photographing products

jessiper · 6th of October 2006 (Fri)

My in-laws want me to photograph their cheesecakes for their website (they sell them) and I'm not sure what lens would be best for this, or lighting equipment for that matter. I do mostly weddings, no studio stuff, but it would be nice to be able to do that kind of thing as well. I was thinking about getting the Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens anyway for weddings, is there another lens that would be better for the cakes? Any other tips would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

MHP · 6th of October 2006 (Fri)

50mm should be fine, place the food somewhere where there is a lowish ceiling(white) and bounce your flash off it. use a tripod and set your aperture to create your desired effect.

jessiper · 6th of October 2006 (Fri)

Thanks for the advice!

markgardner · 6th of October 2006 (Fri)

'hot' lights would play havoc with the cheesecakes though!

peterdoomen · 6th of October 2006 (Fri)

Product photography is typically done with a tabletop studio, a tripod and a macro or macro-ish lens. Read this guide to making your own tabletop studio for a few bucks:

http://www.aboriginemundi.com/photo/...top-studio.pdf

I hope this helps.

P.

Pinto · 7th of October 2006 (Sat)

IMO you have a perfect product lens in the 24-105. I do a lot of product work and I bought the 24-105 specifically for that purpose. The minimum focus combined with the range is perfect.

anthonyhong · 7th of October 2006 (Sat)

I am not a pro at this by any measures, but I have shot products for quite some time so here is my take on it:

Lighting is (almost) everything. Make sure you have lots of lights and try not to use a flash unless you really need it. You will definitly be using a tripod and shutter relelease as well. I dont have any pics of my current 'light tent' setup, but heres the basic run down: foldable bed covered with a nice BIG bright piece of white paper, 6 el' cheapo lights, bags / anti static bags/ more paper to soften lights / reflect and milk crates to raise or lower the subject.

Heres a few shots from my setup:

QF-347 · 7th of October 2006 (Sat)

Yupp Certainly use your 50 1.4 im using that today to shoot my dads Birthday...its that or a 55-135 3.5 - 4.5
I might use a mixture

Cam

6th of October 2006 (Fri)	#1
jessiper EEK! I don't want a title anymore! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, OR USA Posts: 2,067 IMAGE EDITING OK	photographing products My in-laws want me to photograph their cheesecakes for their website (they sell them) and I'm not sure what lens would be best for this, or lighting equipment for that matter. I do mostly weddings, no studio stuff, but it would be nice to be able to do that kind of thing as well. I was thinking about getting the Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens anyway for weddings, is there another lens that would be better for the cakes? Any other tips would be appreciated as well. Thanks! __________________ *Gear: 5D Mark II, 2 5D's, 30D, 85mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 24mmL 1.4, 45mm TS-E, 16-35mmL 2.8 II, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 100mm 2.8 macro, 15mm 2.8 fisheye, 580EXII, 580EX, 430EX, AB 800, AB Ring flash, lots of PW's, stands, umbrellas, etc. Oregon wedding photographer

6th of October 2006 (Fri)	#2
MHP Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Taranaki, Aotearoa Posts: 649	Re: photographing products 50mm should be fine, place the food somewhere where there is a lowish ceiling(white) and bounce your flash off it. use a tripod and set your aperture to create your desired effect. __________________ Mark blog Last edited by MHP : 6th of October 2006 (Fri) at 03:47.

6th of October 2006 (Fri)	#3
jessiper EEK! I don't want a title anymore! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, OR USA Posts: 2,067 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: photographing products Thanks for the advice! __________________ *Gear: 5D Mark II, 2 5D's, 30D, 85mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 24mmL 1.4, 45mm TS-E, 16-35mmL 2.8 II, 70-200L 2.8 IS, 100mm 2.8 macro, 15mm 2.8 fisheye, 580EXII, 580EX, 430EX, AB 800, AB Ring flash, lots of PW's, stands, umbrellas, etc. Oregon wedding photographer

6th of October 2006 (Fri)	#4
markgardner Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 153 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: photographing products 'hot' lights would play havoc with the cheesecakes though!

6th of October 2006 (Fri)	#5
peterdoomen Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Lier, Flanders (northern, flemish speaking part of Belgium) Posts: 1,123 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: photographing products Product photography is typically done with a tabletop studio, a tripod and a macro or macro-ish lens. Read this guide to making your own tabletop studio for a few bucks: http://www.aboriginemundi.com/photo/...top-studio.pdf I hope this helps. P. __________________ Canon EOS 20D \| Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS + Hoya UV Filter \| Canon Extender 1.4x \| Canon 50 f/1.8 \| Canon 85 f/1.2L mk II \| Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-f/4\| Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 \| Tokina 100 f/2.8 macro \| Kenko extension tubes \| Canon Speedlite 420 EX & Sto-fen Omnibounce\| 80GB Flashtrax \| Manfrotto Tripod 190 pro B & Joystick 322RC2 \| Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 PDFs: Make money with ShutterStock - Make your own Tabletop Studio - Glass Buying Guide My ShutterStock Gallery

7th of October 2006 (Sat)	#6
Pinto Goldmember Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: So. CA Posts: 2,606	Re: photographing products IMO you have a perfect product lens in the 24-105. I do a lot of product work and I bought the 24-105 specifically for that purpose. The minimum focus combined with the range is perfect. __________________ Canon 5D MkII \| Canon 20D l Canon EF 50mm II f/1.8 l Canon EFS 17-85mm IS l Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM l Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 L IS l Canon EF 24-105mm 4.0 L l Canon EF 17-40mm 4.0 L \| Canon EF 100 2.8 MACRO l Canon 580EXII \| Canon 580EX \| Canon G3 l White Lightning lighting \| and a whole boatload of other stuff

7th of October 2006 (Sat)	#7
anthonyhong Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 104 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: photographing products I am not a pro at this by any measures, but I have shot products for quite some time so here is my take on it: Lighting is (almost) everything. Make sure you have lots of lights and try not to use a flash unless you really need it. You will definitly be using a tripod and shutter relelease as well. I dont have any pics of my current 'light tent' setup, but heres the basic run down: foldable bed covered with a nice BIG bright piece of white paper, 6 el' cheapo lights, bags / anti static bags/ more paper to soften lights / reflect and milk crates to raise or lower the subject. Heres a few shots from my setup:

7th of October 2006 (Sat)	#8
QF-347 Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Down Under Posts: 504 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: photographing products Yupp Certainly use your 50 1.4 im using that today to shoot my dads Birthday...its that or a 55-135 3.5 - 4.5 I might use a mixture Cam __________________ Camo 5D Mark III l 50D l 30D l 24-105L l 70-200 2.8L l 17-40L l 17-85 l 50 1.8

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