C&C Gun Pics - product

[buckit]

I built a light box to shoot pictures of products (specifically guns but not limited to).

I was having a hell of a time with a white background so I got some spray paint and made my own custom background.

what do you think of this picture? any sugestions will help! I am extremely new to photography and still trying to learn a lot.

I know there are some blemishes in the background (infront of bullets and under gun) but I can photoshop those out.

I did have photofloods on both sides with halogen work lights up top. for this shot I just dropped a lamp and busted a photoflood and I forogot to turn on the above halogens.. i actually kind of like the single light from the right.

anyway... thanks in advance for your advice!

[buckit]

here is another one with a 100mm lense and this time I turned on the overhead lights.

[e02937]

Are you shooting on a tripod? In all honesty, these don't feel tack sharp which should be achievable given the controlled conditions.

[buckit]

yup... thats on a tripod. I agree. I'll play around some more. Im still learning DOF.

[buckit]

maybe a little better.

what lens should I be using? my 100 macro or 18-55 kit? and ideally... what lens should I buy?

[buckit]

nevermind... its worse! LOL

[LBaldwin]

There are several issues at play here. Each element has it's own problem.

When you set up a product shot, you actually work from back to front.
You Light each element so that the viewer gets the best look at the product, in order to make a purchasing decision.
Each element in the image needs to have enough contrast and sharpness to seperate itself from the background and the other elements in the image.
Your image gets lost on the BG, the contrast is too low so that no particular element sticks out as the primary.
Product photography is VERY difficult, and honestly digital actually does a very poor job against the movements and control of a large format camera. The reason your shot is not sharp has nothing to do with fstops, tripods or even focus, it is all down to perspective control. Something that 35mm digital totally lacks except for TS lenses and even then you get a smidge more control.

So where are we.

Pick a BG that compliments AND contrasts the subject
Use a softbox from the 10 position and light from behind and then use reflectors and diffusers to bring it around to the front.
Make a piece of foamcore with black electrical stripes to use as a focus target.
Focus 1/3 in and use approx 1/2 of the frame with the subject.
Make your camera and subject level. Use a bubble level and a carpenters level.
Try for a DOF of 20% greater than the total depth of your subject.
For shiney products make sure that you remove all fingerprints and smudges - wear gloves. To add highlights and shadows use foamcore in black and white to create accents on the barrell.
Tape up box tops closed.


This should get you started, here is a DOF calc to let you know what you are up against..
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

[buckit]

thats a lot of great info! thank you!

I wish I could try some of it out... all I have is a home made light box and some really cheap photofloods.

I know little to nothing about lighting and how it all works... I think I will just stick with the shots I am getting as being good enough for now (they are only going on the web in low res). they are WAY better than what anyone else has thats for sure! LOL

in the mean time I think I need to head to the library and get some books on lighting.

the DOF calc is awesome! thanks for that! definitely a book mark!

[say_cheese]

Thats great advice from LB. I too think the picture was too "busy". If you are into handguns , get yourself a catalog of Kimber firearms for inspiration. They do beautiful product photography of their guns.

[Stickman]

You've got a very static layout in the images, and my eye wanders around without really finding anything to dwell on.

Trying to space everything out evenly is usually a recipe for disaster, and its not working with these.

The lighting and DOF issues have already been addressed.


Product work takes a lot of time, and more importantly, a solid knowledge of what the manufacture likes (and dislikes). When I'm doing weapon work for a manufacturer, I stick with a few themes that I am sure they will like, and then add in a few that are a little more outside the box. Its infrequent that they go with the outside themes, but they have gone back to them at later dates as a basis for new projects.

Weapon product photography can be difficult to get into, but they are some of the greatest guys out there. Being like minded is a must, and solid weapon knowledge is a plus as well.

[Fred Eric Norris]

how are you triggering the camera? Are you still depressing the shutter button or are you using a remote release? I'm going to guess you are pushing the shutter button with your hand and thus creating the blur because I looked at your exif data and its quite strange to be honest.. you have your aperture at f32?? you ISO at 800 and your shutter at .6 .. your asking for blur and noise.. try shooting more wide open.. like lets say f4 would work for this picture..and then you can increase your shutter speed.. turn down your ISO a bit...