Recent Product Photography Articles

Sign Contracts Electronically for Free with SignNow

When I need to send a contract out to a bride or other photography client I never have a stamp. Which makes the document sit on my desk till I finally force myself to swing by the post office (which is never a happy place). Well now there is a website that can help you bypass the mail and hopefully speed up the contract signing process.

Sony's Super-35mm 4K HDC-4800: Changing the Game in ENG

Some may be dubious of the merits of ENG cameras over their sleek and stylish film counterparts, such as the 8K F65 Cine Alta or Arri Alexa, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong. While ENG cameras have long been pigeonholed for their clunky construction and weight, much of network television depends upon their workhorse-like live sports coverage capabilities.

Learn Product Photography For Free From June 21-25 On creativeLIVE

Product photography can be one of the most difficult facets of photography. Everyone expects organic objects (like a human) to have imperfections but clients want their products to look flawless in the finished image. Your choice of lens, angle, lighting, color, composition, and retouching must all work together or your shot won't hold up. In the past photographers would have to assist for years to learn the tricks of the trade but today, you can learn them for free from your laptop.

37.5MP CMOS-Based Leica S with 4K@60fps and CCD-Based Leica S-E Medium Format DSLRs Announced

In a perhaps not-so-surprising turn of events, Leica has entered the medium format CMOS market with their new Leica S. At 37.5 megapixels, this doesn't seem to be the same 50-megapixel Sony sensor everyone else is using, naturally. This time, Leica means business with a weather-sealed magnesium body capable of 4K video at 60fps and 3.5fps still shooting between ISO 200 and 6400. Looking for the more traditional CCD version? Leica updated that, too, with the new breakout S-E.

Critique the Community Episode 7: Product Photography

For our latest submissions to Critique the Community, we asked photographers to submit their product images for review and feedback. We had a great variety of submissions this week and choose 20 of them to talk about. Thank you everyone who posted their pictures. To see the variety of shots we chose, check out the talented work from our community below.

Day Three of Photo Plus Expo in New York City

This weekend, Fstoppers has been at PhotoPlus Expo in New York City to give an inside look at all the new products being announced to the photography community. Yesterday, we showed off new products from Samsung, Spider Holster and more, and the day before we showed off the impressive DEFY gimbal system and others. Today, we were able to look into Sigma, Canon and Nikon's new product lines.

Product Photography: Using Household Lamps to Profoto Strobes

Product photography doesn’t have to take a lot of equipment nor the most expensive lighting or camera gear to create highly polished images. Take a look at this breakdown showing how product photography taken with high, mid, and almost no equipment still delivers highly valuable results.

How to Take a Great Cutlery Shot With Just One Light

Given how intricate and tricky product photography can be, you might think that you need complex multi-light setups to produce a professional shot. And while those certainly have their uses, you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with just one light. This great video tutorial will show you how to light and edit a professional cutlery shot with a single light.

Is This A Better Way To Shoot RAW?

I know many of our readers do not like being told how to shoot their images and many more even hate watching promotional videos for companies trying to sell them on a new way adjust their workflow. That being true, this video of photographer Seth Resnick explaining the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport made me stop and think, "are photographers who shoot RAW this obsessed with perfect color?" Maybe I just take for granted being happy with my tones and color enough to actually burn them in permanently by shooting JPEG. Most of the advertising photographers I see these days (and even many within the wedding scene) are taking very liberal approaches to color which I think is great. Obviously not everyone agrees with me, and many more still take the traditional approach to getting every detail perfect and clean. What do you guys think of Seth's approach and do any personal use this product? Nothing drives me more crazy personally than color space and color calibration and I've heard this actually works. Maybe I'm missing out?
Don't Cut The Cheese, Pull It

Want to know what goes into creating a few seconds of a Domino's Pizza commercial? How often do you screw your pizza into the table? By the way, I think their hand model may be a serial killer when she isn't pulling cheese. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stzmHm6eF-0<
How To Play Tennis On The Wings Of A Flying Plane

Novak Djokovic is currently ranked alongside the top tennis pros in the world. Only a crazy person would put his life and talent in jeopardy...but that is exactly what Head Tennis Racquets have done for their Untek IG Speed MP racquet commercial. The full commercial is really awesome with mysterious briefcases, seductive women, vintage prop planes, and music straight out of a Tarantino film. As far as I can tell there are no special effects here just lots of conjones by Novak and his tennis trainer.
PowerPole Accessory Adds Much Needed Battery Life and Reach to the GoPro

Introducing PowerPole, a GoPro accessory with some pretty cool features. The PowerPole is designed to add extended reach for people using GoPro camera systems; a necessity when filming yourself skiing down a mountainside, or surfing through those ten foot waves. That's not all though, the PowerPole also has equipped itself with one much needed feature in the modern GoPro system - battery life.

[DIY Video] How To Build And Light A Set For A Product Campaign

Yesterday we got an interesting email from our friend Pye Jirsa over at SLRLounge.com. Pye recently helped film a video campaign for a friend's Kickstarter product launch called One and he decided to film a quick behind the scenes video on how he lit and filmed the different scenes. Pye is a big DIY guy and many of the lights he used on this production can be found for super cheap. We don't usually post a lot of Kickstarter proposals but the lighting tips from this one were simply too good to pass up. Watch the BTS video below and then click the full post to view the final video.
Panasonic Announces Sub-$800 Lumix G7 with Internal 4K

Panasonic has announced the Lumix G7, a compact 4K mirrorless camera with a kit price of less than $800. Offering a solid list of features for an entry-level camera, the new Lumix G7 is perfect for amateur photographers looking for a inexpensive camera with both quality video and photo capabilities at almost half the price of the GH4. This 16-megapixel camera and small form factor make it light and compact. Even without some of the pro video features of the GH4, the G7 lowers the barrier to entry on 4K video recording even further.

Now You Can Wear Pantone Around Your Neck

Do you really, REALLY love Pantone? Did you forget to send your all important retoucher a gift this holiday? Do you have some Christmas money left over that you want to blow on your beloved Pantone? Check out the new Perfect Matching Scarf. This collection of 6 scarves will leave you set for life to match any outfit you could ever wear. Also, you will look like a moron. Enjoy!

5 Steps for Success in eCommerce Photography

Product photographers are some of the highest earning professionals in the photography field, and they command their prices with the value they bring to other businesses while creating imagery that engages consumers to purchase those business’ products. If you want a piece of that e-commerce photography pie but are still sweating on where to start, then it’s time to get a crash course that will possible jumpstart your beginnings into this profitable space.

New Red Giant Software Aims To Make Video And Photo Offloading Simple And Secure

Most people I work with manually dump thousands of files at the end of their shoot day (myself included.) A stack of cards, hard drives, and waiting for one card to finish before starting the next. All of this is followed by checking each dump to make sure nothing was missed. A new software app from Red Giant is looking to help this process, without bogging users down with extra steps.

Vincent Laforet Plays DP For TV Commercial

Most people know Vincent Laforet as the guy that got his hands on the 5DM2 before it was released to shoot that amazing promo video. Well he is a full time photographer but in the video below he got to be the DP for a Famous Footwear commercial. The BTS is below and the final commercial is in the full post. Usually I like the BTS more than the actual commercial but in this case, I like the finished product more. It's stunning.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Famous Footwear "Neighborhood" from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

[Review] SpectraCal CalPC and a C1 colorimeter for your monitor's health

If you have ever been involved in imaging, you know that the final product is a direct result of what is seen when you process. If what appears on a monitor is misrepresented, the final product will be skewed as well. I think we can all agree the factory settings that monitors come with don't always give you the results hope for. This is because a monitor's display is affected by the brightness and color temperature of the room it's in. That's why it's so important for anyone involved in photography or video to keep their monitors correctly calibrated.

How to Create Steam From Scratch in Photoshop

As a commercial photographer and digital artist, I spend a lot of time in Adobe Photoshop. One thing that I love to do is find creative solutions to solve visual problems using Photoshop. I know we all get stuck in our ways from time to time, but If you do any retouching or compositing work for living, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to experiment and find new ways of doing things. Photoshop is always evolving and it’s important that we use these new digital imaging technologies to our advantage. In this article, I go over a technique I discovered to add steam from scratch in Photoshop.

[BTS Video] This Could Be The Most Barbaric Product Shot Tutorial Ever

This video is a couple years old now but it's the first time I've seen it. One part Geico caveman, two parts Macgyver, Bryan Peterson shows how easy it can be to create a simple yet eye catching stock photo. Using nothing more than a Nikkor 200mm Macro Lens, some sparkling water, a glass, a lemon, and some old Christmas wrapping paper, Bryan shows you how easy a product shot can be if you just focus on the composition and some easy reflector lighting. What shocked me even more than this DIY photoshoot next to an interstate setup was the realization that someone gave me his super popular book Understanding Exposure as a gift years ago and it's here on my bookshelf. His tips make photography look so easy, even a caveman can do it!
Adobe Camera Raw 8.5 Release Candidates Now Available

Adobe just announced the immediate availability of ACR 8.5 and DNG Converter 8.5 on Adobe Labs for Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CC. The update brings with it several refinements and enhanced compatibility with several new cameras including the Canon G1XII, Fuji S1, Nikon 1 series, Olympus OM-D E-M10, and Panasonic GH4.

Maxell Revitalizes Its Brand with New Camera Accessories

Maxell Professional Media, in an effort to continue diversifying from its well-known CD/DVD manufacturing business, announced it will release various camera accessories including three-way power shoe adapters, USB and other power connectors, and an interesting shoe clamp that will let you add a cold shoe just about anywhere.

Nikon 1 V1 Mirrorless Camera Review

Nikon is one of the big names in the camera business. And they do have some competitors in the mirrorless market: the 1 series V1 and J1. We’ll be reviewing the V1, as it’s priced and featured as a more ‘professional’ or ‘prosumer’ line and will provide us results from the best of what Nikon now offers in the mirrorless market.

Hands-On Comparison: How to Choose Between Aquatech's Elite and Base Underwater Sport Housings

Underwater housings are infamous for being just about as expensive as the body they’re meant to house. They do an important job — that is, they keep your camera from complete ruin in the water, and they do it reliably (what other way is there when it comes to oceanic saltwater?). Nevertheless, those wanting an option that stings the wallet a bit less will be happy to hear about the Aquatech Base Underwater Sport housing. What better place to test this new, low-cost alternative than in Hawaii?

The Samsung NX1 Arrives in Stores Just in Time for the Holidays

Samsung’s new flagship model, the NX1, will be available in stores on Monday, November 24, just in time for the holidays. Announced at Photokina in September, the NX1 boasts a 28 megapixel BSI (backside illumination) APS-C sensor with 205 phase detection autofocus points capable of firing 15 frames per second. For more information on the camera, check out Jaron Schneider’s post on the Photokina announcement.

How To Light And Photograph A Glass Bottle

In this weeks episode of The Slanted Lens, Jay P. Morgan shows us how to light and photograph a glass bottle. This video is also about superimposing products into real scenes so that the product looks it's best. Tutorials like this are priceless for anyone who is interested in product photography. Glass can be extremely tricky but Jay makes things super simple for us.