Product Photography

Hi all,
My Grandma asked me to take some photos of her pottery so I jumped at the chance. Having never done anything remotely close to this kind of photography, I had no gear other than my D3100, my kit lens and my assistant in training (little brother). I had read about using an infinity curve for the background so I found an old roller blind and hung it up allowing it to curve down onto a table top. I put all this next to the window and took advantage of the overcast day as a light source. I had a bed sheet stretched over a piece of plywood as a reflector which worked surprisingly well. I think they turned out pretty well but what do you guys think? What do you recommend as a cheap background because the blind obviously isn't made for photography so it's a bit rough and it shows up in some of the photos?


ISO 100
40mm
f/10
1/3 sec

ISO 100
40mm
f/10
1/3 sec

ISO 100
26mm
f/10
1/5 sec

ISO 100
30mm
f/10
1/5 sec

You did really well, and I bet Grandma is pleased. Thinking a bit really works - Many people get less results after buying far more crap to do it.

The craft stores have inexpensive paper sheets in all colors and sizes, more or less near two foot square. It makes good backgrounds for tabletop work.

Great first attempt. Overall very good. They could be a little better with just a little more Post Processing like this. Just bumped up the sharpness and contrast

Items like that would best be shown without shadow. setup a 2 light system where you are lighting the product from two sides rather than one.
If it is something that she is planning on selling, then it would be a good idea in investing on a simple deshadow box (great to learn product photography with one of these)... Adorama SSL100 DE-Shadow Box, Photo Studio In-A-Bag ADSL100

That will allow for the removing of the shadows for a crisper photo. Take individual photos of each item, unless you are doing sets. This gives an item time to stand out...

hth

Great shots and please tell your Grandma I love her pots. She is obviously a very talented lady.

Had been thinking of starting a thread like this for ages!!! Thanks

Here's the first of mine-
Kata 3N1

Kenko Extension Tubes:

Fox's Candy

I like them all, especially one of the Kenko Tubes although it does look like it has a blueish tinge to it? How does everyone recommend these kind of photos be cropped? Should it be really tight with a tiny bit of space at the edges?