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What does a beginner photographer need?
Thu, Sep 26, 24
How to Take Incredible Product Photos on a Budget
If you are a small e-Business owner, a foodie or fashion blogger, having high-quality, beautiful product photography can go a long way. However, not every store owner can afford to invest in a professional photography studio to create the perfect lighting. As long as you know the proper tools and techniques, taking compelling product photos is well within your grasp. We are going to show you some of those tools to help you get the job done yourself.
Camera
You don’t need a super-expensive camera system right away. While shooting images with a Nikon D80 sporting a 105mm f1.4 lens is awesome, it’s also totally unnecessary in this case. That’s a nice gift for yourself to shoot for- no pun intended. Still, if you’re feeling excited and have the budget for a new camera system, grab a point and shoot from the Canon G series. They can go full manual and they shoot a really nice raw file.
Tripod
Not to get too technical, but you’re going to set your camera to a very small aperture so that you can have the most depth of field your camera is capable of. The width of the depth of field defines the area of sharp focus and to get to that you need the largest f/stop number your camera can obtain. Shutter speed and f/stop are related. Since a larger f/stop number, like f/8, lets in less light, you’ll need to counter that by using a slower shutter speed to allow more light through. When a camera has a slow shutter, you can’t hand hold it or the subject will be blurry, so a tripod is your answer.
White bounce cards
When you’re lighting with window light, there will be a bright side where the light is striking the product and a shadow side. This shadow side will typically be too dark and so you need to use something white to reflect the light back into the shadow, brightening it up. Foam board makes a great bounce card because it's rigid and white. If you don’t have the luxury of natural light, use this diffuser from Beachcamera.com to soften your flash.
The perfect room
A room with windows next to a wall is perfect. The bigger the window, the more light you’ll get in. Being closer to the window will create a softer light with darker, softer shadows. Being farther away will give a more even light, but with lighter, sharper shadows.
And there you have it! Once you have collected your gear, it’s time to set up your shooting area and get started!
Camera
You don’t need a super-expensive camera system right away. While shooting images with a Nikon D80 sporting a 105mm f1.4 lens is awesome, it’s also totally unnecessary in this case. That’s a nice gift for yourself to shoot for- no pun intended. Still, if you’re feeling excited and have the budget for a new camera system, grab a point and shoot from the Canon G series. They can go full manual and they shoot a really nice raw file.
Tripod
Not to get too technical, but you’re going to set your camera to a very small aperture so that you can have the most depth of field your camera is capable of. The width of the depth of field defines the area of sharp focus and to get to that you need the largest f/stop number your camera can obtain. Shutter speed and f/stop are related. Since a larger f/stop number, like f/8, lets in less light, you’ll need to counter that by using a slower shutter speed to allow more light through. When a camera has a slow shutter, you can’t hand hold it or the subject will be blurry, so a tripod is your answer.
White bounce cards
When you’re lighting with window light, there will be a bright side where the light is striking the product and a shadow side. This shadow side will typically be too dark and so you need to use something white to reflect the light back into the shadow, brightening it up. Foam board makes a great bounce card because it's rigid and white. If you don’t have the luxury of natural light, use this diffuser from Beachcamera.com to soften your flash.
The perfect room
A room with windows next to a wall is perfect. The bigger the window, the more light you’ll get in. Being closer to the window will create a softer light with darker, softer shadows. Being farther away will give a more even light, but with lighter, sharper shadows.
And there you have it! Once you have collected your gear, it’s time to set up your shooting area and get started!
