[awscreo]

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TMI!


Steve

ahaha, nice autocorrect

[Wasp]

I have a Kodak (remember them, they used to be big in photography) gray card that I bought back in the eighties. It hasn't seen a lot of use and is still in the plastic envelope that it came in. I now find myself wondering how much it has faded over the years and how accurate that 18% gray still is.

[clackers]

I'd definitely use speedlights, because of the purity of their colour output, and their cheapness compared to strobes. Match them with an 18 percent card, as others have said.

You want a home made or purchased lightbox that permits lighting from left, right and above as needed ... you want to make objects 3D with deliberately creating highlights and shadows.

[hjoseph7]

When it comes to product photography you are going to have to do a lot of improvisation otherwise known as DIY. A lot of the products they have on sale can get quite expensive such as product photography tables, product kits, lighting kits, background kits etc. I started out with 2 hot lamps, some white and black background paper, some stands and a tripod and that's about it. The list of things you are going to need can easily fill a book, so it's best to go slowly and only get the things you are going to need for a certain project.

[Astro-Baby]

When it comes to product photography you are going to have to do a lot of improvisation otherwise known as DIY. A lot of the products they have on sale can get quite expensive such as product photography tables, product kits, lighting kits, background kits etc. I started out with 2 hot lamps, some white and black background paper, some stands and a tripod and that's about it. The list of things you are going to need can easily fill a book, so it's best to go slowly and only get the things you are going to need for a certain project.

Yep....thats why I included bulldog clips and croc clips

Good point also about not needing too much flash gear, most product is stationary so long exposures arent a problem. I mostly shot with very slow film and these days ( which is mostly ebay stuff ) I use lowest possible ASA and go for long exposure, it always gets better color depth. These days all my cams are film apart from my happy snappy Lumix which is used pretty much exclusively for doing pics for eBay and I havent shot poduct to spec for at least 10 years so am a bit rusty to be sure and not up there in the firts flight with super duper digital.

A lot of it is tack tape, blue tac and croc clips and bagging props in charity shops and out of skips as and when the opportunity arises. It would be rash to buy too much gear at the start and best to only buy when and if the need arises otherwise you end up wasting cash on stuff you dont need or use. I know we all love to get down the camera store and buy yet more gear we think we need but it really is best to just wait and see what happens.

[hjoseph7]

You still should be able to find these on the used market.(Norman power pack with 2 LH2 heads) Norman 202 power pack, head with modeling light & Hasselblad ring light | eBay I have 2-3 sets of these last time I looked ? I used them for small product photography. They are nice and portable and dont take up a lot of room. For a back ground holder I used the Manfrotto 2983 Adjustable Background Holder with some BG stands. I used a large chair to place the products on or some foldable entree tables.

For diffusers, I purchased some Roscoe diffusion sheets. They sell them at B&H in different grades and sizes. You might also need some Plexiglass Acrylic sheets to place your products on so that your pictures look professional. They sell them at major outlets online, or even at your local hardware store. I went to Michael's(Art store) and purchased some CHEAP empty painting frames, then I tacked the Roscoe diffusers to them to create DIY diffusion panels. This gave me more flexibility when it came to moving the camera around to shoot from different angles. You might also need something to block reflections, because the last thing your clients want to see is YOU with a camera reflected on their products.

[clackers]

Good point also about not needing too much flash gear, most product is stationary so long exposures arent a problem.

I wouldn't use natural light, Astro-Baby.

The colours aren't right and they're not consistent, like the intensity. You're better off shuttering all windows, closing the door, metering for black eg f8 or f11, ISO 100 so you kill the ambient entirely for the session, just like you do for portraits.

Your first ten shots have to have the same look as the last ten taken a couple of hours later.

I do eBay product photography occasionally for my wife, and clothes are an example where you have to get the colours spot on. If the hue is slightly off or the tone is just a tad darker or lighter than the real item, you can get an irritated customer at the other end, and the prospect of a refund and a negative review. You really have to nail it!

The combination of flashes with proper diffuser material to get consistently 5500K or so and a grey card will do that. Just putting up white baking paper or similar can lead to a yellow cast.

[swanlefitte]

Your first ten shots have to have the same look as the last ten taken a couple of hours later.

.

Very convenient to color check once and apply to all. A nightmare to have to do this for every single photo. A strong argument for control over the light if you have more than a few things.

[clackers]

Very convenient to color check once and apply to all. A nightmare to have to do this for every single photo. A strong argument for control over the light if you have more than a few things.

That's right, I'll copy the test shot's white balance setting for the rest of the session's photos in Lightroom - easy!

If I later change the power settings significantly, I'll do the test shot with the grey card again.

Again, the lighting setup is to honour the product as a 3D subject. There needs to be highlights and shadows.

[Astro-Baby]

Dont think I advocated daylight anywhere just not going mad and buying a ton of strobes, tungstens, brollies, cool lights and lord knows what else until you know what it is you are aiming for and what sort of product you need to shoot.

These days I have no option but daylight as I dont do pro photography anymore, no longer have the gear and am limited to getting digital pics using a happy snappy.....getting 35mm film done for eBay would be a bit tiresome and may get you classified, if not certified, as an extreme hipster. Might as well go back to putting postcards up in the local shops to sell stuff and driving to work on a steam engine anyone for hand tinted postcards ?

With some patience and ingenuity I generally pull off daylight shots on long exposure with a happy snappy digital. I just have to wait for the sun to be in the right position for my windows and at the right intensity..... Its like natures softbox really chuck in some foamboard for reflectors .....couple of old pillowcases as drapes and some clothes pegs to convert a chair to a film stage add a clapped out old tripod I got in a charity shop for £2 and various bits iof tupperware as plinths......of course as a consequence of not owning any gear I can only shoot product for eBay in the summer months between about 8am and 10am when the light is good, not too overcast, not too bright etc etc so thats a bit of a drawback but I manage to live with it Its all done on the cheap from my tiny studio flat but the pics are good enough to get tat sold on aBay and thats really all I need these days.

And theres a real lesson in product photography.....it only needs to be good enough to get the product sold.

[clackers]

With some patience and ingenuity I generally pull off daylight shots on long exposure with a happy snappy digital. I just have to wait for the sun to be in the right position for my windows and at the right intensity.....

See, right there, you've kind of confirmed it's too limiting for most of us. I have a full time job, so I shoot when I feel like it at nighttime, my wife just waits until I get around to it, but I can't hold her up too long putting it online. If it's a couple of days in between sessions, it really doesn't matter, the setup is so consistent. Most items are shot in a purchased but cheap lightbox on top of a desk in our 'spare room' aka dumping ground. I don't use a small sensor compact, I find the Pentax K-1 a superb commercial camera. It is taking pictures the other eBay vendors can't with their phones, like the one you see above, which is with the terrific DFA 50mm f2.8 Macro.

The OP is serious about what he wants to do - prepared to pay up to $2500, he can do it much cheaper than that. $100 lightbox? $250 for three Yongnuo flashes and triggers (you can adjust the power outputs from the trigger without touching the flashes once they're in place - massive timesaver) ? $100 tripod? Ismael has a great home made lightbox setup, so a pro style setup can be low cost.

And theres a real lesson in product photography.....it only needs to be good enough to get the product sold.

Sure, especially for low value items. You can see above I've done some quite sloppy masking to get the all white background, but for a $30 item minus postage and handling it's just not worth my while going back and re-editing after the first attempt.

[stevebrot]

The OP is serious about what he wants to do - prepared to pay up to $2500, he can do it much cheaper than that. $100 lightbox? $250 for three Yongnuo flashes and triggers (you can adjust the power outputs from the trigger without touching the flashes once they're in place - massive timesaver) ? $100 tripod? Ismael has a great home made lightbox setup, so a pro style setup can be low cost.

I'm glad you put some numbers on this. I was going to, but decided against. I don't do real product work, but often do photo gear portraits. Moving away from available light makes that task so much easier. With three Yongnuo YN560III and a YN560TX II, one has the flash end of things covered. At current pricing on this side of the Pacific, that comes to $213 USD for the speedlights + another $41 for the controller == $254 USD before tax.


Steve

[clackers]

I'm glad you put some numbers on this. I was going to, but decided against. I don't do real product work, but often do photo gear portraits. Moving away from available light makes that task so much easier. With three Yongnuo YN560III and a YN560TX II, one has the flash end of things covered. At current pricing on this side of the Pacific, that comes to $213 USD for the speedlights + another $41 for the controller == $254 USD before tax.


Steve

That's actually my setup, albeit v1 of the transmitter.

Proper lighting is much cheaper than a new lens.

And crappy lighting of a subject plus an expensive lens equals a crappy picture, unfortunately.

[JHfwp]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice so far. I'm sorry to have checked out, but I've been engrossed in how-to videos here as of late--the Karl Taylor videos disconnekt recommended among them. (l don't think I would be attempting this if it wasn't for YouTube!)

I've pretty much settled on purchasing one decent quality/fairly high output strobe to start with. I've had speedlights in the past and never "gotten" them, so I feel like I need a modelling light as a crutch while I learn.

The smart thing, at least as I see it, would probably be for me to buy a used Einstein to start with, but the Godox/Flashpoint's AD600pro's rechargeable battery has caught my eye (supposedly the color consistency is very good with both). Paul C. Buff offers a simple battery system that would probably hold up better over time, but the Godox will be a little easier to take outdoors as I see it. Both systems have their pros and cons, as I'm sure can be said for most.

At the moment I'm planning on buying one new, as well as a trigger (the Godox unit has a built-in receiver). I'll get a warranty and if for some reason it doesn't suit me I can return it. Then I'll expand out from there with some lower output used strobes or speedlights as needed. It's going to be a huge purchase, followed by many more expenses, so I want to think about it for a bit longer and crunch some numbers.

I need to determine what modifier(s)I would like to start with, choose a backdrop, etc., and come up with a good story for my wife.

One final note: I've read a little here and there on some other photography forums as of late and the community here is second to none in terms of helpfulness and friendliness. Thanks for listening to my crazy, rank beginner thoughts and ramblings.

[Class A]

Paul C. Buff offers a simple battery system that would probably hold up better over time, but the Godox will be a little easier to take outdoors as I see it.

The Godox system has the advantage of supporting HSS (High-Speed Sync) for Pentax. It is likely that you'll need it outdoors for application like "model backlit by the sun jumping rope".

The PCB equipment is very good but not ideal for Pentax users due to the lack of Pentax-dedication.
Indoors, where you can control the ambient light, it will be fine, but if you want to take the strobe outside, I'd recommend an HSS-capable Godox strobe (the AD600 PRO is great).

FWIW, in my view the Flashpoint R2 Pro MarkII is the best trigger for the Godox system you can buy. It is not more expensive than the other Flashpoint or Godox variants, but has better ergonomics and more features.