Just
All made with the one light + reflecter method.
vrivr, post: 62183376, member: 1919922"]
Hello. I'm planning on getting into product photography (clothes, jewelry, accessories, etc...) and i've been investigating the ideal equipment. I think I know what i need but wanted to ask you for guidance anyway.
I don't have a lot of budget, so this is what i'm planning on buying:
- 3 speedlights and a controller. (Yongnuos 560 IV and 560 tx)
- 3 backdrops. (white, black, green)
- 3 softboxes? octaboxes? umbrellas? with bracket for the flashes.
- 3 light stands.
- 1 5 in 1 reflector maybe?
- Stands for the backdrops and some clamps.
Right now I can't afford strobes, so that's out of the question. Also I was thinking I could use this setup for more than products.
Could you please tell me if I'm heading in the right direction with this list, or if I need to change/add smth? thank you!
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Ed Shapiro
My full time "day job" is commercial photography- mainly products and photography for the food service industry.We do the occasional fashion assignment but mine is not a fashion manufacturing or importing town so we do a bit of that work for the retail trade.
If you are going to equip yourself for a wide scope of products, speedlights alone will not suffice.You will be dealing with a wide variety of surfaces, textures with many different levels of reflectivity and you will need to pre-visualize the lighting in a precise manner. There are many different lighting approaches ranging form very large soft boxes to Fresnel spotlights. To start off with, however, a simple system is advisable.
For static stationary subjects you can use electronic flash or continuous tungsten, quartz or LED lighting. I recommend electronic flash because you can use it for still life, tabletop work etc. and fashion work with models as well.
A good starting system shoud consist of a mono-light (self contained studio type electronic flash unit) equipped with a and 1,000 watt/seconds that can be powered down will enable a rage of apertures for various levels of depth of field. The unit shoud be suspended over you table or works space, overhead, on a solid counter-weighted boom stand.
The essential feature of the mono light is the modeling lamp which enables your seeing and adjusting the light to the best angle of incidence to deal with reflection and surface textures. The large soft box type ligh source will provide relatively soft even illumination.
This unit is you man ligh. Fill illumination can be provided by various white and "silver" reflectors most if which can be home-made and improvised with white Foam-Cor board and crushed and re-expanded aluminum foil.
For jewelry, mirrors, highly polished items, small appliances with "chrome" finishes, this ligh sour will work well. White Foam-Cor board or seamless background paper can be use to make TENTS when required.
Most surfaces can be well rendered with the overhead unit moves slightly to the back of the subject where a soft "drop shadow" is formed a the front of the subject. Feathering the light forward and upward toward the camera position will allow some of the beam to strike the reflector(s) and thereby providing fill light and ratio adjustment.
You can add more light to your system as you business progresses. Meanwhile, you can use your speedlights for background, kickers or accent lights. Without modeling lamps, however, guess work, experimentation and experience will have to suffice.
The mono-light can be mounted on a conventional stand and equipped with an umbrella for fashion work with live models. A speedlight or two bounced off a white ceiling or another umbrellas can provide fill illumination. At least, you wimp in the main light.
To become successful in the commercial photography field your work needs to be outstanding- a cut above the average. Nowadays, folks are doing the own online product shots with smartphone cameras with a "store-photo app".Good photo-illustration are more of a rarity so it is important for you to create an attractive and outstanding portfolio.
Seamless paper is pretty standard for "floating" products on a cyclorama type of background.You can also collect other improvised background materials such a fabric ruminants, a few yards of velvet or velveteen, burlap, textured metals, sheets of wood paneling, old barn wood planks,A few sheets of Plexiglas, tile board etc. behind and underneath and provide a seamless floating background. Colored gels can be added to to the lights ad color to the Plexiglas cyclorama.
For small pieces of jewelry, you might consider a macro lens. For perspective control and enhanced depth of field you may need a PC (tilt and shift)lens.
Equipment and the right tool for the job are important factors but most importantly are you skills in composition, lightg aesthetics, image management and let's not forget about business savvy and good financial planning. Do your market research and focus in on you market and specialties and equip accordingly.
Good luck I wish you every success in you ventures. It's hard work and it ain't for the faint of heart or the lazy photographer. 50% of commercial photography is PROBLEM SOLVING!
