Do you need to take your own digital photos of objects or products? Keep reading...
Quite frequently I get questions from readers asking about photographing products or small objects. Usually these questions come from small business owners wanting to shoot product shots for the web, or people wanting to get good shots for objects they're selling on eBay. Most recently a reader wrote:
> Since I am a novice in this area I would appreciate if
> someonse could me an update on the Cubelite Portable
> studio system. Available at http://www.cubelite.com.
Yes, this is a good system. I've played with it myself last year at a tradeshow. (Picture)
CubeLite is an EXCELLENT solution for many who can justify the cost. It comes with instructions, tips and techniques -- and most any amateur should be able to get acceptable results after some experimentation and study -- particularly if the shots are used only for the web.
If you have lots of shots to make, then weigh the value and break-even on the $1,000 ticket to get the 4-ft. CubeLite with extras. Anything smaller will be a poor investment unless your product line is tiny... like jewelry or watches, etc. The best investment is the $1,500 "5 ft" CubeLite package.
If you need to shoot lots of small products on an ongoing basis, then perhaps you should set up your own, more flexible, in-house photo studio. Read my article : Building an In-House Photo Studio. It's been one of the most popular articles in the Design Center ... more than 2-million readers since first published in the 1990s... updated a number of times. I've had literally thousands of people send 'thank-you' notes who successfully built directly from this article and are getting superb results. This in-house studio can be set up for under $300.
You may also find this article helpful:
Desktop Photography by Dennis Curtin
I will, however, have to agree with the comments from many professional photographers:
> Having lights is not going to help you unless you know
> how to light product correctly.
That's why I strongly advocate "study" -- anyone who needs to do regular, on-going product photography would be well advised to purchase any or ALL of the following:
Start With a Digital Camera by John Odam, Tim Odam -- Excellent advice for in-home or in-office photo studio set-up... Five Stars
Taking eBay Photos That Sell by Dan Gookin, Robert Birnbach -- 2005 "BEST" award winner
Shooting for Dollars - Simple Photo Techniques for Greater eBay Profits, by Sally Wiener Grotta, Daniel Grotta
eBay in a Snap by Preston Gralla
Many professional will also point out that you can also send your products to a pro for shooting and get back product shots far better than you can shoot yourself. I agree -- again, if you've got the budget, by all means, get a PRO to do the shoot. If you design and plan properly, you can get a few hours of studio time and get a lot of photography done at relatively low cost. And the pros know how to light it perfectly. See: Photographing Auto Instruments becomes a unique challenge ... How do you photograph hundreds of similar products efficiently; and Shooting Color for Purpose... Design First shoot later
However I would not casually recommend shipping product out to be shot unless you've planned the shots carefully enough that you can communicate to the photographer what you are specifically looking for. This means
* Background colors and color schemes
* Specific angles
* Detail requirements like close-ups
* Usage of product
When using a pro, the best way to get the results you need, under a relatively efficient budget is to be able to take product to the studio, ready to go, with purpose and flow already clearly mapped out. No one can know what you expect to see in those photos.
Following and learning from the above should get you going on some great photography for yourself, no matter whether in your own studio or with the pros.
'Till next time thanks for reading...
Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher UG Net News
Fred Showker is co-editor of "MUG Info Manager," the User Group Network News service, and a founding Apple User Group Advisory Board (UGAB) member. He was an original founder of the User Group Forum on AppleLink Personal Edition which became America Online in 1988 ... read more
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