Product Photography Critique

I'm quite new to product photography... don't do it as often as I should.

Just wanted to ask your opinion on what you think about this one.
Should I have done something differently? Or is it effective for this product?



BTW, photoshop/lightroom PP is minimal. Only played with contrast and colour.

Thanks very much for any advice or comments!

For those who are curious...

Nikon D3s, 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24mm, f/16, 1/160th, ISO 200

3 softboxes (old studio strobes), two on the backdrop/table and one camera right on the lamp

Very nice What is it? Dislike the double shadow and the cord
--
is there money in this

looks good...can't tell what it is.....

are you selling the product , or your photo vision..?????

Composition, lighting, focus... Only question I have is, what the heck is that thing?

lol... it's an LED lamp, and the table is also part of the set.

There is no double shadow... the lines you see under the table are the table's structure

It's a lamp, made by a 4th year industrial design student here in Taiwan

the table is also her design, and the lines underneath are part of the table.

thanks

haha thanks

LED lamp, and table set

Hi Nina,

Your lighting is already excellent, but there are a few areas can be improved (personal taste). My following comments are subjective, hope you don't mind.

1/ The cable can be trail behind the leg of the base of the lamp, so it will be hidden from camera. I understand the table is transparent, so cannot be dropped onto the floor. Cut a hole in the background paper, again hidden behind the leg, so the cable can be pull through the hole to the power connection. This will eliminate having to retouch out the cable.

2/ I will divide the lamp into three part to help explain my idea. Split the light into three parts - they are the base, the middle part, and the lamp part. The lighting on the base and lamp part are great, the middle part needs to have additional lighting (not necessary light, but can use reflectors). This is to help to distinguish the top and the side of the structure, as they are well defined on the base and the lamp part.

3/ You probably have turned the modelling lights off to obtain total darkness before shooting, so you can expose for the lamp correctly while using flash. I think the exposure should be a stop longer to bring out the brightness of the LEDs.

4/ The switch can have a little more light to make it to stand out more. It is already visible, so it's only my preference.

Hope this is what you are after.

Well done, Jon.

wow, thanks for the tips!
I really appreciate it!

Very good, I agree with the above comments, though I think it might be good to incorporate the light from the led lamp - as many (including at first myself) weren't sure what the object was - beyond a sculpture.

The table - is not clear as part of the product, I think it's a successful composition though (for the lamp).
--
A poor photographer blames his tools.

Nina Myers said:

I'm quite new to product photography... don't do it as often as I should.

Just wanted to ask your opinion on what you think about this one.
Should I have done something differently? Or is it effective for this product?

Click to expand...

Nina Myers said:

Thanks very much for any advice or comments!

Click to expand...

Hi Nina,

In an abstract and design sense I really enjoyed this one; it's a fun design that rethinks what a light fixture is.

Having said that, It took me a while to figure out what exactly I was looking at! This is where a photograph either succeeds by telling a "visual story" or not.

Let's try an inquiry that starts all such projects: What is it about light fixtures that makes them unique.... ?

(Its the light!)

Notice how we are not very good at stating the obvious? To be a light, a fixture needs to emit light right? So... that's a long ways around saying that the image would be more successful if it more clearly showed the light from this device in use. I can't see the glow of the light! For there to be light, there needs to be the opposite, darkness. Meaning is enhanced by incorporating opposites. Perhaps a lower ambient light so that the fixtiure's light is more apparent (contrast of meaning).

Try a darker background that shows off the light quality from this most interesting fixture. Perhaps having the fixture illuminate something interesting, say a red apple, an orchid, a seashell, something.... (that's what light fixtures are functionally for right? to illuminate something on a desktop).

Consider that the visual arts are so very right brained and language exists in the left side of the brain; perhaps that is part of why we find it so difficult to be clearly conceptual and to be able to articulate in spoken/written language about the visual language that we want to communicate with.

Hope that helps!

--
Zane
http://www.pbase.com/devonshire
Nikon D2x
NAPP Member

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments it takes our breath away.” ~ Anonymous

Zane Paxton said:

Nina Myers said:

I'm quite new to product photography... don't do it as often as I should.

Just wanted to ask your opinion on what you think about this one.
Should I have done something differently? Or is it effective for this product?

Click to expand...

Zane Paxton said:

Thanks very much for any advice or comments!

Click to expand...

Hi Nina,

In an abstract and design sense I really enjoyed this one; it's a fun design that rethinks what a light fixture is.

Having said that, It took me a while to figure out what exactly I was looking at! This is where a photograph either succeeds by telling a "visual story" or not.

Let's try an inquiry that starts all such projects: What is it about light fixtures that makes them unique.... ?

(Its the light!)

Notice how we are not very good at stating the obvious? To be a light, a fixture needs to emit light right? So... that's a long ways around saying that the image would be more successful if it more clearly showed the light from this device in use. I can't see the glow of the light! For there to be light, there needs to be the opposite, darkness. Meaning is enhanced by incorporating opposites. Perhaps a lower ambient light so that the fixtiure's light is more apparent (contrast of meaning).

Try a darker background that shows off the light quality from this most interesting fixture. Perhaps having the fixture illuminate something interesting, say a red apple, an orchid, a seashell, something.... (that's what light fixtures are functionally for right? to illuminate something on a desktop).

Consider that the visual arts are so very right brained and language exists in the left side of the brain; perhaps that is part of why we find it so difficult to be clearly conceptual and to be able to articulate in spoken/written language about the visual language that we want to communicate with.

Hope that helps!

Click to expand...

Wow Zane!
Don't know if it's going to help her but I sure received a lot.

Great writing!

Also Nina, excellent attempt and perhaps Zane's illumination technique really would make it a superb creation.

--
Mel
http://www.mellockhartphotography.zenfolio.com
http://www.mellockhartphotography.net

wow Zane, thank you so much for your suggestions!

I'll really try to do somethings you said next time.

And for this one, i updated the photo... added a little glow to the light, and added a llliiiittttle more contrast behind it.

I didn't want to PS too much



thank you all!

A clear concept can be so very important in photography, and mandatory with product photography. It is probably the missing ingredient in a lot of our attempts. I bump into this all the time - ". . . what am I trying to say?"
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com

I REALLY like it,. very futuristic,.. and it looks very photoshopped.
so it's cool you say you didn't us photoshop that much.

for your own portfolio just clone away the cord and then you will look trice ;-)

Nina Myers said:

Click to expand...

I didn't get a chance to see the original. Seems to be no longer available. So, regarding the updated version...

Zane's point about the light being a very important aspect, is good. The light should be a dramatic element in the image. Otherwise, it looks like the design fails at its purpose.

Beyond that, I have some problems with the composition. My eye is first drawn to where the background is lightest behind the "elbow" in the lamp. I'm looking there for a center of interest, but don't find one. Then, my eye is directed out of the image towards the upper-left corner. Not only does it seem to be pointing out of frame, but the left-most bend's proximity to the frame edge is creating an unpleasant visual tension.

This is a challenging piece to compose. I'm thinking you might want to try it in a darker environment where the lamp light is predominant, and the shape of lamp is emerging from the darkness in an intriguing way. Hard to tell if that is a good idea, or not, without being able to try it. Just a thought.

The lamp should be in a position that would make sense for its use. I'm guessing that the white strips on the left part are the lamp elements. If so, seems like they should be illuminating the table surface.

--
Robin Casady
http://www.robincasady.com/Photo/index.html

Robin Casady said:

Nina Myers wrote:

I didn't get a chance to see the original. Seems to be no longer available. So, regarding the updated version...

Zane's point about the light being a very important aspect, is good. The light should be a dramatic element in the image. Otherwise, it looks like the design fails at its purpose.

Beyond that, I have some problems with the composition. My eye is first drawn to where the background is lightest behind the "elbow" in the lamp. I'm looking there for a center of interest, but don't find one. Then, my eye is directed out of the image towards the upper-left corner. Not only does it seem to be pointing out of frame, but the left-most bend's proximity to the frame edge is creating an unpleasant visual tension.

Click to expand...

Excellent point Robin. We are "wired" to perceive things in the following order:

1. The brightest areas
2. Edges of greatest contrast
3. Bright Color (in this case, no color.)

So when I look at this I see the bright background first. Then my eye explores the contrast along the interesting articulated 'boom'. Then I finally see the light source third.

(Try this: Close your eyes for a few seconds. Then open them and study what you see 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

This becomes important because when the visual progression that was intended/designed actually matches how we perceive visual information (as listed above) the image is more resolved and expressive. Obviously when the natural visual progression is at odds with what the primary subject was intended to be, then the image tends to be unresolved and a lot of visual tension is created that ultimately confuses and may even frustrate the viewer.

Robin Casady said:

This is a challenging piece to compose. I'm thinking you might want to try it in a darker environment where the lamp light is predominant, and the shape of lamp is emerging from the darkness in an intriguing way. Hard to tell if that is a good idea, or not, without being able to try it. Just a thought.

Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense to me. To have the primary feature of the primary subject be the brightest point where our eyes go first is more visually resolved and expressive. But to have "bright" we need its opposite "dark", so that naturally follows to have a darker background.

Let's loop back and do another inquiry directed at the table. What the most unique aspect of the table?

The table is translucent!

Since the table is translucent, what is the optimal expressive strategy to show that off and emphsize the interesting patterns in the material?

it might be a useful strategy to have a lower light source to give the table and it's interesting patterns an upward glow so that it's best feature is optimally highlighted/expressed. i.e. translucent materials are best expressed by backlighting to demonstrate the translucency./

Having the light turned upwards is not the usual orientation for a table lamp. It does showoff the sculptural aspects, but is not what we expect. I still like the idea of introducing a counterpoint and focal point for two reasons:

• To tell a bigger story; bigger stories simply tend to be more engaging and more interesting . Think of the visual story as a written sentence. "A lamp on a table" is but a statement and not yet even a sentence. "A lamp on a table illuminating a red rose" is a longer message that is now a complete sentence (less fragmentary).

• We perceive meaning by comparison, contrast or reinforcing similarity. To have the "Lamp" have the most meaning, we want to see something that is at least "not a Lamp". The table is more of a background element so it needs something additional. Something like a bright red rose starts to provide a color focus under the bright lamp and provides something that is "not a lamp" (a counterpoint) . That spot of color would draw the viewer's eye to the most important spot that is the whole point of any lamp; the light coming from the lamp . Light itself is not visible, so to "show light" by implication/demonstration we need to show the result of the light; light that is bouncing off of/illuminating an object.

Hope that helps!
--
Zane
http://www.pbase.com/devonshire
Nikon D2x
NAPP Member

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments it takes our breath away.” ~ Anonymous

This photograph is a product shot. Putting a prop like a rose in the shot would distract the viewer's eyes from the main subjects - the lamp and the table. I can't imagine Nikon photograph their cameras with a rose or an apple for their brochures and website.

Nina's photograph is illustrative - to show off the lamp's features, and the table shape and structure. The table is transparent (not translucent). We can see at least two legs and the shelf underneath through the top of the table. Nina has succeeded in creating a good product shot. It is commercially useable (after doing some of the suggestions I made earlier).

If Nina is doing an application shot of the lamp, then a writing pad and a pen would be more appropriate as props. If it's an arty shot, then the props can be almost anything.

Jon

JonLee said:

This photograph is a product shot. ...It is commercially useable (after doing some of the suggestions I made earlier).

Click to expand...

You think the composition would get past an art director? I doubt it.
--
Robin Casady
http://www.robincasady.com/Photo/index.html