on a 6 bulb light table.

The third this is: don't shoot with a 50mm - your too close. Shoot with a 100mm or more. You will be farther away but will not have such a pronounced depth of field issue.

Lastly, shoot a gray card to help with color-casts.

Hope that that helps!


That's some great, straight forward advice...

Well put-;)

[Beau Hudspeth]

That's some great, straight forward advice...

Well put-;)Thank you! Glad my year of pain learning this stuff will not go to waste!:D

[Benji]

DOF is always 1/3rd in front of and 2/3rds behind the spot that the lens was focused on. So focusing 1/3rd of the way into a photograph will guarantee maximum DOF.

Benji

[StewartR]

DOF is always 1/3rd in front of and 2/3rds behind the spot that the lens was focused on. So focusing 1/3rd of the way into a photograph will guarantee maximum DOF.Sorry Benji, but that's rubbish. You've been listening to old wives' tales.

A little while ago I had a slow day in the office so I did some calculations. (Well actually DOFMaster (http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html) did.) Suppose you have a 55mm lens on a 350D at f/8. The hyperfocal distance is 20m. With the subject at various distances, the DOF is as follows:

Subject at 1m: DOF from 0.95m to 1.05m (48% in front)
Subject at 2m: DOF from 1.82m to 2.22m (45% in front)
Subject at 3m: DOF from 2.61m to 3.52m (43% in front)
Subject at 5m: DOF from 4m to 6.65m (38% in front)
Subject at 6.67m: DOF from 5m to 10m (33% in front)
Subject at 10m: DOF from 6.67m to 20m (25% in front)
Subject at 15m: DOF from 8.57m to 60.2m (12% in front)
Subject at 19m: DOF from 9.73m to 395.4m (2% in front)So the 1/3rd - 2/3rds "rule" only works when the subject distance is 1/3rd of the hyperfocal distance. Close-up it tends to 50:50, and further out the DOF tends to be more behind the subject.

[Beau Hudspeth]

Sorry Benji, but that's rubbish. You've been listening to old wives' tales.

A little while ago I had a slow day in the office so I did some calculations. (Well actually DOFMaster (http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html) did.)
Man I love it when you get useful info! Thank you Stewart!!