Thrown into the Deep End -- Product Photography...your thoughts?

hey guys,


well I got thrown in the deep end. I was a bartender for the last 2 years and then
lost my job. After 3-4 months of looking for anything, I gotta call about 2 weeks ago to be the product photographer for a little store that does native American jewelry and art.
It's not what you know...it's who you know--cuz I know the guy's son in law, but I don't know much about photography compared to a pro.

Anyway. Here's my setup and list of gear I've been using:
Canon Rebel T3i
Canon 50mm 1.4
Canon 60mm 2.8 Macro (supplied lens)
Manfrotto Tripod/Head
Two Clamp lights (eh)
Two kit lights (blah) that came with the supplied tent, all seen below:

lots of dust
a tad soft
and a little flat

On a crop sensor, anything over f/16 causes the images to be very soft.Try f/8 or f/11 to get better sharpness.

CallumRD1 wrote in post #15555643
On a crop sensor, anything over f/16 causes the images to be very soft.Try f/8 or f/11 to get better sharpness.

I tend to agree. Most lenses are sharpest 2-3X stopped down from the maximum aperture, & all of these should have been just fine at f/11.

I'm wondering how you tripped the shutter? Remote cable, or self timer?
How big a crop are these? And you've sharpened after resizing, right?


Sticky: Sharpening Tips & Tricks, Tutorials, and FAQ

hey guys thanks for the tip on the f/stop.

I didn't know the T's suffered from softness up there...I cranked it up the f/stops because on the first few shoots I noticed that the DOF was way shallow. Being 24" away doesn't help there I guess...at least not at f/2.8

PhotosGuy, I just started using my laptop with the Canon EOS Utility to trip the mirror, then the shutter.
If I go down to f/11, the shutter speed should go up enough that I don't necessarily need a remote, right? Or no?

Thanks for the Sticky link...I'll be reading through that today at work.

I crop first...to the 1:1 image, then resize. With Bolos it's a bigger crop than with belt buckles.
Usually looks about like this:

I don't know much about product photography, but I'm wondering if the overall image might have some more impact if you took the photos on some kind of angle. The head on shots seem very "blah". Not sure if the customer made specific requests, but considering this is a Native American product, I would experiment with some naturally colored orange/red sand and a few well=placed rocks to add a bit of appeal to the images.

Just my $0.02 and looking forward to maybe learning something for other more experienced members in this thread.

Lots of good advice here. No need to go with a crazy high aperture. The dust is a big problem with an easy solution: use a rocket blower to clean meticulously the jewelery and the background.
There is also plenty of room for improvement in the post processing. I did "freaky details" (Google it, it s a free action from Calvin Hollywood), burned the most obvious dust, did a mild UnSharp Mask and got a much punchier image. With the original raw and a little more time you will get much better than what I am showing you here. -I purposely did the one you hated
Also, critical for product photography, is the accuracy of the colors. I would invest $100 in a color checker (probably the passport wold work for you) and calibrate before each shoot. Takes 30 seconds to do. This ensures that the client will see the same piece he will receive.

Good luck with this new adventure!

No, IMO. Shooting close-ups will magnify any camera movement, so if you have a remote, I'd still use it.

About the DoF, with a 60mm macro (SHARP lens by the way), at 24 inches, f/11 you will get more than 1.5 inches of DoF. That should be enough for most of your pieces.

juanpafer wrote in post #15558181
This ensures that the client will see the same piece he will receive.!

If you aren't delivering prints & that's a concern, be aware that even if your/his monitor is calibrated, the browser can make a difference in what he sees: WEB BROWSER CHECK - Test Page - ICC profiles and Photoshop Color Management

hey guys...


you are all worth your weight in gold, ya know that?

Coupla things:
- we're getting black paper instead of the velvet cloth back drops. Goodbye lint.

- I'm still learning the FD and Unsharp Mask methods, but here's what I've gotten so far:

#1
Original

Looks much better.
Another tip:
Instead of airbrushing your background burn it. Easier and cleaner.
Keep offering beer and I will give you more tips!

rogue.guineapig wrote in post #15561897
Coupla things:
- we're getting black paper instead of the velvet cloth back drops. Goodbye lint.

I think you'll find that even black paper is reflective, but give it a try.

juanpafer wrote in post #15562429
Looks much better.
Another tip:
Instead of airbrushing your background burn it. Easier and cleaner.
Keep offering beer and I will give you more tips!

Even easier would be to select the background & Edit>Fill it with black. Or maybe a black/gray/black gradient.

hey guys,

sorry for the delayed reponse...been super busy.

Yes! Free Beer!
Given that there's 10 ways to do a burn (like everything else in PS) ....which way/method are you describing, Juan?

PhotosGuy, not all the pieces have a nice clean separation from the background...
how did you do that selection? Because that gradient BG looks sharp!

In the meantime, I'm almost getting the hang of this:

rogue.guineapig wrote in post #15580119
PhotosGuy, not all the pieces have a nice clean separation from the background...
how did you do that selection? Because that gradient BG looks sharp!

You could try the Magic Wand & play with the settings, but this is the overall best way that I've found for objects with hard edges: Selecting areas in PS.

That looks pretty good.