Product Photography Made Easier

I’m always trying to improve my skills, so I recently read a great Product Photography book: The Art and Style of Product Photography by J. Dennis Thomas.

Using the photo table that I built a couple of weeks ago, I shot a couple photos of glass using the techniques from the book. Clear glass on white can be a real challenge. It was difficult to get the glass to show up on the white background. To have the outline show, I needed to reflect black cards pnto the glass. The cards created a good outline of the glass. The use of black cards was a technique right from Thomas's book. As you see the clear glass shows up nicely on the white background with this technique.

Also, took a stab at a photographing a watch. With the various reflective surfaces, this photo provided a different set of challenges. There were several odd reflections in the bezel and on the band. After trying to flag the watch from differnt angles, I realized the unwanted reflections in the bezel were reflections from around the room. I was able to resolve the issue by cutting a hole in a black card and shooting through it. Another technique from the book. It took care of the refections that were bothering me. I also wanted to create a little additional interest in the foreground, so I used a flashlight to create a halo of light in front of the watch as if the bezel was creating the reflection. In the end it was fun to utilize the techniques I learned and expand my toolset.