[Schmidlapper]

I was out shooting landscapes from a top the mountain near my home and I decided to shoot a couple shots of some of my gear as practice advertisement shots. My Tenba Messenger bag and Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod are the unwitting subjects. They are not meant to show details or features, they are to be the interesting photos depicting the products in use in the field. Let me know what you like or dislike in that context. Thanks.

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Last edited by Schmidlapper; 06-15-2013 at 02:04 PM. Reason: Add data

[Kozlok]

The first one is composed really well for a product shot. It's obvious that the tripod and bag are the subjects.

[BrianR]

None of them show the products actually in use, which was one of your goals (if I understood correctly). Check out some photo gear ads. They'll either show the gear directly being used by someone, or suggest it was used by including a studio shot of the gear along with a gorgeous photo of something that we're supposed to believe the gear critical in taking. Not that the standard ways are the only ways to meet your goal of course.

Cutting off the left leg of the tripod in the first image is a little awkward. So is having the bag so close to the edge of the frame if it's supposed to be one of the stars.

You have a gorgeous location. That man made structure though, I'd either like to see enough of it to understand what it is (if that's possible), or leave it out entirely. It's kinda interesting as you seem to be in the wilderness but have this strange contraption nearby. What is it?

And a suggestion- how about complete your pretend product shoot by overlaying some text to go with it and completing a full blown fake ad? Especially in the first (but also in the third), you have some nice negative space for a bit of text.

[Schmidlapper]

Yes I also questioned those two issues myself, so they would need reshot or eliminated. The structure in the background is one of two hang glider launch ramps. If an actual paid shoot I would have paid someone to set their hang glider there,andwould have taken some that kept it slightly out of focus as well as in focus. As far as adding in actual text and verbiage, I would leave that to the graphic arts dept, not what I want to do, as that is an art unto its own. Thanks for the thoughtful input.

Kozlok,
Thanks for your input also..

None of them show the products actually in use, which was one of your goals (if I understood correctly). Check out some photo gear ads. They'll either show the gear directly being used by someone, or suggest it was used by including a studio shot of the gear along with a gorgeous photo of something that we're supposed to believe the gear critical in taking. Not that the standard ways are the only ways to meet your goal of course.

Cutting off the left leg of the tripod in the first image is a little awkward. So is having the bag so close to the edge of the frame if it's supposed to be one of the stars.

You have a gorgeous location. That man made structure though, I'd either like to see enough of it to understand what it is (if that's possible), or leave it out entirely. It's kinda interesting as you seem to be in the wilderness but have this strange contraption nearby. What is it?

And a suggestion- how about complete your pretend product shoot by overlaying some text to go with it and completing a full blown fake ad? Especially in the first (but also in the third), you have some nice negative space for a bit of text.

[amoringello]

Is there any way to angle the camera so that the tripod head is closer/larger to the viewer?
You will often see them photographed direct on, or slightly from above.
The legs are not all that interesting, so they can be made less important than the top end.

I like the tighter and cleaner look of the first shot (and the brighter colors). The others are too cluttered and do not necessarily make the tripod the object of attention.

[BrianR]

You're welcome. Hang gliding ramps- that's pretty cool and not something I've ever seen in person.

[Schmidlapper]

BrianR,
Just standing on one of them taking photos makes me nervous, it must take some stones to roll a hang glider off the end of one.

amoringello,
Thanks for taking time to give your input.

[dmort]

I think that if it was a manfrotto bag, the bag would work well on the side. However, since it is a different brand, I think that the tripod is the subject and the bag is just a supporting object. However, for that role, I like the placement of the bag.

I wish I could see the feet of the tripod.

And I want to point out: the really right stuff tripod ad that runs in magazines has some olympus pen digital camera on it and is fairly obviously photoshopped on top of a rock. Nothing against olympus, but how many people lay out the money for a RSS setup who shoot on a tiny oly? So, I think, over all, these pictures of actual products in the field are already better than the magazine ad run by one of the highest end stabilization companies.