Alright everyone, it's time for a new Critique the Community! This time around we are exploring product photography. Recently our good friend and Fstoppers educator Brian Rodgers Jr posted a brand new image to the Fstoppers Community and it absolutely rocks! In honor of his amazing photography and composite work, we thought this could be a fun way to showcase your own hero shots!
All images must be submitted by Nov 30th and hopefully we will critique them live the first week in December. I say hopefully because both Lee and I are moving homes in Puerto Rico and aren't sure where we will be in the next few weeks.
As always, the highest rated image and one random winner will get their choice of any tutorial in the Fstoppers Store (I'd suggest checking out Brian's The Hero Shot if you haven't already). Good luck and we are excited to see what you guys have been up to in the world of product photography.
Featured Image: Brian Rodgers Jr.
I find your comment a bit strange, because all you mention as some sort of deviation from the brief are exactly what we do as product photographers. I am confused by what you mean by "just photos of products" as some sign of purity of this type of photography.
Ads for products, have product photography, I don't see any fundamental distinction between then.
But even if you check Brian's work, that served as inspiration for this contest, is edited and of finished, polished products.
I understand that is you opinion, but I'm curious as to why you think that is.
I'm sorry if that was the tone that passed, but I am just curious on how you see this type of photography, for you to have those feelings about it, that's all.
I get what you say about images being polished, but that's what is expected from high end product photography. Of course there's space for more simple, raw shots, but that's usually for e-commerce or quick on-a-budget kind of photography.
As far as I see in my career, photo manipulation and composites are the mainstay for product, be it, focus stacking, making plates, light painting, background replacements, all this is part of it.
These days more and more products shots actually are made in 3D programs, for example cars almost always. That's how things are these days and it's not going to go any different direction in future either, to make great product photographs (or whatever you call them) some serious editing skills are required! If not edited, they usually look more or less like snapshots, or at least have many visible flaws in them and get rated low. However, it's true that over-editing or over-simplifying a 3D model also look too plasticky and perhaps should get lower ratings. However it's a fine balance there and it's subjective.
i guess they're missing in action again...as usual. How rare....hahahaha
Patrick Hall Lee Morris Care to defend yourselves lads?
Did they mean the first week of December 2022?
XD I guess that "moving houses" thing was a bit more complicated than anticipated. I am sure we will hear about that, for sure.
2022 might be pushing it, 2023 seems more likely
Lol. You might be right
This just proves just how "much" they care about their followers / subscribers / customers. It wouldnt take more than 30 seconds to do an update for them.
Sure they care, but they also have lives, I think they said they would both be moving and stuff. Its not like this is a paid subscription service. It's free entertainment. But an update would be nice 😁
Lives yes, but any business that did not communicate a word for this long, paid or unpaid, would be out of business by now. Just saying.
would have to agree with Stefan. Yes it's free entertainment. But it's free because of sponsors and partners.
Sponsors and partners that are a part of it and supply money or products in exchange for exposure to the Fstoppers community of those products.
Right now.. there is a severe lack of activity or exposure on most elements of this page.
- Copy/paste articles that usually just reference a random YouTube video, that they didn't even make.
- most of those articles are getting 0 comments/interactions.
- most uploaded pictures get 0 interactions, even the most "popular" picture gets 1-3 comments.
- a YouTube channel, that even with almost a million subscribers barely getting 10k on the 1-2 videos they release a month.
- a YouTube live channel that has been dead for 4 months.
- Even instagram, 530k followers, only getting 1000-1500 likes per post and 1-5 comments.
It's not only the contest part that seems to be slacking.. every area of this business is.
which isn't great for a community driven thing. And that can't keep going forever without partners noticing that too.
Guess that's how most business end, not with a bang but a slow, prolonged death. Reminds me a story about the end of Ritz Camera I once heard...
Lee Morris Patrick Hall , you guys still alive? We have seen the entire wave of covid since the last critique. Hope all is well and look forward to an update on the move.
Will there ever be a new contest?
Wow, 4 months or 1/3rd of a year or 151 days, getting excited now...
Will the last one out please turn off the lights? Bye.
Well, after months, here it is, in less than a hour...
Well, that was a little disappointing. Had the highest-rated image and non of mine made it into the critique. I guess they need to rephrase the description of the competitions to "As always, the highest-rated image that we randomly choose to critique and one random winner will get their choice of any tutorial in the Fstoppers Store." Oh well, perhaps better LUCK next time? I should just add that I am not putting down anyone else's images. There were some cracking shots that made it to the critique. Well done to all!
Amazing work my friend
Thanks! You too!