Product Photography

Product photography includes photographing tangible items for catalogs, sell sheets, websites, vehicle wraps, trade show graphics, menus, posters, and billboards. Challenges to effective product photography involve working with a variety of surfaces such as glass, stainless steel, chrome, fabric, flexible plastic packaging, water, steam and anything else inherent to an item being marketed.

Utmost attention to detail is paramount when photographing products.  Things must look their absolute best when placed in front of the camera. Dust, wrinkles, distracting reflections, smudges and other irregularities need to be addressed on set. Adobe Photoshop is a great tool to digitally fix issues in post production that might be impossible to correct in reality, such as a damaged box or a chipped plate. Time in front of the computer can be minimized with the proper attention to detail on set.

My experience with photographing products began over 20 years ago in the studio, using transparency film. At that time we did not have access to the ease of efficient retouching that we do today. Everything had to be right “in camera.” That meant no dust, no wrinkles, no reflections and proper lighting. I have carried that attention to detail with me and continue to exercise diligence when photographing products.

Capturing images for a catalog or a shopping cart website demands consistency. A pure white background with shadowless lighting may be required throughout, or a subtle soft focus drop shadow might help set the item apart from the white background. Lighting techniques for product photography and background treatments vary depending on the desired final result. Fine tuning the images in post production, such as removing unwanted glares, imperfections as well as background adjustments constitute a thorough workflow.

My greatest assets, I believe, are my sense of design, attention to detail and years of experience photographing products for businesses.