Has Anyone done (finger) Nail photography before?

[butcha27]

Hi all,
A friend of mine has asked me if I could shoot some examples of nail work his partner does at her beauty salon. Has anyone ever done such a shoot and if so does anyone have any pointers for me? Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. :)

[kbreit]

I have not. I would say a good idea would be to have her hand in front of a backdrop that'll make the hand and the colors stand out. You could use one of those white boxes (is that what they're called) that people sometimes use for photographing objects. I'm sure someone who has done shoots like this would know better. But it's my guess.

Good luck. I'd love to see the photos.

[breal101]

Interesting project, any number of ways to approach it. First and most obvious, a good set of hands will work best. The background could be as simple as hands against the models body parts, a classic pose is hands on face for instance. Real tight shots, probably natural light with fill cards would be the simplist way to go. It would depend a lot on the style of the nails to determine how edgey you may want to go.

[Kristy]

hmmm can't be much different that shooting a close up of someone's hands, right? Just try to get them in a nice light and use your Kenko thingy... that should work great. :)

I once edited fingernails in a newborn session.. the mom didn't have time to get her nails filled and they looked terrible.. so on the close ups with her hands, I "filled" them in photoshop.. talk about having anal issues... I have problems. :)

Here are a couple "hand shots"..... :) Taken with the Tamron ...

[butcha27]

Very nice, it has also given me ideas for another upcoming shoot i am doing , of a newborn! I'm guessing they'll just want overhead nail shots, I think the black backdrop is the more suitable, what do you use for those photos?

[Kristy]

Very nice, it has also given me ideas for another upcoming shoot i am doing , of a newborn! I'm guessing they'll just want overhead nail shots, I think the black backdrop is the more suitable, what do you use for those photos?


Oh good! :) Glad to be of help. The fabric is just 2 pieces of fabric that I picked up at walmart.. believe it or not... It's a stretchy sort of polyester/lycra blend that doesn't fade, doesn't wrinkle, is machine washable, and soft enough ona baby's skin, and heavy enough that it doesn't bleed too much light (unless there's a window behind it.). Best of all it was only $1.00 per yard! I now have 4 strips that are about 3 or 4 yards long, which is 9-12 feet long by at 54 inches wide.. double them up on your backdrop stand and they work just fine.... the extra 2 pieces lay on the floor or toss over an ottoman or posing type of table.. :)

Good luck on your newborn shoot.. allow at least 3 hours for peeing, pooping, fussing and feeding. :) They're tough little subjects but the end results are simply priceless. :)

[butcha27]

Thanks heaps, the shoot isn't for a week at the earliest and to be honest it's a little out of my normal "comfort zone" I'm a sports photographer at heart, but looking forward to the challenge! I may have to PM you before the newborn shoot too! I'll be reading as much as I can on here though. Also it will be a good set of hands for the nail shoot as I will be shooting a professional nail model ....Thanks again :)

[butcha27]

By the way, when you said use my "Kenko thingy"? It is a 2x converter I'm not sure it'd be at all useful in this situation.

[R_Metzel]

They are extension tubes to shorten minimal focusing distance of a lens. Cheaper then buying a dedicated macro lens. You can buy them as a package or individually.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=7299&A=details&Q=&sku=375102&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=7299&A=details&Q=&sku=375102&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)

[butcha27]

Yes, I don't have one, my Kenko listing is a 2x converter which does the opposite.