# help guys... it's urgent



## hemi (Oct 26, 2014)

i'm about to shoot a 500 product a day, at the next to weeks, frankly its my first time im about to make products photography.the shooting set gonna be at a supermarket (not a studio) and im not sure about the gear i need. 
 i looked at B&H and i saw thry are selling Impact Two-Light Digital Light Shed Kit - 24 x 24",   http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/402604-REG/Impact_DLS_XLK_Extra_Large_Digital_Light.html.  do you think it will do the job?  do you think i need something else? flashes maybe?
thank a lot
Hemi


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## tirediron (Oct 26, 2014)

Since we don't actually know what products you're shooting, or what the setting is, it's impossible to say.  I would suggest however that if you've taken on a 500 product/day shoot that is going to last two weeks, you're likely in way over your head if you're asking the most basic of gear questions, and the best thing to do would be to bow out gracefully and hand it over to a pro.


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## snowbear (Oct 26, 2014)

^ This.  And look over their shoulder to learn.


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## Derrel (Oct 26, 2014)

Yeah...you WILL NEED "some kind" of light source to shine through those tent walls! I am going to suggest that continuous lights might be the easiest for a lighting beginner, due to the WYSIWYG nature of continuous lighting, light metering, and reflection control and reflection placement. Good luck on this project.


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## JoeW (Oct 26, 2014)

Okay, don't know for sure what the setting is like, what the lighting is like, how much privacy and ability to re-arrange the food you'll have and how much experience you have.  But total ignorance on a situation has never stopped me from commenting before.

1.  I second Derrel's recommendation about continuous lighting.  You don't need to be tethered, you don't have to come back and reshoot.  You can see where the shadows are, where the reflections are.
2.  Learn how to adjust your white balance.  NO, using "Auto white balance" won't cut it (that will just average the highlights so you end up with shots that have no pop to them.
3.  Be absolutely, explicitly, totally, crystal clear about what the client expects.  Food pictures of food as it's set up in the grocery store?  Or in a studio-like setting (meaning you can take the celery and put it in a white backdrop or on a small seamless white paper setup)?  Can you re-arrange it or do you have to shoot it as is?  It's a totally different situation...shooting food in a grocery store as it's arranged (and you look for good angles) vs. food that is set aside, rearranged or prepared so it looks great with a backdrop that isn't distracting vs. food in isolation (one head of lettuce, one apple, one pear, one banana, etc.) with the objective to create exactly the same look and finish and setting for each picture.
4.  Visit the setting ahead of time.  I expect you'll find:
--lots of chrome and glass/plexiglass that will create hot spots and distracting reflections
--food that is generally okay but the celery or lettuce or beets have a little dirt on them or there's a bruise on most of the apples or fingerprints on the OJ bottle....none of which stand out to the customer's eye but your camera will capture perfectly.
--very uneven lighting...areas with some daylight, areas with bright lighting, others where it's dark or the light is burned out.  And if you're supposed to shoot 500 products and make the lighting and setting and appearance identical (for product references or fliers) then that's a major problem.

I think your best best (after having done recon at the store) is to find someplace there where you can set up a mini-studio (i.e.: clean white surface, white walls, consistent light) and have people bring you products (which you shoot).  That will generate a consistent look to all of the shoots, speed up the process, and probably make the client happy.


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## astroNikon (Oct 26, 2014)

Interesting ....
500 shots per day
say, an 8 hour day
that's one shot basically in under a minute
excluding post processing.

or a 16 hr day and one shot every 2 minutes.

I'll take a flying guess and say you underbid everyone else without knowing what you were getting into.
Good luck on the project.


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## andywag (Oct 29, 2014)

hemi said:


> i'm about to shoot a 500 product a day, at the next to weeks, frankly its my first time im about to make products photography.the shooting set gonna be at a supermarket (not a studio) and im not sure about the gear i need.
> i looked at B&H and i saw thry are selling Impact Two-Light Digital Light Shed Kit - 24 x 24",   http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/402604-REG/Impact_DLS_XLK_Extra_Large_Digital_Light.html.  do you think it will do the job?  do you think i need something else? flashes maybe?
> thank a lot
> Hemi



No your not mate.
500 product a day is over 60 an hour (1 a minute in an 8 hour day)

It's not possible.

If you mean 500 over the next 2 weeks then fair enough and the light tent is fine depending on the product and the required end result.
But as an aside, You are not ready for this job if you have to ask this most basic of questions.


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## minicoop1985 (Oct 30, 2014)

I'm more a fan of the ol 2 continuous soft boxes and a poster board background, but that's just me. I got a pair a while ago for less than $50, but you get what you pay for. They work, but the stands are garbage.

500 products is a LOT. Wow. I'm lucky if I get 20 at once.


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## minicoop1985 (Oct 30, 2014)

If it helps, this was shot with my old 2 softbox setup:




P1303022 by longm1985, on Flickr

As was this:




Feuer und Eis by longm1985, on Flickr


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## minicoop1985 (Oct 30, 2014)

This is the setup I'm talking about.


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