Tips for shooting every day products

[ACherry]

Hello everyone! I just received free lighting equipment and I want to start teaching myself product photography using every day items in my home. Any suggestions on brands of light boxes OR fun techniques to make the photos pop?

[tonygale]

It really depends on what kinds of products. For shiney things you might consider getting some frosted plexiglass and lightning through that, softboxes can have wrinkles that show in the reflections. For most things, just about any softbox is fine to start with. 

A fun thing to try is light painting, put the camera on a tripod, use a long exposure with the room dark, and shine a flashlight on your subject, constantly moving the light around and see what you get!

[LensBrew]

A defuser will be essential to shape the light. I've learned a great deal from Karl Taylor, and he emphasized on using diffusion cones and how they completely change the look of a product. With that you can use continuous lighting and be able to see what the image would look like before you shoot. Make sure you have sturdy tripod and a boom arm for top view shots. Sturdy is the key word here, heavy and expensive tools will save your gear. Finally, tether your work. This will give you instant, high res and large screen, feedback to make any changes.

[ACherry]

It really depends on what kinds of products. For shiney things you might consider getting some frosted plexiglass and lightning through that, softboxes can have wrinkles that show in the reflections. For most things, just about any softbox is fine to start with. 

A fun thing to try is light painting, put the camera on a tripod, use a long exposure with the room dark, and shine a flashlight on your subject, constantly moving the light around and see what you get!

LOVEE the flashlight idea. Thank you!

[ACherry]

A defuser will be essential to shape the light. I've learned a great deal from Karl Taylor, and he emphasized on using diffusion cones and how they completely change the look of a product. With that you can use continuous lighting and be able to see what the image would look like before you shoot. Make sure you have sturdy tripod and a boom arm for top view shots. Sturdy is the key word here, heavy and expensive tools will save your gear. Finally, tether your work. This will give you instant, high res and large screen, feedback to make any changes.

Thank you so much! 

[tonygale]

LOVEE the flashlight idea. Thank you!

Please share what you end up doing!

[CarolineJensen]

Nothing beats getting your image 90% right in camera! I would dissect favorite images that you find online...Pinterest, IG, etc. Dissect what you love about them and try and figure out the lighting. This is where a photography mentor is helpful because they can often visually ID what is going on behind the scenes. You save so much money when you know just want you are trying to accomplish.