Lighting for small product photography

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blagger

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First post from a very amateur photographer so go easy!

I am looking into taking photos myself of our product range (rather than using stock photos from suppliers). The products we sell are a range of media products to mobile accessories, I think the best results will be achieved using the macro function as all of it will be close up.

I am after some advice on lighting. I have already messed up and bought some rubbish ones with a 50cmx50cm tent from ebay. After struggling with the rubbish warm white lights, I found out how much better it was to go out and use day light (however the weather cannot be relied upon to do that all the time). So now I know it is the daylight ones I need but what power rating will be sufficient? The tent will be big enough for all of our products so will just be concentrating on this area. Not looking to spend a massive amount, have seen these on ebuyer, how would you guys rate these (I would buy two):

http://www.ebuyer.com/369218-ebuyer-photo-studio-light-stand-hdk1

The bulbs are 35W 5500K, would these be good enough or would I need to go with more powerful lights?

I will be taking the photos in a dim lit area that has normal fluorescent roof lights and skylights.

I hope this is enough info for you guys to point me in the right direction.
 
blagger said:
First post from a very amateur photographer so go easy!

I am looking into taking photos myself of our product range (rather than using stock photos from suppliers). The products we sell are a range of media products to mobile accessories, I think the best results will be achieved using the macro function as all of it will be close up.

I am after some advice on lighting. I have already messed up and bought some rubbish ones with a 50cmx50cm tent from ebay. After struggling with the rubbish warm white lights, I found out how much better it was to go out and use day light (however the weather cannot be relied upon to do that all the time). So now I know it is the daylight ones I need but what power rating will be sufficient? The tent will be big enough for all of our products so will just be concentrating on this area. Not looking to spend a massive amount, have seen these on ebuyer, how would you guys rate these (I would buy two):

http://www.ebuyer.com/369218-ebuyer-photo-studio-light-stand-hdk1

The bulbs are 35W 5500K, would these be good enough or would I need to go with more powerful lights?

I will be taking the photos in a dim lit area that has normal fluorescent roof lights and skylights.

I hope this is enough info for you guys to point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...

If you want to actually sell anything from a product photograph, you need to invest more. That is either invest in someone to do the job for you properly, or invest in the right gear.

What you have shown will not help you take better phootgraphs
 
Those continuous lights won't give the light cast that you need for products. I would consider buying some manual flashes and a few radio triggers and setup a white background / light tent. You'll need a minimum of two (IMHO) to get good lighting on the said product.
If you're using a light tent, then I would advise shooting the product straight on, with the two flashes left and right of you shooting at a 45 degree angle as the tent will allow softened flash light to hit the subject etc.
 
Richard King said:
If you want to actually sell anything from a product photograph, you need to invest more. That is either invest in someone to do the job for you properly, or invest in the right gear.

What you have shown will not help you take better phootgraphs
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I would rather do this myself as investing in a photographer is out of my budget. What gear would you suggest?
 
Flightphoto said:
Those continuous lights won't give the light cast that you need for products. I would consider buying some manual flashes and a few radio triggers and setup a white background / light tent. You'll need a minimum of two (IMHO) to get good lighting on the said product.
If you're using a light tent, then I would advise shooting the product straight on, with the two flashes left and right of you shooting at a 45 degree angle as the tent will allow softened flash light to hit the subject etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks, if we bought those lights would the 35W bulbs be sufficient or do they need to be more powerful. The camera we are using is a Fuji S2980, what flash do you recommend.

Again please take into consideration we are on a tight budget. Thanks
 
You've asked a perfectly simple question, the problem is that the answer is complicated:(

The real question is, "What are these photos actually for?" If you just need to show what something physically looks like, then all you need is clear photos, shot from various angles, so that potential buyers can satisfy themselves that the left handed widget with an ISO 4789 plug at one end and a ISO84458 plug at the other end is what they actually want - I have often NOT ordered something from ebay just because it wasn't clear from the photo what it was that they were selling - and a light tent with a couple of lights will do that job, although the ones you linked to are in fact junk.

But if you're selling more expensive items then you need to do much more than just show what they look like - you need photos that actually sell them, that create a desire to possess - and that requires much more in the way of equipment, knowledge and commitment. Just as an example, if the subjects have texture then you need directional lighting that reveals that texture and creates the right shadows in the right places, If the subjects are shiny, you need to control and make use of the specular reflections (the inevitable reflections of the light sources) - and you won't do that with a light tent...

The cheapest usable lighting would be 2 of these Lencarta QuadLite continuous lights, plus stands - similar items are available from other suppliers - but personally I prefer flash to continuous lighting, it's more controllable, unless you go for this more expensive option, which is just as controllable as studio flash.

Then there is the knowledge element. Still life photography isn't the easiest genre to learn and to do well. There are various articles in the tutorials section of the Lencarta lighting blog that may help. There are also innumerable videos on YouTube, although the quality is very variable.

Hope this helps
 
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blagger said:
Thanks, if we bought those lights would the 35W bulbs be sufficient or do they need to be more powerful. The camera we are using is a Fuji S2980, what flash do you recommend.

Again please take into consideration we are on a tight budget. Thanks
Click to expand...

It would be a help if you defined "tight budget" as it will save forum members writing suggestions that cost way over what you want to spend.

Product photography requires both the correct equipment & a degree of skill.

I the past I've put set ups together for business to do a similar thing to you describe, average budget was around £500 plus VAT to cover equipment & training.
 
Thanks for your input guys, I think I need to go and do some reading. I will be back!
 
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