Recommended Cameras For Product Photography

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It’s important that any business merchandise comes with the best photos to make them more enticing and sellable. The ideal is to hire a professional product photographer, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to look up the needed gear and know what works best.

Budget is often the first thing to consider in this regard, and high-end DLDR cameras cost thousands of dollars. This is with good reason, as they come with interchangeable lenses (which are expensive necessities on their own). Everybody in the industry uses DLSRs as they offer the best quality, come with their own accessories, and offer customizing and future expandability.

You need not overspend for the camera, though. Cheaper point-and-shoot or the mixed variety are slowly becoming good, emergency options. The features are limited in point-and-shoot, just like Instamatic cameras of old, but the optics are okay. These will work if you need to use or post photos in a rush.

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Mixed DLSR and point-and-shoot cameras are better options. There’s no viewfinder in these; you look into a mirrorless display just like in a digital camera. And lenses are not available. But they are more portable and lightweight.

By the way, don’t be baited by cameras boasting of very high megapixels, as these don’t necessarily mean clearer pictures. At a given point, pixels just become noise because onboard sensors can’t handle them. There’s no need for such unless you’re printing photos for huge tarpaulins and the like.

Charles Nucci is a professional photographer from San Francisco specializing in high-end product photography. He is a member of both American Photographic Artists and the American Society of Media Photographers. For more on his work and services, visit the Nucci Studio Photography website.

Positive Results In Negative Space Product Photography

Negative space is a familiar element for many commercial photographers. Usually in the form of a stark white background, the purpose of negative space is to draw attention toward the subject of the photograph or to add a dramatic effect. Thus, negative space is an indispensable part of commercial photography, especially when products are involved.

Although negative space can come in many colors (either by utilizing a bare sky or utilizing the out-of-focus bokeh in the background), most of the negative space in product photography involves white or black backgrounds within a studio, all of which are meant to both highlight the product in full and make it easy for the design team to crop out.

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Some products can easily be photographed in a small white background, which can be economically set up by amateurs. Others, such as clothing that needs to be worn, may require a larger white background and a complex, room-sized setup.

Capturing a solid color background can be challenging for the novice photographer. Lighting must be of the correct intensity and diffusion, low enough to prevent needless reflections and bright enough to make the entire product visible. Especially for images meant to be cropped and edited, care should be taken to minimize shadows and reflections. The camera’s ISO must match with the Kelvin temperature of the lights used.

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Because white is the standard for negative space in advertisements, it could pose a challenge when photographing white-colored objects. Carefully lighting both the backdrop and the object can create sufficient contrast between the two spaces to showcase the product in its natural color while creating a distinction with its background.

Charles Nucci is a professional photographer with extensive experience in product photography. Visit his website for more on him and his work.