General Studio Advice

[Eyeayen]

Can anyone point me in the direction of good advice on the web or in a book about taking product shots. Most are a dull aluminum, I've got 2500 to do, 4 shots of each. Most are variants of each other, so maybe 50 pretty much the same then another 50 and so on and they need to be in the same place each time. Some need to be supported so you can see the underside too.

I'm doing okay so far but I'm thinking there are probably rules I should follow. The conditions aren't controlled enough and I'm struggling with that as in the morning the room is very light but by the afternoon I'm loosing light. I've got one soft box an done direct light. I'm using markers ( pencil lines ) to make sure they are in the same place as much as poss, afterwards they are cut out in Photoshop and placed on a white background.

So I'm trying to get the company to invest in some new kit, firstly a new tripod so if anyone can off sound advice on a tripod and head ( geared ??? ) and then where I can find more advice on lighting and such like I'd really appreciate it.

I'm using a Canon 350D with 18-55 kit lens so maybe advice on a new lens too ?

As much as you can afford to offer would be great.

There is talk of us making our own studio too on the new mez floor that's just gone in so I need to look at how to set that up as well.

Thanks

[silversnapper1]

Have a look at the Lastolite Podcasts on itunes. Free downloads and Mark Cleghorn goes through things in loads of detail. I think that the cubelite videos will interest you.

Steve.

[Cathus]

what about a light tent with 2 or 3 flashguns, make everything white so no need to take all that time cutting & pasting & the light is controlled whatever time of day you shoot?

[cosmicma]

i agree with Cathus on the light tent but i would go for constant lighting rather than flash
the reason i say this is when i had a brief play with a light box i got better results using a couple of photax interfit 3200k heads with 500 watt bulbs than i did with a couple of elinchrom studio flashes
the studio flashes seemed a tad harsh for my taste and i found using constant light easier to controle especially on reflective surfaces

[Eyeayen]

Guys, thanks for the uber quick response !

They have a light tent but a lot of the time the products need to be hung or place on bars as this is their final use so without cutting and destroying the tent it's not practical to use it. I did try it but their lights aren't powerful enough with it and from their own previous experience using a pro photographer in his own studio and doing it on brilliant white backgrounds that didn't have to be cut out when put on the white background of the site the photo's brilliant white is then more of an off white so need to be cut out anyway along with have to go into brochures later down the line so clipping path is required. It's not the cutting out it's the photo's and their current dullness even with the lights.

@Silversnapper, thanks I'll look those podcasts up, they sound good !

I've googled and read so many things now I thought I'd ask as I don't know what's good advice and what's not.

Any tripod advice or more tips widely accepted

Originally Posted by Eyeayen

It's not the cutting out it's the photo's and their current dullness even with the lights.

Aluminium as a material tends to 'absorb' more light than it 'reflects', due to surface oxidation (unless it has been recently cut or polished) - A little light oiling with a vege oll/vaseline type wax or similar (applied just before shooting, so that the surface is also dust free!) may be a quick way to enhance the surface enough to catch and refract more (directionable) light, to provide a little lift to the shots.

Whatever substance you apply should be tested first, as some chemicals can increase surface oxidation or leave unwanted marks. - You can buy me a pint one day. Happy shooting

[Eyeayen]

Excellent, I'll suggest that to them Andy and see if they go for it ?

Although aluminum they're semi polished in a machine ( they vibrate around with lots of beads and it polishes it ) but they're not chrome like in appearance although they look like they should be.

They had photo's done years ago by a pro studio which cost a shed load of money, some of the clamps were polished to a high standard before the shoot so out of the 2500 products on the site some of the shots look super shiny and others look more as they are.

I'll see what they say today when I suggest it ?