Lights, cameras, product photography

Today I have spent a large portion of my time trying to work out why the background of my photograph kept coming out blue. I have searched several links across the Internet and found that product photography is actually a very tricky subject. So, I thought I would write a quick guide detailing what I have found out.

1. You need a white piece of paper (two if your paper is thin) and use this for the flooring. Then you need some cellotape and another piece of paper, stick this to the wall and create a curved shape so it touches your flooring. Think model photoshoot here.


2. Take a piece of cardboard and cover it with aluminum foil, in fact you might require two of these if you are using a white light source.


3. I use a light designed for seasonal defective disorder (S.A.D) that emits a bright white light. I shine this on the left-hand side of my setup and place the first foil covered cardboard on the opposite side, part stuck to my desk and part to the wall to keep its position.


4. Take the photos during daylight hours, the glow from normal bulbs is just not the right colour for your lovely products to shine.


5. Set the camera ISO to as low as possible, this stops the picture being too grainy and as it's a still object it doesn't need a fast shutter.


6. If you have the option, set the camera to the cloudy setting. This is the setting I spent most of the day trying to work out. What it does it stops it from being too blue.


7. As you are using white background and you camera automatically adjusts to about 15% grey, turn up the exposure to +1.0EV. I have to adjust this up and down depending on the colour of the ribbon I'm photographing.


8. It's best to use the macro setting for smaller objects as it helps to pick out the fine detail


9. Use a tripod where possible, although I have never got on with one so I apologise if my photos are a tad blurry.


10. PhotoShop is your best friend. Use the magic wand to cut out the background and use the auto colour to get rid of the grey. If possible use the adjustments > curves to amend the colour to exactly how you want it.

If you have any of your own product photography tips I'd love to hear them.

Kerri
- Fabridashery Founder