Product Photography DIY advice

[themill]

Hi,just to let you know that I am available to give advice to anyone who needs help and tips to get those product images looking as good as possible using basic equipment and bits and bobs from around the house.You will be surprised at the results you can get from a basic affordable set up.If you have any further queries please dont hesitate to get in touch and I will be glad to help.
       Thanks;-)
                   

[FionaJMD]

Hi Mark,

I have a Fuji Finepix S9600 camera and I dont always understand the different settings and whether I should just keep it on basic point and shoot.  I have a large light cube which you could fit a small elephont in so it is a bit much for taking a picture of a bracelet.

I would love to her some hints and tips on doing fab photographs of jewellery without setting up a small studio.  We cant always depend on our wonderful British weather to get outside shots either.

[themill]

Hi Fiona,

Hope this helps,ok,you already have a light cube so thats ideal,no need for a mini studio set up,the size of the cube wont make any difference if its lit with enough light. Your finepix has the all important manual settings.The one you need is aperture priority which is A on the top dial.The best F-stop to use is between f8-f11.A tripod is a must to keep the camera steady and I would also advise to use the self timer so as not to jolt the camera when you press the shutter button.Keep your ISO below 200.Last but not least manualy focus your camera's lens and make sure you fill the frame.There you are,have a go with these settings,experiment a little till you get the desired effect and let me know how you get on.

                                                                                                  cheers'
                                                                                                            Mark;-)

[FionaJMD]

Hi Fiona,

Hope this helps,ok,you already have a light cube so thats ideal,no need for a mini studio set up,the size of the cube wont make any difference if its lit with enough light. Your finepix has the all important manual settings.The one you need is aperture priority which is A on the top dial.The best F-stop to use is between f8-f11.A tripod is a must to keep the camera steady and I would also advise to use the self timer so as not to jolt the camera when you press the shutter button.Keep your ISO below 200.Last but not least manualy focus your camera's lens and make sure you fill the frame.There you are,have a go with these settings,experiment a little till you get the desired effect and let me know how you get on.

                                                                                                  cheers'
                                                                                                            Mark;-)

Thanks Mark, I think you lost me after Hi Fiona LOL - only joking - I will look at setting those settings.

Is there such a thing as a small cube - like say the size of an A4 paper box - all the ones I have found are like a small 2-man tent size LOL.  I have to spend ages dismantling everything to fit my tent on the table.

I do have a tripod so I have all the kit, the only problem is the nut that holds the camera LOL.

[themill]

Lol,Get stuck in to those settings and menu's;-)You can indeed get little tiny light tents which are a cheap and very portable and ideal for jewelry and other small items.Have a search online for a Photo light tent, cube, 11" x 11" / 30cm x 30cm,mind and let me know how you get on with your images.

                                                                                         Mark:-)

[FionaJMD]

Lol,Get stuck in to those settings and menu's;-)You can indeed get little tiny light tents which are a cheap and very portable and ideal for jewelry and other small items.Have a search online for a Photo light tent, cube, 11" x 11" / 30cm x 30cm,mind and let me know how you get on with your images.

                                                                                         Mark:-)

I managed to find a diddy one and I have edited the settings in my camera - hopefully my cube will come tomorrow and I can play.

I will let you know the results - thanks for your help.

[themill]

Good stuff,Happy snapping,looking forward to the results and remember I am more than happy to help with any photography queries;-)

                                                                                   

                                                                                          Mark:-)

[scotserve]

Hey mark
I love taking pics but I am crap
I have a Fuji pix s5500 - which at times gives me pretty good results ( from my point of view)
However a specific question would be that when taking pics under flourescent lights they always turn out rubbish - eg my hobby is motorbikes and when going to any indor show the pics seem fine in the viewer but end up out of focus and grainy when printed -any advice?

[themill]

Hi Scotseve,
                 If you are shooting in full auto it sounds like the focus issue is the actually camera shake due to a low shutter speed and the grainy results are due to the camera selecting a high ISO in poor lighting conditions.To our eyes there seems to be plenty of light when shooting indoors but the camera's sensor isn't getting enough so it compensates by slowing the shutter and increasing ISO(the sensors light sensitivity)My advice for low light photography would be to use a tripod but this isn't always practical so I would suggest you set up as follows-choose aperture priority and select the lowest setting which on a S5500 is F2.8 I beleive, and keep an eye on the shutter speed,if it drops below 1/60 of a second then you are likely to get fuzzy images,Also try to keep below ISO 400,the lower the better.Last but not least use the viewfinder and not the LCD display,keep your elbows in tight to your sides and gently press the shutter button,dont stab at it.Hopefuly this will help,let me know how you get on
             
                                                                                               Cheers,Mark;-)
             

[samp]

Hi Mark!

I have a Lumix, Panasonic DMC-FS42 10 Mega Pixels. I have been trying to photograph crystal suncatchers. The idea is to get as much sunlight to make them sparkle as well as capture it...which is very difficult. I have been inside the house and outside in sun and shade!!! I have also photo'd under electric light which is ok but shadows are a pain!! I have been through every setting too, basically hundreds of photo's. Some are OK but it is hit and miss!! Have you got any advise please!!!
Cheers

[FionaJMD]

Mark,

thanks for your help.  When I follow your instructions my pictures are so much better - well I think they are LOL.

[themill]

Hi Fiona,
            That's great;-)Glad to help;-)

[FionaJMD]

Differences in my photography LOL (hope I am allowed to do this)

before:



after:

[themill]

There you are,the second image is so much better:-)Brilliant result Fiona;-)Delighted. 

[Carlybeads]

Hi Mark, my camera is a canon ixus 75 (7.1megapixels) apart from the inconsistency of location, I struggle to get decent photos consistently with my camera. I do have a light tent and some lights but to be honest I dont use it that often as it doesnt appear to be of any benefit to me - unless I am using it wrongly, or I did think maybe the lights are not good enough as they are halogen bulbs not daylight ones??
I generally have my camera set to digital macro and hold it to take as my tripod always seems too far away and with a zoom I can never get focussed....smaller tirpod?!lol


I would like to be able to take my pictures on a consistent white background but I am unsure how to make items like my bridal jewellery work with that as they don't come out clearly on white. (Im starting to think that I may just be completely useless at photos and need to get someone in to take them for me! lol)

If you have a spare minute to look, my photos are all on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46023&id=127581130608154#!/photos.php?id=127581130608154

Any advice will be greatly received and I hope that after reading this you don't regret offering your services lol


Thanks,

Carly