Novice advice needed

[Busso GTA]

We are aiming to catalogue all our stock at work (spare parts) instead of the constant expenditure of outsourcing it to a local photographer as we are wanting to put it all up on our website below is a list of what we think we need :

Camera
Tripod
Lights
Plain white background material with frame

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we know nothing about cameras the pictures need to be of high detail and ease of transfer of the images to our computer are important .

[markmullen]

You've missed one very important thing off your kit list, that your current photographer uses and which makes the difference between a professional shot and a bodged up home made one:

• Experience and knowledge

That's what you're paying your professional for, not the hire of his lights, camera etc.

IMO you're better off doing what you're good at, selling parts, and leave the photographer to what he's good at, taking quality product shots. The amount of time you'll spend fannying around trying to get your background pure white rather than blotchy grey, learning how to set the camera up, and ensure everything is in focus (sounds easier than it is when working close up) then processing the shots for web use etc you'd be better sticking with your photographer.

[Gemm]

markmullen said:

You've missed one very important thing off your kit list, that your current photographer uses and which makes the difference between a professional shot and a bodged up home made one:

• Experience and knowledge

That's what you're paying your professional for, not the hire of his lights, camera etc.

IMO you're better off doing what you're good at, selling parts, and leave the photographer to what he's good at, taking quality product shots. The amount of time you'll spend fannying around trying to get your background pure white rather than blotchy grey, learning how to set the camera up, and ensure everything is in focus (sounds easier than it is when working close up) then processing the shots for web use etc you'd be better sticking with your photographer.

[Simpo Two]

markmullen said:

* Experience and knowledge

He will also have far more kit (eg lights and modifiers) to deal with every item, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all light tent. Rarely do you want light from all sides.

markmullen said:

The amount of time you'll spend fannying around trying to get your background pure white rather than blotchy grey

Oh I dunno, a crumpled almost-white sheet has a certain rustic charm


OP - we haven't seen what your current tog does but are you trying to match what he does, or will you accept a drop in quality to save money? (which I accept is always a factor). I have some clients from PH; all manner of odd things arrive, they get photographed on their chosen background - usually pure white or graded blue - and they get hi-res images by e-mail around 24 hours later.

[Busso GTA]

Apologies off for some time from work due to child being ill , I appreciate we pay for the photographers experience but the MD has tasked me with bringing it in house so any advice on equipment would be much appreciated.

The quality does not need to be exceptional and the pictures are for identification purposes only.

[Gemm]

Busso GTA said:

The quality does not need to be exceptional and the pictures are for identification purposes only.

If this is the case, I have a feeling your mobile phone or compact camera will be more than good enough (as long as you get it to focus and expose properly)?

[kman]

In that case use a simple to operate camera and a continuous light set up to get some basic images - if you try messing about with lights and modifiers without knowing what they're doing you'l be probably just get frustrated with the end results

[budfox]

Find a room with nice diffuse natural light (no strong shadows).

Sheet draped over table, sheet hung behind. Place item on table. Place camera between window and table.

Nikon D3100 and a kit lens (an 18-70mm or whatever else comes with the camera). Put camera on tripod.

Set camera to manual mode, white balance to 'cloudy', ISO 200, shutter at 1 second, lens at f8, shoot .jpg files with the quality set to high but perhaps not maximum.

Take a few pics via the self-timer and change the shutter speed up or down until the pics look good (check on your computer, don't rely on the viewfinder).

Make sure you leave the lens at f8 (or a higher number) otherwise some bits will be in focus and some out of focus. Try f11 or f16 too and extend the shutter speed to compensate.

You will experience some shadows, particularly where the product touches the table. If this is a problem then it's time to get a professional in to light things properly.

[Busso GTA]

Many thanks just a bit if guidance was needed much appreciated .