Intro to Product Photography (for instructables)

This instructable is meant for anyone making an instructable or slide show who can't seem to get good pictures, or is always criticized about their pictures. These particular tips are intended for shooting small to medium sized projects that can be maneuvered relatively easily, and put in a studio environment. But even if your particular project doesn't fit these criteria, many of the tips I'll be giving are universal, and can be applied to any photographic documentation.

In most projects, it's not practical to take the pictures for each step in front of a backdrop with proper lighting. In these cases, it's often still good to take pictures for the intro slide like this. A good intro picture will attract many more viewers.

Step 1 The Camera

Please try to refrain from using cameraphones or web cams. If you absolutely have to, be sure to have plenty of light, and to rest the camera on something to keep it steady.

Other than that, most cameras should work...use the best one that you have access to. If you don't have access to any cameras, one suggestion is to buy a disposable one, use it, and have them scan the images onto a disk.

Comments

[strcrusher]

lol you have the same whistle as my friend

[Gorfram]

...take... ...the... ...photo... ...from... ...directly.... ...above...

... mind blowingly self-evident, but I would never have thought of it in a zillion years - thanks mucho!

[killerjackalope]

A great Item I found is the sunlight bulb, it's a CFL bulb that's usually around 25 watt and puts out really brilliant white very close to the colour temperature of sunlight, whether it's an SLR or a webcam it makes a big difference and seems to help with autofocus (even I don't get that bit of it) that and if you pick up a few cheapy canvases add some tape and a good bulb, I suggest fluorescent becasue the output is clearer with that than incandescent bulbs. You make a box with an open side and no top, place your object a few inches away from the back and if you have an adjustable flash unit then aim it directly at the object with triple folded kitchen paper as a 'muffler' (I like that term) and put the bulb so the majority of light is falling behind the object you get pretty good definition and also any textures etc will have some contrast because there's slight shadowing. another useful trick is using a room with a low ceiling or a big cardboard box painted white inside and directing the flash straight up or to directly above the objects.

[fegundez1]

you can get the "sunlight bulbs" at the grocery store they come in almost every conceivable style.

[killerjackalope]

Aye but the incandescent ones are pretty rubbish compared to the CFL ones...

[Weissensteinburg]

I've never heard of sunlight bulbs...do they have them at hardware stores?

[killerjackalope]

I found them at B&Q which is pretty much a hardware store...

here's a link

Also on the way to one for you (I see Uk pages first) I found that you can get daylight bulbs that produce negative Ions at the same time, by the way those seem a bit pricey if you hunt about a bit you can get them really cheap. Lifetime seems to be about 3 years and running

[Weissensteinburg]

Very cool...a lightbulb that cleans the air!

[killerjackalope]

yeah I liked it, also i had heard negative Ions are good but didn't no they helped bad smells...

[Patrik]

Even better - REAL sunlight! Great lighting, ideal for macro-photography... There's a reason why almost all TimAnderson's pictures for examples are taken outside in the sun. Might not be quite up to scratch for "product photography", but it's a great solution for a nice DIY instructable...

[Weissensteinburg]

Not in the evening..

[Kiteman]

Try sewing shops - embroiderers use them when working after dusk.

[djsc]

nice. I've had a few tries since reading this, having some trouble; any suggestions what kind of lights to use? I tried halogens and they weren't as white as I thought they would be. Also not enough light on the subject with 2 60Watt bulbs and reflectors.

[knarx]

Sorry, I am not a native speaker, so if you meant white with "white as I thought" try the white balance on your camera. If you meant bright with "white as I thought" use a construction spotlight, you can get in every hardware store for a few buck. Be careful, they have 500 Watts and can become very hot. With them you also have to use the white balance on your camera, but brightness should be no problem anymore.

[Weissensteinburg]

I think he means that they were both too dark, and the wrong color. I could be wrong though.

[djsc]

yeah, thats what I meant. thanks for the tip knarx.

[Derin]

I am gonna so try this!pics coming soon

[Bran]

Is it possible/plausible to build a black lightbox? Nice Instructable!

[PKM]

You can put a black backdrop in a lightbox- I did this for some funky low-key-ish photos of dark shiny things, only lighting the lightbox from the sides and underexposing to get side highlights. I would link to the examples on my Flickr account but that's too much of a shameless plug even for me to do on a comments board- if you're interested then PM me

[Weissensteinburg]

I'm sure you could..but why?

[Bran]

Well, now that I think about it, I'm not quite sure. For light-colored subjects, I suppose. By the way, I signed up at Phodeo - nice site!

[Kiteman]

Good piece, W'berg.

We should get a rash of better pictures now ...

(Yes, I know all my pictures break your rules, but Shed would sulk if he didn't feature in my 'ibles)

PS - am I the only one amused by step 4's self-referential image? A macro shot of a macro function...
_{It must just be me, then}

[killerjackalope]

I like that but would prefer a macro shot of a camera doign the macro shot...

[John Smith]

*gasp* YOU NOTICED THAT TOO?!?!?!?
I thought I was the only one who noticed that macro thing...

[zachninme]

META-MACRO SHOT :D Sorry :P

[Weissensteinburg]

Thanks...I hope so!

I understand in your case (sometimes)... puddles and beds don't go along so well...

[Kiteman]

True, but I was thinking mainly of all my shots lit by fluorescent strip-lighting on a green cutting mat with white markings and a background like my workbench ...

[Weissensteinburg]

Ooh, you've reminded about something I wanted to add: In most projects, it's not practical to take the pictures for each step in front of a backdrop with proper lighting. In these cases, it's often still good to take pictures for the intro slide like this. A good intro picture will attract many more viewers.

[Weissensteinburg]

Oh, and that wasn't directed at you...It was just something I had forgotten to put in.

[Kiteman]

I realised that - why not edit the comment into your final step?

[Weissensteinburg]

I added it to the intro.

[boringhistorygirl]

haven't heard of picasa before. great tool! i use photoshop at work, but have always resisted spending the money to have it at home, which means me wasting time at work editing personal photos to upload. at least now i can do some of the editing at home.

[Dr.Professor_Jake_Biggs]

Next 'structable: How to pornograph? xD Seriously though, excellent tutorial, I'll use your tips for backdrops for the next time I come up with something genius. But you forgot one thing. How does one take excellent pictures of themselves with the camera pointed directly at his/her-self? hehe.

[Weissensteinburg]

Thanks.

But you forgot one thing. How does one take excellent pictures of themselves with the camera pointed directly at his/her-self? hehe.

Now that's what we call a MySpace Picture. For these, you'll want the flash to be as close to the lens as possible to achieve maximum red-eye potential. Your arm and body should be at a 132 degree angle, so that it's not uncomfortable to look up at it. You also might like to get a free image editing program, and use a few filters on the picture before you upload it and demand people make comments on it.

[Dr.Professor_Jake_Biggs]

Well spoken and too true. lol

[jaysbob]

nice instructable. you might want to note though that white backgrounds will usually turn out gray if their not lit separately. Not a huge deal but it gives things a much more professional look if the background is bright and crisp instead of a muddled grayish color.

[Weissensteinburg]

Thanks, I forgot about that since I was using all kinds of available lighting (to simulate the average person's resources). I'll add that now.

[Keith-Kid]

Nice

[LinuxH4x0r]

Great instructable. I can take great pictures, but my main issue is lighting. I never use flash, unstead I adjust shutter speed or use other sources of light.

[robbtoberfest]

Great stuff! I started using my white enamel bathtub for a background recently, works real nice when the tub is clean.