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The Photon is a product photography “light tent” updated for the 21st century

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The humble light tent is both loved and loathed by product photographers all over the world. On the one hand, it’s a great way to get some quick and easy, relatively clean shots of small products for eBay or your online store. But on the other, they don’t exactly offer the kind of control that a lot of product photographers strive for.

Well, the light tent has seen a technological upgrade. This is the Photon, which is essentially three customisable light panels that cover your products which you can control from your phone to emit whatever light pattern you desire. It’s just gone live on Kickstarter today, and it’s already pretty close to its goal in just a couple of hours.

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This genius trick gives you an infinite white background for shooting small products

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This is one of the coolest “hacks” I’ve seen in a while. When tasked to shoot a bunch of small products on a white seamless, you have two options. You can either build a white seamless set, light it and get everything just perfect. But that takes a lot of time and effort.

The other option is what filmmaker Justin Gustavison did. He strapped a white piece of card to his camera, placed the camera on a turntable and then surrounded it with the subjects he had to shoot. Justin posted the results to Instagram and it looks like it works brilliantly.[Read More…]

How to shoot professional-looking product photos with just one light

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There are plenty of cheap, DIY product photography tricks (the one with a garbage can will probably forever be my favorite). If you’re on a tight budget, you can always use one of these and get professional-looking shot without using tons of expensive gear. In this video, Ed Verosky shows you how to take great product photos at home using just one light.

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How I photographed this $5 watch to look like a luxury product shot

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The cheapest watch I could find, that was my mission! I decided I wanted to create a magazine advertising image using a really cheap watch, my goal was to replace the luxurious and expensive aspect of the image with a unknown brand but still maintaining that feel of expense and luxury in the final shot, also to focus on the photography and the importance and impact it has on advertising.

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How to approach commercial product photography to achieve the best results

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Commercial product lighting is very challenging. Whether you’re shooting stills or video, you never know what type of product you might need to shoot from day to day. It often presents unique challenges for you to overcome, too. Not least of which is satisfying your client’s personal tastes.

In this video, Aputure’s Valentina Vee talks with cinematographer Brent Barbano about how to light products to make them look amazing. And how to make you look amazing to your client.

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How to make a DIY portable product photography booth for under $10

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If you need a light tent you can easily carry anywhere, Adam Rahn of DroiMedia has a fantastic DIY solution. In this video, he shows you how to make your own portable booth for product photography. It’s simple to make, easy to carry around, and it will cost you no more than $10 to build.

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How to shoot professional product shots on a budget at your own home

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If you want to take professional-looking product shots, you don’t need fancy gear and a studio. As a matter of fact, you can do it for under $30 without leaving your own home. In this video, Jakob Owens of TheBuffNerds will show you how to do it, and you can apply this technique to product photos and product videos.

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How I took this whisky shot with just one light

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Hey guys  I have been really looking forward to sharing this post and the video which goes into it in more detail (link below), for all of the new photographers new to lighting and to all who think they are limited by their lack of gear! Well in this blog and video I will show you how you can create this image with just ONE LIGHT and all captured in camera and no editing ( that’s optional really as I would always finish my images with a quick tidy up if needed) but for this post below is the raw image straight from the camera.

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Make your own DIY diffusion panels for still life photography

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Light diffusion panels cost very little when you make them yourself, and to do so is very simple. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked about diffusion panels and where I am getting them from. The ones I use in my studio have all been custom-made to fit my needs, and I’ll show you just how to make your own one below.

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How we made this exploded view of a floating Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens

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I’d been looking forward to getting my hands on the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens ever since it was announced. I got to have a brief look at one during The Photography Show back in March, but didn’t really have the chance to play with it properly.

Fortunately, one of my best friends is Sigma UK Ambassador, Paul Monaghan. So, when they sent him one to play with, we decided to get together. We met up a couple of times to go out and take it for a spin and I’ve already posted my first impressions of using the lens. The second time, though, the weather didn’t cooperate, so we used the lens as the subject of a product shot.

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