New Camera Advice

[Doofus]

Yes, that's right; it's a 'what car?' thread.

I am a very amateur photographer. I have tried to learn, and even posted on here about the subject, but none of the knowledge will stay in my head. I suspect that whilst I want to be interested in the technicalities, I'm just not.

Right. Now that I've alienated everyone, I need some advice please. I need a camera for product shots. I use a professional photographer for proper studio work, and for room mock-ups featuring my products, but I have the need, from time to time, to take simple product (pack) shots for the website.

Are there any specific technical specificatons I need to be looking for, or will any decent camera produce high-quality shots in this scenario? I have a large lightbox/tent thing (I used to have a roll of white paper to create seamless backdrops), and I already have a tripod and a lamp. The question is; can I go with a decent bridge camera, or do I really need DSLR? I appreciate that it's a very open-ended question, but I don't really know what technical specs the best camera for this environment will have.

I couod ask my professonal snapper, but I know he will blind me with science, and I'll end up looking at around £2k.

[Simpo Two]

It's very little to do with the camera, everything to do with lighting and the ability to get the colours right. Softboxes (probably) and RAW are your friends. Or send the products to me and take the day off

[singlecoil]

What sort of products are you shooting, how big are they and are they shiny or reflective?

[rich888]

My suggestion might be to invest in a Canon 100D with the 18-55mm lens kit.

Take a look at http://www.johnlewis.com/canon-eos-100d-digital-sl...

You can add different lenses to this camera depending upon what you are looking to photograph. The Canon 50mm f1.8 lens has to be one of the best and at approx £100 is an absolute bargain.

Rule of thumb is the lower the f number such as 1.8, the more blurred out background can be achieved. If you leave the camera set in 'Auto' it will take an average photo, if you move the dial to 'A' or 'Av' you can start experimenting with the level of depth of field (layman term is level of blurry background).

I personally wouldn't bother with bridge cameras because you can't change the lens to suit the occasion. Today you might be photographing a ring on a finger, tomorrow you might want to photograph fast moving aircraft flying at an air display. With a DSLR you change the lens, with a bridge camera you are stuck with the standard lens.

I have to say that Sony do produce an exceedingly good RX10 bridge camera but it costs thousands of pounds so perhaps out of your budget.

Hope this helps.

[Doofus]

Thanks all

I guess the changeable lenses thing was the question I should have been asking, and that would have led me sraight to dslr.

The products are small white goods, essentially. Not particularly shiny, or complex; I just want clear expandable thumbnails for the webshop. There are some textiles too, and close ups of the fabric would be useful.

When I weigh up the cost of the equipment and the numbers of new products, I'll probably find that I'm better off getting someone local to do the shots for me, of course...

[singlecoil]

Doofus said:

Thanks all


When I weigh up the cost of the equipment and the numbers of new products, I'll probably find that I'm better off getting someone local to do the shots for me, of course...

Not necessarily.

Most of what is involved in product photography, once you have a usable setup, is time. Do you have spare time which you can't sell at the moment? If you do then it would probably be better to make the images yourself in that time. That way you will have more control over the process and will easily be able to add new products to your catalogue/website.

I should have asked earlier whether these products need to be on a pure white background, or cut out and placed on a transparent background? Or doesn't it matter? How professional do they need to look? Quite often nitpicking attention to close-up detail won't matter at all if the pictures look like they were taken in your dining room, suggesting you are an amateur seller.

[Simpo Two]

White goods on a white background will be fun! Not impossible but a good chance to practice your lighting, exposure and retouching skills.

[RobDickinson]

get a cheap light tent and any camera with manual controls made in the last 5 years will do, entry level slr with kit lens etc.

[Doofus]

Simpo Two said:

White goods on a white background will be fun! Not impossible but a good chance to practice your lighting, exposure and retouching skills.

I mean 'white goods' in terms of appliances, not the colour whire Or do I need a parrot?

I have the spare time - this is very much a semi-retirement business, and I have no intention of working as hard as I have in the past. However, as I said above, I'm not sure I have the patience to learn, and I suspect it might get complicated.

The shots do need to look professional - this is a retail and wholesale business. Transparent backgrounds probably not required. I have thumbnails which enlarge when clicked on, and in some cases, can then be zoomed further.

[singlecoil]

Doofus said:

The shots do need to look professional - this is a retail and wholesale business. Transparent backgrounds probably not required. I have thumbnails which enlarge when clicked on, and in some cases, can then be zoomed further.

Have a look at this web page

http://www.johnlewis.com/browse/electricals/vacuum...

All those vacuums have been cut out with the pen tool in Photoshop, and placed on a white or transparent background. Or they might have been photographed on a dead white (blown-out (over-exposed)) background. By white I mean RGB values of 255, 255 and 255. If that was not the case then you would see a grey rectangle around each of them.

So if you are prepared to rent Photoshop and learn how to use the pen tool then that effect would be straight-forward to achieve, and you wouldn't need to worry too much about the background when taking the pictures.

The thumbnail/zoom in thing - all you need to do is to provide a decent sized picture, you can easily resize it in PS if you need to provide a thumbnail, then upload the small and large versions.

So PS and a bit of learning time, a moderate DSLR, a couple of off-camera flash units and a grey backdrop and you are good to go.

[Doofus]

Thank you. I'll do some costing up.

[Simpo Two]

Doofus said:

I mean 'white goods' in terms of appliances, not the colour whire Or do I need a parrot?

Well, most fridges, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers are white (good luck with the chrome stuff!)

I can get perfect white b/gs but don't use the PS pen tool, nor blast the b/g out. Point is, experiment and develop your own methods. If you want to copy a 'look', eg the John Lewis photos, look at the lighting and reverse engineer it. I can't emphasise how important lighting is.

[Doofus]

Simpo Two said:

Well, most fridges, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers are white (good luck with the chrome stuff!)

I can get perfect white b/gs but don't use the PS pen tool, nor blast the b/g out. Point is, experiment and develop your own methods. If you want to copy a 'look', eg the John Lewis photos, look at the lighting and reverse engineer it. I can't emphasise how important lighting is.

Oh FFS.

They. Are. Not. White.

OK?

in fact, they are a variety of colours, except white. Ivory, maybe, and ,any others besides, but never white.

[Simpo Two]

'Well you'll still need a tray'

[troc]

Just make sure it's not been dried in a rainforest