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Headshot London Photographers - Articles: Steps To Better Product Photography

Thursday 31 May 2012

Steps To Better Product Photography


“Several steps to better product photography”

Contrary to popular belief, product photography can be quite a challenge. In fact, a lot of photographers say that not all of them can be as great product photographers as they are as, say, wedding photographers or portrait photographers. Not all photographers can capture great product photos. And not all product photography projects are that good. Truth be told, demand and requirements for great product photography can also be quite stringent. This is one of the reasons why it is important to be armed with even the most basic, most simple yet highly effective and doable tips and knowledge in order to excel in product photography.



Interested to know more? Read on and find out which steps you can follow in order to do well in product photographs.

  1.  It is but important that the images stay sharp. As you guys may know, each angle, each look and even each speck of the product that you’re supposed to take photos of should be clear and obvious to the naked eye. In order to do this, your images should stay sharp. This is where the first step in great product photography comes in. You must learn how to focus your camera in order to capture sharp images. Although a lot of the digital cameras of today have auto focus features, you might want to avoid using those and instead use manual focus. This way, you will learn how to manipulate your camera in order to come up with the sharpest images possible. Try to spot focus. This will give you more control over which part of the product you’re supposed to give attention to.
  2. Use a tripod. Actually, it’s quite rare for a budding product photographer not to use one. So bring one and of course, use it. A tripod can come in really handy especially if you need to take shots of moving products or moving objects. If you’re just starting out, an inexpensive tripod will do. Now if your camera has a remote shutter release feature then you are most welcome to use it. If your camera does not have that type of feature then you might want to stick to the built-in timer in order to lessen the possibility of “camera shake.”
  3. Be a fan of soft lighting. Soft lighting is almost always a must. Do not just rely on your camera’s built-in flash. This can most likely result in too harsh, too bright images. Soft lighting can come in really handy especially if you’re supposed to undergo outdoor product photography. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to come up with good enough soft lighting, you might want  to consider borrowing flashes from other photographers (especially if you’re still learning the ropes) or you can always purchase inexpensive flashes. These external flashes are sold both offline and online. Don’t forget to canvass for the best price before you buy! Here’s a little advice on how you can figure out if you’re using hard or soft lighting, though. By holding your left hand out and keeping it flat and slightly in front of you, hold a finger from your other hand. Place that a few centimeters above your left hand. Now take a look at the shadow cast by your finger. If you notice a “hard or solid shadow,” then that means you used hard lighting. Naturally, a soft shadow means that there’s soft lighting.
  4. For professional product photography projects, you might want to use an image editing software such as the Adobe Photoshop Elements program. Truth be told, it’s inevitable to use image editing software programs these days. It all just boils down to what you prefer or feel comfortable using. Other popular image editing software programs used today include Adobe Photoshop and Corel Draw. By using these types of programs, you can easily crop, expand, adjust, sharpen and resize images.
  5. Now the last tip is highly recommended. Create your very own checklist. Checklist on what you should use, do and manipulate whenever you undergo product photography, that is. This way, you need not worry about the settings of your camera, which flash or lighting to use when needed and which program to use in order to sharpen your images. By coming up with your own personalized checklist, you can easily determine what to do and which steps to take in order for you to exert only the best product photography possible.
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