Product photography tips

Hello!

I would like to try to start shooting product photography, but I have no idè what lightning gear I need..?

Continuous light vs strobe, pros and cons??

I feel like maybe continuous light would be easier to start with or?

Best regards/
T

Cars or food or jewelry?

I am not an expert in the subject but I think the lighting (not lightning ) will depend on the subject and the kind of effect you want.

Too many folks assume a 'light tent' provides good lighting of objects. It does not, at least not for all cases...it really provides 'non-directional illumination' from all sides (except the open front where the lens is).

Product shots, particularly for products with shiny surfaces (glass and polished metal, for example) need a combination of directional lighting whose reflections can be seen by the lens in certain surfaces, and sometimes 'negative lighting'.
So you can need multiple active sources or reflective panels to 'light' (not merely 'illuminate') a product. Read Light - Science & Magic for a pretty thorough discussion of the topic. I wish it had existed back when I was learning lighting (before book was first published in 1990)!
What Archibald says about 'what kind' of products is important consideration; but LSM covers lighting principles and the special techniques needed for various product considerations, generically.

Continuous lighting is best simply because it allows you to 'see' what will be captured by the lens, as you set it up, and not have to take a shot simply to visualize what position or intensity change will do to better show off (or hurt) your product presentation -- important when shooting film, but not so much for digital. Strobes simply provide it at much higher intensity, to reduce chance of motion artifact with faster effective speed and to increase DOF with use of smaller aperture.

That may be based on your potential client's "look" as to what light styling you'll use: Some like direct-sun lit shots, some like soft some like harder artificial looks. There are a variety of You Tube videos that will help with product lighting. I started out with continuous as it was the least $ route.

This site has some great info:
https://strobist.blogs​pot.com/

I’ve never used a light tent. Way too restrictive.

This was set on plexiglass. Using 2 strobes from above shot through 3x5 feet of translum on a frame I made the day of the shoot. Mirrors illuminated the sides.

Image hosted by forum (1175975) © ImageMaker... THIS IS A LOW QUALITY PREVIEW. Please log in to see the good quality stuff.

Thanks for all info!

The thing is that I just wanna give it a try, it looks fun I think.

The stuff I will photograph is jewelry and perfume, maybe a bit of food.

Regarding the continuous lighting of strobe, I saw a youtube video about this and there was a clear difference between them especially the color of the subject was much better on the strobe.

But for me as amateur I guess the continuous lighting would be best

I know about the light tent thing, but I would like to have something that feel a bit more professional if you know what I mean

If you have any good tips of gear please tell

I have a budget of about 500€ +-

Best regards/
Johnny

ImageMaker... wrote in post #19422435
I’ve never used a light tent. Way too restrictive.

This was set on plexiglass. Using 2 strobes from above shot through 3x5 feet of translum on a frame I made the day of the shoot. Mirrors illuminated the sides.

Hosted photo: posted by ImageMaker... in
./showthread.php?p=194​22435&i=i164597479
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

N i c e

.... where you get 3x5 feet of translum

lacogada wrote in post #19422704
N i c e

.... where you get 3x5 feet of translum

I have a large roll from B and H. Just cut a piece to 3x5 and built a wood frame and clamped/stapled/taped it up.

A corner

lacogada wrote in post #19422704
where you get 3x5 feet of translum

I do the same thing as ImageMaker but tape the diffusion sheet to a bare Matthews flag frame. These frames have the mounting pin that is compatible with grip arms. Some of my panels:

ImageMaker... wrote in post #19422897
I have a large roll from B and H. Just cut a piece to 3x5 and built a wood frame and clamped/stapled/taped it up.

Thank you.

RicoTudor wrote in post #19423108
I do the same thing as ImageMaker but tape the diffusion sheet to a bare Matthews flag frame. These frames have the mounting pin that is compatible with grip arms.

Thank you.