It is difficult to communicate in short web landing pages all of the things that go into making our services, and the techniques and skills that are behind them. That is why I'm beginning a new series I'm calling the 'Techniques In Photography series', or 'T.I.P.s' (see what I did there? ha ha). The point of these is simply to share our experience, based on what we've found works over the years. We hope you find them interesting and informative!
For our inaugural two posts, I'm going to talk about what, to us, is necessary for e-commerce product photography, as well as what we still want to do to make our shoots better. It will be divided into two posts: first the equipment needed, and second the techniques and what to watch for.
So without further ado, here is:
Product Photography as we see it!
Part 1: The Equipment
One of the things that we think helps us stand out among the crowd of many photographers, is the equipment that we have, and the space we have to use it in. When Connor and Dustin from Local Laundry mentioned that local manufacturers were having to send their wares far away to get great e-commerce photography, at great expense, we immediately knew that it was a gap in the local market that we could help all those people by filling.
We are totally aware that there are things that we still need to make our service even better (if anyone has any leads on inexpensive used mannequins, we’re all ears!). But here is a list of what we use so far, to help us carry out our Product Photography Day, and product photography more generally.
- Strobe lights and modifiers
- To get the right light for each setup takes high quality studio lighting. We use a hodgepodge of lights acquired over the years:
- 2x ProFoto D1 Air 500
- 2x Paul C. Buff Einstein E640
- 3x Paul C. Buff Ultra 1200
- Model/mannequin setup: minimum 3, preferably 4 strobes
- Main – can be a large softbox, high and far, or a smaller one, closer in
- Fill (optional) – a large softbox, close-ish – in a pinch replace with a large reflector
- Edge/Kicker – gives a nice definition to the model and garment, separating it from the background and defining its edges
- Background – keep the background white
- Flatlay: 2 or 3 strobes
- Main: small umbrella top right or left of item
- Fill: large umbrella opposite from main
- Light tent: 2, 3, or 4 strobes
- Bare bulbs with metal reflectors, to focus on the light tent. The tent itself is the light modifier. You can adjust the brightness of each light depending on how you want to shape the light around the object.
- Cameras:
- One camera per setup
- High resolution, professional grade cameras, which can shoot in raw
- RAW is the format that provides the highest level of visual information, and gives us maximum control in post-production
- We use
- 2x Canon 5D Mark III
- 1x Canon 5D Mark IV
- Professional grade lenses, which reduce flaws and distortion, and are very sharp.
- For models, we tend to shoot with lenses longer than 50mm, like an 85 mm
- For overhead, around 35 mm
- For light tent, whatever works for the subject, but doesn't have too much distortion
- Other equipment:
- Seamless backdrop - can be paper or infinity wall/cyclorama, and mounts for those
- Large surface for flatlays - we use a 4'x8' white laminated MDF board, purchased at Home Depot.
- Sturdy tripods for consistency between photos
- A strong boom for overhead flatlay shots, and an associated sturdy stand
- Light stands for all lights
- Remote controls for the strobes
- We can operate 3 stations independently, so that we require 3 independent remotes for each set of lights
- Tethering computers
- We have 3 tetherable computers, one for each setup
- Mannequins and supports for various kinds of products
- Location:
- Our studio! :-D Our studio has enough space to house all 3 of the setups described above simultaneously.
If you have any questions at all about any of these things, drop us a line in the comments below, or send us an email!
2 Comments
Sep 13, 2018, 4:01:45 PM
Jean-Marc Robin - Hi Hugh! Thanks for the comment, I'm glad someone is reading :-) And yes, there's quite a lot of gear involved!
Sep 13, 2018, 1:02:17 PM
Hugh Esling - Interesting to read what equipment is involved.