Recent Product Photography Articles

Lume Cube - World's First 1,500 Lumen External Flash for iPhone/GoPro

Shooting for the majority of my career with nothing more than an iPhone and various mobile devices, it's a struggle to find that same look and feel of high-end flash photography without going to my DSLR and speedlights. Enter a new addition to the world of mobile photography with Lume Cube. A powerful compact flash alternative that reaches 1,500 lumen and can fire up to five at once with one touch of a mobile app.

Make It Rain With This DIY Machine for Product Photography

Water dripping down the side of a beer bottle, splashing around a shampoo bottle, or sparkling on a flower petal are staples of product photography, but creating water effects in a controlled environment doesn't have to be difficult or expensive.

How to Shoot Clean Glassware on a Black Background With Only Speedlights

Photographing glassware is especially challenging, as controlling the reflections can be particularly difficult. Even if it is not something you normally do, it is fantastic lighting practice, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to photograph clean glassware on a black background with only speedlights.

Fstoppers Reviews the Lowepro Photo Sport Pro 30L Adventure Pack

If you’re an outdoor or adventure photographer, one of the situations likely tangle with regularly is balancing the line between comfort and size when it comes to your backpacks. You usually need a bag to both safely transport your expensive gear as well as your climbing supplies. However, our spines have limits and the bag also needs to be supportive and lightweight. Lowepro’s recent iteration of their popular camera bags is the Photo Sport Pro 30L AW, aimed to give you a light bag option for your adventurous ways.

Runner's Paradise Behind The Scenes With Kevin Winzeler

Kevin Winzeler, a commercial photographer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, had an amazing opportunity this summer to travel to New Zealand for one of his advertising shoots for Altra Footwear. He shot both in the studio for the initial product shots, but he also took the shoot outdoors in some amazing New Zealand locations for some actions images, as well.

Introducing Fyuse, The New App that Revolutionizes 3D Photography

If you've been longing to make your photos a lot more interactive, there's a new app launching today that’s set to cure your itch. The mad scientists at Fyuse have come up with some incredibly cool spatial technology that blends photography and video to create a unique and interactive experience, all from your iOS or Android device.

Easy Focus Stacking Technique for Sharper Ecommerce Photos

Ecommerce images represent a product on the web to provide potential customers with an accurate representation of the products. Therefore an efficient workflow that enables you to get an image of a product that is fully in focus is extremely crucial. Check out this article to find out how easy focus stacking might be the answer for you if you find yourself struggling with focusing issues.

Leica Announces the Leica X Vario Digital Camera

Leica has always been known as the Mercedes-Benz of cameras. With their unparalleled quality of build, and beautiful designs, they've been able make and sell cameras at the premium price tags exceeding $7000. With their latest creation, the X Vario, Leica looks to bridge the gap with Leica's quality, zoom lenses, and a sub-$3K price tag.

An Easy DIY Method for Creating a Leather Textured Surface for Still Life Photos

If you’ve ever spent time shooting product photography or still life, you probably recognize and appreciate random surfaces and textures that would make flattering surfaces to photograph things on. Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to create leather texture the next time you find yourself in need of a classy surface.

How to Create Hard Shadows and Soft Shadows in Your Photography

Did you know studies have shown that viewers form an opinion of people within 1/10th of a second of seeing them? In a similar way, viewers judge brands with a cursory glance. Brands rely on design elements such as color, shape, line, and font to communicate their identity and values.

Take Your Product Photography To The Next Level: Catching Up With Richard Gary

Hey everyone! I'm Reese and I'm excited to be a part of the Fstoppers team. My segment, The FS Spotlight, is a new weekly Q&A session with professional photographers at the absolute top of their field. The interviews are going to touch on everything from from how they reached rock star status to their shooting style to what cameras they shoot with as well as their advice to all aspiring photographers. Click the full post to read my interview with product photographer Richard Gary! As a writer/photographer myself, I want to hear how photographers got to where they are and how they get these amazing shots; but more importantly I want to know what YOU want to hear from them as well. What’s your interest? Surfing? Combat photography? Food? Retouching? If you could score a 5 minute Q&A with any photographer in the world, who would that be? Let me know!
Drones Are The New Wedding Photographers

This couple took wedding photography to a whole new level when they got their wedding shots taken. They used a series of drones in order to capture their big day. The shots that they created are undoubtedly original and stand out from the crowd... for now. With the release of the new DJI Phantom 3 that we recently covered, drones could be here to stay, but are we at a stage now where we can outsource our photography to machines?

Amazon Announces Free Unlimited Photo Storage for Prime Members

Amazing Prime members are getting an extra little perk in their accounts today, free unlimited photo storage. In the service Amazon is calling Prime Photos, users of the Amazon Prime membership program are now able to store images in their original resolutions to Amazon Cloud Drive - available for any device, mobile or otherwise. Pairing this with their free 2 day shipping, Amazon Prime has become an absolute must for photographers everywhere.

Bring Your Still Life Photography to the Next Level With Gels

Colors are very important in a composition and should be considered at the moment of capture. When shooting in still life, for example, gels can bring a good shot to the next level as Dustin Dolby from Workphlo shows us in this video.

Behance Unleashes Fully Responsive Profiles for 2014

In New York City, Adobe owned showcase website Behance sets the bar high for competitors in 2014 by providing re-designed profiles that work seamlessly across all devices. Among those features, are a fully responsive new web layout, editing tools to help your organization and much more allowing you to quickly see your work and your inspiration that drives it.

Fstoppers Reviews The New DryZone Bag From Lowepro

Lowepro’s new DryZone bags come in two different models, a 40-Liter backpack (40L) and a 20-Liter duffel (20L). Lowepro has been making bags for years, and these are a new entry into their DryZone series. These new bags have an IPX6 waterproof rating, which means they can take a significant amount of water blasted onto them and keep your kit dry. Think rappelling through a waterfall or taking on some white water rapids in a small boat. This review will focus solely on my experiences with the 20L and how well it performed.

Canon Announces Third-Generation EOS M3 for The US Market, Available for Pre-Order

Canon's EOS M was a good first-try mirrorless, compact APS-C camera that fell a bit short. After withholding the EOS M2 for other markets, the M3 comes to the United States after two generations of much-needed improvements. Those features, however, just might launch the platform into best-in-class territory -- at least on paper.

The Booq Python Catch Is a Midsize Shoulder Bag Worth Checking Out

The photo gear bag market is saturated with so many options of style and size that new products within this space really need to come out swinging with never-been-better looks and features in order to catch interest. The California-based company Booq, most known for their line of laptop bags and Apple product cases and covers, recently released the Python Catch shoulder-carry camera bag into this market. In this review I'll share my experience with the Python Catch and uncover what features it offers that separates itself from the competition.

TIME Magazine Announces Picks for Best Photography Books of the Year

Each year, TIME Magazine picks and highlights the best photography books of the 12 months prior. This year, they’ve put a special focus on the growing trend of bucking the traditional publishing system as many of their choices fall in the realm of self-publishing and self-promotion. This was made most evident when many of TIME’s editors picked the same book for the top spot, Magnum Photographer Peter van Agtmael’s self-published Disco Night September 11, an often brutal look at America post-September 11.

The Barbie Fashion Model Photoshoot

Yes, you read the title correctly. The famous female Mattel toy has photoshoots, and they are actually quite extravagant. When I first saw this I thought it was a joke but after doing some research I found that Mattel designer Robert Best has big production photoshoots like this for all his Barbie Fashion Model Collections. The photographer is Paul Jordan at Mattel, and the final products are really interesting considering these are just toys. If you don't want to go through all the set building and fashion lighting required to get these photos, you can always use a simple reflector just like this Barbie fashion photographer. Click the full post to see the final image and other images featuring Barbie.

Behind the Scenes of a Barbie Fashion Model Photo Shoot from Paul Jordan on Vimeo.

The Lexus LFA Drifts Around A Sports Illustrated Model

Yu Tsai is an incredibly impressive fashion and advertising photographer. He also is an established film maker and director (check out his film section on his site). Recently Yu Tsai was faced with the task of trying to make a car ad stand out in one of the most popular magazines in the world: The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. His solution: have ace driver Rhys Millen drift dangerously close to SI supermodel Rianne Ten Haken and film the whole thing. I love the concept and it's nice to have a little behind the scenes video to go along with the final published images. Click the full post to see full resolution copies.
Canon Announces Three New Compact Cameras: The G5 X, G9 X, and EOS M10

Canon's latest cameras are compact, but pack a punch (maybe). While some might be compelled to ask themselves about the reasons behind releasing the lackluster EOS M10 at all, the G5 X and G9 X both fit well into Canon's high-end compact lineup with interesting features that might draw the casual shooter looking for something a bit more spectacular than le quotidien.

Photographing a Black Product on a Black Background

Product photography is a fun genre that will challenge you to really fine-tune your lighting and post-processing skills. This excellent video will show you the process of building up an eye-catching image of a black product on a black background.

Dodge & Burn: The Retro Camera T-Shirt Story

I love being a photographer. I also love showing the world my love of photography by wearing clothing that boldly states my profession. I've seen several t-shirt designs that have interested me, but none that catered to the old film cameras that I was brought up with. I was introduced to a new t-shirt brand a few weeks ago and my search was abruptly ended. Dodge & Burn, which hails out of New York City, develops designs based on historic cameras of yesteryear. I caught up with company founder, Ted Rybakowski, for a quick chat.

PhaseOne Announces New IQ2 Medium Format Digital Backs

There are a few companies out there known for high-quality medium format digital solutions. But few are as highly regarded as PhaseOne, whose popular 'won't get crushed by an elephant' and various freezing and heating Youtube videos helped people see its products' durability. Today, they've sent a round of emails announcing their revised IQ series, offering wireless capabilities, revamped sensors, and top-of-the-line 16-bit image production with 13 stops of dynamic range...

The Kashmir Aims To Be The First Technical Camera Backpack Specifically For Female Photographers

As someone who has owned countless backpacks, both for photography and for trekking, I can tell you that fit and comfort are second to none when deciding what pack to purchase. My partner sometimes struggles when selecting a pack, as her options can sometimes be limited depending on the brand. F-Stop Gear has taken notice of this very thing, and is testing the market with a Kickstarter fundraiser to create a camera backpack that is built for the body type of women.

The Complete Guide To Product Photography and Retouching | RGG EDU

PRO.edu has released its newest tutorial, "The Complete Guide to Product Photography and Retouching." This in-depth tutorial features over 20 hours of content on shooting and retouching, taught by Tony Roslund. The tutorial is currently available and being sold with a $25-off early-bird discount, this week only. Use the promo code 25OFF to recieve the discount at checkout. RGG brings us a curriculum based approach to teaching photography with 55 Pre-production, 11 Photo Shoot, and 11 Retouching tutorial videos.

Tether Tools T Setup and Aero Traveler Fstoppers Review

There are many instances where I’m working on site and I need to adjust camera position while on a tripod. From interiors and architecture, food and product photography, often a tripod alone can’t provide the convenience or flexibility I need to get a job done quickly. In other situations where space is limited, my gear needs to occupy as small of a footprint as possible while shooting tethered. That’s where the Tether Tools T Setup and Tether Table Aero Traveler comes in.