Product Photography
I was recently approached by a new Masonic regalia company and asked to do some catalog photographs of their products, including gloves, aprons and tiny lapel pins. I did not think twice about and gladly accepted the assignment. A bunch of photos, I thought, some time in the studio and then adjusting things in Photoshop and I will be done in a flash.
Little did I know that this assignment would find me climbing on a ladder, bending and stooping, and leaving me soaked with sweat and sore for a couple days. The issue was trying to get all the corners of these aprons square. Shooting from an angle – in fact from any perspective other than straight on – made them look more like keystones than squares. I found myself, in my own way, having to scaffold myself and bend down, over the items in my light tent so I could get a decent view of them. In the end, after I was satisfied and got everything properly adjusted in Photoshop, I noticed that even the originals were not even quite perfect, deviating ever so slightly!
The pins were especially challenging, as some of them were coated with a resin or something that made them super reflective. Usually with reflective items, it works to simply aim the lights at an angle that will reflect the hot spot toward a different direction than the camera. In this case, the resins formed almost a dome over the image on the pin, so a tiny reflection would be evident no matter where the light source was, unlit the pin were back lit, which would have gotten rid of any detail in the image. In the end, I am happy with the results, and so is the client. There is a benefit to leaving that little edge of glare in the picture. It rightly shows the pin to be reflective. Imagine buying something whose picture does not adequately represent what it is. That would be far worse than seeing a tiny bit of glare.
Need something photographed? Give me a call and I will take care of you. Whether for your catalog, documentary purposes, for insurance or maybe just to hang on the wall, I can handle it. Photography is my middle name. Maybe not literally, but you get the point.
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