Temporary "Studio" set up

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Fraz

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Hi guys

Newbie here so please be gental!

First of all, a bit of background on myself so you know my experience.

I worked for 3 years on a modified car magazine - where myself and one colleague were responsible for all photography and writing. This included product shoots in a studio, car photo shoots on location and model shoots - again in the studio. We had no real photography background and really were just dropped in at the deep end!

After that I spent 3 years as Marketing Manager for a car audio company - where again I was responsible for all promotional images, which were created in our own small studio.

I have once again changed jobs and once again I find myself in charge of the corporate photography! This time however it is a little bit more tricky and I am looking for some help.

The units I am looking to photograph are rather large - around 2 meters long and 2 meters high - so taking them to a dedicated studio is really not an option.

I have been offered a bit of our showroom where I can build a temporary studio - just until I have all the shots needed for our 2010 brochure.

We have guys on site who are going to build a wooden framed "room" which is large enough to take the items and my thoughts were to cover all 4 sides and the roof in cloth.

My question however is what colour of cloth to go for! The products come in 2 colours - white and stainless steel - so my initial thoughts are to go for black all around to control the light as much as possible. Does everyone else agree? Also, what would be the best material to go for - considering it is quite a large surface area!

Lighting wise I would be looking at either hiring (or purchasing) something like the Bowens Gemini 500 kit with two soft boxes.

Camera wise - in my last employment I used the Fuji S2 pro then moved on to the S5 pro however the new staff camera is a Sony A350 which is not really a great option - so I might need to steal my mates D700.

All help is much appreciated!

Thanks

Fraser
 
i'd go for a mid grey background if you've got lights and modifiers for them?

also if you're doing studio stuff the camera isn't going to matter too much as at low iso the difference is going to be negligible, the lens would be more of an issue but even then most lenses @ f8 upwards aren't going to show any great flaws :)
 
Grey can be turned any colour you like with the right lighting so is probably the most versatile. Make sure it's good quality though and not shiny!

Stainless is going to be your big problem, the reflections in that stuff is a nightmare. Tricky to light so you don't get a lot of the light bouncing straigt back at you and you need to get your angles right or else either you or the lighting or the whole room will be in the reflection.

Rather you than me on this one!
 
Thanks for the replies.

To be honest, Grey had never crossed my mind as an option! I will just need to make sure that it is thick enough to stop light coming through from outside the room.

Any suggestions on the material to go for?

Thanks

Fraser
 
Photographing products as diverse as stainless steel and white, and expecting to do it with 2 lights with softboxes is really a triumph of hope over expectation.

I could write about 300 pages as a 'how to' intro but fortunately someone else has already done it - so get a copy of Light: Science & Magic. It will help you to understand both the problems and the solutions.

BTW, black walls, black ceilings and 4x the size you think you'll need...
 
:agree:
just read the book - what an eye-opener
great value for money
JFDI
 
Garry Edwards said:
Photographing products as diverse as stainless steel and white, and expecting to do it with 2 lights with softboxes is really a triumph of hope over expectation.

I could write about 300 pages as a 'how to' intro but fortunately someone else has already done it - so get a copy of Light: Science & Magic. It will help you to understand both the problems and the solutions.

BTW, black walls, black ceilings and 4x the size you think you'll need...
Click to expand...

Thanks for that

Yeah I know it is a mammoth task and wont be perfect - however before I joined the company the pictures were literally snaps taken in our showroom - so it will at least be a marked improvement! (I hope!)
 
Fraz said:
Thanks for that

Yeah I know it is a mammoth task and wont be perfect - however before I joined the company the pictures were literally snaps taken in our showroom - so it will at least be a marked improvement! (I hope!)
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that your results won't be perfect - what I am saying is that your understanding of light, budget and shooting space needs to be much greater than you may think.

I'm always amazed (and disappointed) at the number of firms that seem to think that good photography of their products doesn't matter and that anyone can produce O.K. shots with no knowledge and no budget:'(
 
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