# Product photo "studio"-how did I do?



## minicoop1985 (Jan 27, 2014)

Aside from the horrible editing of the scratch (it's less noticeable, so mission sorta accomplished), how is this? Done with two big ol clamp shop lights with pillowcases for soft boxes and a coffee table. Also fighting a battle of softness vs depth of field at the moment with my Olympus as the "sweet spot" is at f4 and the higher the aperture, the softer it gets (my next camera will solve this issue, I hope). All things considered, is this decent, or should I try something else? I'll be buying a setup with softboxes and maybe strobes fairly soon (tax money has to go somewhere, right?) Thanks for the help.






P1272975 by longm1985, on Flickr


BTW, that's a 9v battery converter for a Hasselblad electric camera, if anyone's wondering what it is.


----------



## Geaux (Jan 27, 2014)

It's ok I guess, the dust particles all over the table distract me more than anything though. I'd also try a less distracting table top for your next shot. I've done some product photography on distracting tops but if shot at a lower angle, it takes the distracting look away a little.


----------



## minicoop1985 (Jan 27, 2014)

OK, will do. It's so dry that dust is hard to get off of anything, but it can be done if I take the time to do it. Thanks for the help.


----------



## Geaux (Jan 27, 2014)

It probably wouldn't be too difficult to remove with the clone tool in PS either. Might be worth a try


----------



## minicoop1985 (Jan 27, 2014)

I tried doing that in lightroom (sadly that's all I have-PS is on my list of things to buy). It looked absolutely horrible.  I'm sure it's easier to do well in PS.


----------



## sk66 (Jan 27, 2014)

The "product" is quite ugly and reflecting way too much of the room. You need to start with a much darker environment.

What is it?


----------



## minicoop1985 (Jan 27, 2014)

It's a 9v conversion kit for a Hasselblad electric camera. Takes the place of the incredibly expensive rechargeable batteries.

http://www.kundrotas.com/Store/2012/10/HL2/DSC_0250.JPG

That's a rechargeable battery in that photo. The 9v goes in one side, the converter in the other, when used with this kinda thing. I used it with my 500EL, but once that thing jammed and I replaced it with a 2000FC/M, I don't need this.


----------



## Designer (Jan 27, 2014)

minicoop1985 said:


> is this decent, or should I try something else?



You might consider a light tent if you have a lot more to do.  I made mine using hardware items and some white cloth.


----------



## jenko (Jan 27, 2014)

The woodgrain doesn't quite look right. I really like large foam poster boards--they have a smooth surface, and they are cheap, easy to keep clean, dust-free, and you can get them in different colors. I picked mine up at Michael's, but Hobby Lobby probably has them too. A white, grey, or black one would do the trick if you shot at the same angle/distance. I think white or grey would work best with this object. Hope that helps!


----------



## minicoop1985 (Jan 27, 2014)

Yeah, see, that's the thing I was wondering about. I've got this "tabletop studio" that's VERY similar to what Designer described, but I run into things that are just too big for it fairly often. Trying to set up a "studio" on a budget just to see if I could do it-I'll get real stuff soon enough. My grandfather would be proud-I'm using a telescope stand and a RockBand drum set as light stands.  So, basically, it needs some work. I appreciate the help-now I know what to work on.

The foam board's a great idea. I think I might snag one for smaller things. No, I will snag one for smaller things. Now what to use for larger stuff.... Black marble?


----------



## Derrel (Jan 27, 2014)

jenko said:


> The woodgrain doesn't quite look right. I really like large foam poster boards--they have a smooth surface, and they are cheap, easy to keep clean, dust-free, and you can get them in different colors. I picked mine up at Michael's, but Hobby Lobby probably has them too. A white, grey, or black one would do the trick if you shot at the same angle/distance. I think white or grey would work best with this object. Hope that helps!



YES, I use the colored sheets of very heavy poster paper sold at Office Depot...I often tape the top edge to my iMac, and then the front two corners to the desk surface, and this makes a "miniature seamless paper sweep" that's very easy to work with. Plenty big enough for small products with the apprx. 17 inch wide paper.


----------



## fokker (Jan 27, 2014)

Is this a legit product or something homemade? Because the way that wire is just kinda wrapped around the metal there looks incredibly 'budget'. 

As far as the photo goes, a little attention to detail goes a long way - the placement of the 9V battery clip is poor and it is partly out of focus. There is a lot of dust on the table which has already been mentioned, but you would really be better off with a sheet of white paper as a backdrop than the table to start with.


----------



## minicoop1985 (Jan 28, 2014)

I didn't make it. It was in the Blad when I bought it. I think it's a "legit" product probably sold by some random person looking to make a few dollars here and there. It's incredibly ghetto, but it actually works really, really well. You're right on the money with the "Budget" analysis. The product itself so much the point of posting this (I agree, it's pretty awful), it's the analysis that you guys have given (and is a huge help-thanks to all). And you're right-the 9v contact is out of focus.

I'll snag some BIG gray poster board from OfficeMaxDepotWhateverMaybeMichael's this week whenever I get a chance.

Getting so much closer to what I actually want. Almost there, just some tweaks and upgrades here and there.


----------

