When Lorraine and I started developing the Tablet EX Gear products, I never thought that one of the skills I would need to develop would be photography. Specifically, product photography in a “studio”.
I have been very fortunate to have found a great coach (Jack) at the 49th Parallel Printers right here in Ladysmith. Jack is a wizard when it comes to editing photos – often rescuing me by taking a mediocre image and editing it to make it acceptable. Although I have screwed up photos by not choosing the correct settings on my camera, it is quite easy to get the settings right – it just requires a little care and attention! The real challenge is getting the lighting right! Jack has been very generous with tips on lighting. His comments are usually something along the lines of, “You know… this is a good photo, but if you had a little more lighting here the product would really pop”. Jack has helped me develop an “eye” for what makes good lighting.
Now, when I set up for a product photo shoot, I put most of my effort into getting the lighting right. In the photo below, you can see my “studio” and some of the lights. Some of you might recognize that one of the lights I use is a “Chicken Warming Light”. I like to use a white background with enough lighting on the background to slightly overexpose it. It’s easier to remove the background when editing a photo if it’s a little over-exposed. Then, it’s a matter of arranging the lights to get the product to “pop”. In this case, I even put a light inside the harness so it would light up the underside of the shoulder straps.
I do most of the photo editing myself, but for this photo shoot I provided Jack with the photos in RAW format so he could remove the hanger, ropes, and frame that were used to hold the chest pack in place. What do you think of the finished product? Did I get the lighting right?
You will soon be seeing the photos from this “shoot” on our websites. No new products here but I thought the website needed a refresh for some of our products.
Thanks for reading! If you found it of interest, please share.
Brian Saunders, Founder, Tablet EX Gear