I've always enjoyed product photography. Shooting different objects opens infinite routes to express creativity. Not having to rush through the process relaxes the mind. And spending time picking props to create a scene tops the fun. Still photography is a great training ground, where we can exercise photography concepts and techniques — especially for beginners like myself.
It's lastly a subtle form of art. One little exaggeration with the props here or wrong angle there is enough to completely shift attention away from the product. This is the real challenge for me: deciding where to aim, what to focus, define what I want to highlight.
In that sense, I find it incredibly difficult to photograph larger objects (cars, bicycles, motorcycles, etc) and still make them interesting. There's too much to show! So, trying to mimic magazine-style photos sort of helps with inspiration — that's the goal of this post's photoshoot.
2013 Nikon D7100 | 50mm | f4 | ISO 200 | Aperture priority
Cloudy days are my favorite to photograph objects. The clouds naturally filter those harsh summer sunrays, resulting in super smooth shadows. One trick I use is to photograph objects in front of our backyard glass door on cloudy days; think of a giant source of natural light to play with.
2013 Nikon D7100 | 50mm | f4 | ISO 200 | Aperture priority
However, the model is a bicycle this time, which is much larger than a pocket knife or anything else that I often photograph. Not to mention the various parts to focus on. Shooting the whole bike wouldn't emphasize specific parts, unless, of course, the idea is to show the whole frameset. It's quite tricky to aim for specific parts without making the photo too crowded.
2013 Nikon D7100 | 50mm | f4 | ISO 200 | Aperture priority
The main objective today was to highlight the handlebar and the way gadgets and controls are organized around the cockpit. Well, in my non-professional mind, choosing an aperture of f4 to blur out everything not involved with the object seemed the way to go. I also used the background in my favor.
2013 Nikon D7100 | 50mm | f4 | ISO 200 | Aperture priority
Soon it started raining, forcing a hefty retreat back inside. All the raw photos turned out way too flat. Could it be my camera's display? I surely remember them being alright while photographing. Photoshop brought the colors back {relief}.
2013 Nikon D7100 | 50mm | f8 | ISO 800 | Aperture priority
Finally, a "full body" photo of the model: my beaten-up 2019 Sonder Frontier. After playing outside with the camera for an hour or so, the results turned out pretty honest for such an old camera/lens. Could've been more careful with the focus or put more though into the angles, but, overall this series of photos is miles away from the ones taken with the cellphone for the previous post.
Let me know your own tricks and tips for product photography. Do you have a particular way of thinking? Do you prefer to use natural light or artificial? Any favorite lens?
Peace.
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
