Product Shooting

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Krebel

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Hey guys,

I am shooting shoes for a shop online website. I am going to rent two soft boxes. Which ones should I get? What is the key to product shooting?
Iso? aperture? White balance?
 
I'm not sure what you mean by key and settings. With all do respect we can't tell you what ISO to use when we are not there to see the light or even know what equipment you are using. You are talking about a soft box so I assume you are planning to use a flash. In that case use the lowest iso you can. As far as aperture, getting all the shoe in focus would probably be a good idea so start at 5.6 and take some test shoots to see how far you need to stop down. Another way to figure that out is read a aperture chart. You know about how long the shoes will be so you should be able to dial in the aperture before you even get there with a chart or aperture app.
 
I would think you need a pretty small aperture to get large enough DoF at closish distances, much smaller than f5.6.
You can use ISO 100 (or whatever lowest is) but as you will be using a tripod the combination of small aperture and low ISO giving a slow shutter is fine.
 
ernesto said:
I would think you need a pretty small aperture to get large enough DoF at closish distances, much smaller than f5.6.
You can use ISO 100 (or whatever lowest is) but as you will be using a tripod the combination of small aperture and low ISO giving a slow shutter is fine.
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Surely the shutter speed will be flash sync?:thinking:

The secret to this job is consistency, so 2 hours setting up and then you can almost rattle through the images, if you bodge the setup you'll spend the next fortnight in Photoshop cleaning them up:gag:.

But honestly, from your questions, I'd advise against doing the job. What you really need to understand is controlling specular highlights and flagging / reflectors, and you're concerned about 'settings' and WB? That's a long way off in terms of knowledge.

I could be completely wrong, you might be a lighting magician who just doesn't have a clue about WB? In which case - ignore me:)

There's usually a clue when somethings very wrong. If you're planning a commercial grade shoot, and your question fits in 'Talk Basics' then there's a mis-match. There's nothing wrong with asking for advice - it's why we're all here, but if you were close to being capable of pulling this off, the right place for extra help would be in 'Talk Business' or 'Talk Studio and Lighting'.
 
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Phil V said:
Surely the shutter speed will be flash sync?:thinking:
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God knows, I just use lights. Probably shouldn't have input to thread as my product photography revolves around my eBay listings where absolute perfection is not required!
 
ernesto said:
God knows, I just use lights. Probably shouldn't have input to thread as my product photography revolves around my eBay listings where absolute perfection is not required!
Click to expand...

I'm no expert - that's mostly my point though:).

I've got loads of years of shooting all kinds of stuff, and if I was taking this job on, I'd be brushing up on the stuff in that link above, because it's not my usual type of stuff. And if I'd been asked to shoot a formal event, I'd be turning it down (ill equiped, not experienced) likewise sports and many other things.

I'm not suggesting we shouldn't stretch ourselves, but there's a challenge you'll complete and learn from, and there's an impossible task.

If I was asking about WB I'd consider myself out of my depth.
 
I see where Phil is coming from, i shoot video as well and i see alot of photography think they can shoot nice video because they have a full frame DSLR with nice lens. The thing is yes the equipment allow you to shoot nice video but having understanding on video work is completely different then shooting stills. i.e shutter, iso and aperture work different in video (probably not difference on aperture), but WB, colour correction, light setup, focus etc etc is key when shooting video.
 
Krebel said:
I am going to rent two soft boxes.
Click to expand...

Why?

Are these shoes going to be full of feet??

I got a fairly decent light tent on Ebay for £15 and then two cheap spotlights on Amazon for £7 each, fitted each with 60w bulbs.

You don't need lot's of fancy gear and you don't need a tonne of knowledge.

Aperture depends on distance, but you should be at least a couple of meters back on a zoom lens 50mm+, otherwise the images will just look slightly odd perspective wise.

The spotlights are important, as is positioning of said lights.
Use a tripod, turn off any VR, shoot in A or M.

Shoot RAW, tweak WB later for best results.
 
i Take it you are shooting for free. if not and you are charging you really should know the answers before you take such a job. If the shop you are working for are relying on your photography for online sales then poor photographs can affect their business.
 
Well, as it's the only post (s)he ever made, and (s)he's never returned to read an answer - it's anyone's guess whether we've all been wasting our time?

Last Activity: 14-06-2013 03:13
 
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