Still Photography Set Up

[nnnnnate]

I'm kind of ramping up some of my wood turning stuff to be able to sell some of it this fall and I recognize I need to put more effort into my pictures. These bowls are kind of hard to photograph and accurately show the figure in the wood. I found some good info on a wood turning forum but have had some trouble deciding on what to pick up. They seemed to agree that a tent or light box isn't ideal and that a gradient background might be a better option. Something like this. It seems super expensive to me though for basically a big sheet of paper.

I think I also need a light or two but don't know anything about them. Can I make a softbox for something I might already have at home or are they special enough I should buy them?

If I get the background and a couple lights do I need to use a "proper" camera or would my cell phone work? I have a canon t2i from back in the day but would have to figure out where its stored.

Thanks, I appreciate any guidance you guys might have.

 

[STAG]

I’d say lighting is going to be your biggest asset. Modern cell phone cameras are decent, especially phones like the Pixel, but IMO a real camera is definitely the way to go for the most ‘professional’ results.

Can you show us some examples of the photos you’ve been taking and I think that would help get an idea where your improvements could be made.

But yeah a non distracting background and diffused lighting will be huge.

 

[Stephen]

I'm kind of ramping up some of my wood turning stuff to be able to sell some of it this fall and I recognize I need to put more effort into my pictures. These bowls are kind of hard to photograph and accurately show the figure in the wood. I found some good info on a wood turning forum but have had some trouble deciding on what to pick up. They seemed to agree that a tent or light box isn't ideal and that a gradient background might be a better option. Something like this. It seems super expensive to me though for basically a big sheet of paper.

I think I also need a light or two but don't know anything about them. Can I make a softbox for something I might already have at home or are they special enough I should buy them?

If I get the background and a couple lights do I need to use a "proper" camera or would my cell phone work? I have a canon t2i from back in the day but would have to figure out where its stored.

Thanks, I appreciate any guidance you guys might have.

I'm no expert on this stuff, but back in college (20ish year ago, man, I'm getting old...) I did some studio photography of glassware once. Similar issues to your wood. All we did was get a big sheet of white paper packing paper, then hung it from the ceiling and curved it down to the floor to get a gradient with the light. Super cheap.
As for lights, there are lots and lots of cheap LED options out there for photography. But honestly, I'd start with some shop lights if you've got them. Adjust their height and angle, take some shots and see if that works.
As for the camera, use what you have to begin with. Modern smartphone cameras are pretty damn good. But if you want to up the quality, a basic DSLR like your T2i with a good lens will go a long way. And if you have Photoshop or GIMP, you can do some post processing to make them look even better.
Oh, and a tripod is a must.

 

[nnnnnate]

Thinking about it I seem to remember buying a nifty 50 to go along with the kit lens. I really don't want to do post processing. I haven't done it in the past and don't really have an interest in learning how. I don't have a dedicated place to leave this stuff up so I need to get it up and down pretty easily. I think it'll be easier to do it inside because everything in my garage gets covered in sawdust.

I have a spare 4' led shop light that might could work. I'd need to rig something up to get it suspended in the right place.

I had a tripod. No idea if its still around though but I'll look.

Here are some pictures. All are in the kitchen and I think they are all probably shot on my Samsung S22 ultra. A background would get rid of the counter reflections. The first and last pics, the wood has a ton of figure that just isn't showing up. I can see that something might be there but you can't see any of it.

 

[Stephen]

Thinking about it I seem to remember buying a nifty 50 to go along with the kit lens. I really don't want to do post processing. I haven't done it in the past and don't really have an interest in learning how. I don't have a dedicated place to leave this stuff up so I need to get it up and down pretty easily. I think it'll be easier to do it inside because everything in my garage gets covered in sawdust.

I have a spare 4' led shop light that might could work. I'd need to rig something up to get it suspended in the right place.

I had a tripod. No idea if its still around though but I'll look.

Here are some pictures. All are in the kitchen and I think they are all probably shot on my Samsung S22 ultra. A background would get rid of the counter reflections. The first and last pics, the wood has a ton of figure that just isn't showing up. I can see that something might be there but you can't see any of it.
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Those look decent. But yes, a solid background and light at the right angle to reduce shadow and reflection would go a long way.

 

[STAG]

On your background, not sure if you knew this or not, but it’s recommended to curve the surface instead of a hard angle/fold.

It can help further to not have a background distraction and put more visual focus on the product.

 

[nnnnnate]

Yeah I read that by making it curved you can get a solid color bg to look like a gradual gradient by playing with the lighting. The further from the vertical space the more seamless the gradient will look.

I'm thinking this gray paper roll and this backdrop stand.

I have to take Friday off to wrangle my boys so maybe I'll try and pull out my t2i and see if I can remember how to turn it on. I don't even know if I have any SD cards anymore... I'd guess once I get a few pics with that camera that I can post and some background stuff set up you guys would be able to suggest some camera settings for me.

 

[nnnnnate]

My stuff came in. This is the set up I used to take a few pictures this afternoon.



The light is a desk light that adjust around. It was kind of a hassle to use and I think the light is a bit too blue for my tastes. I've got another light to try that I can adjust the temperature. Its going to be tricky to get it to stand up though because its a mag base and its heavy.

Should I post the metadata or can you pull them from the pics after I post them?

Here are the pics.

F/22, 1/2 sec, iso400, 0 step, 44mm focal length


f/22, 1/2 sec, iso400, 0 step, 55mm focal length


f/32 1.3 sec, iso400, 0 step, 45 mm focal length


f/22, 1/2 sec, iso400, 0 step, 45 mm focal length


f/22, 1/2 sec, iso400, 0 step, 45mm focal length


f/32 1.3 sec, iso400, 0 step, 55 mm focal length


f/32, 1.3 sec, iso400, 0 step, 55 mm focal length

So the big difference in color temp is when I turned off the ceiling can lights. The light turned from brown/yellow to blue. There are two dots on the right side of all the pictures. I need to double check the lens but I cleaned it up the other day so those might be internal and dust on the sensor? The first bowl I put on the background paper made a ring on the paper . I had to grab a coaster but obviously thats an issue now.

 

[STAG]

My personal opinion is add more lighting from multiple angles. Enough to drown out the shadows under the rim of the bowl that you are getting.

 

[Skylinerider]

You don't need to be at F22, dropping it down to something like F8 and increasing the shuttter speed will be just fine. I would also set the white balance in camera. It looks like your backdrop is a gray color so you can set it and use that backdrop just like a gray card.

 

[nnnnnate]

Thank you both. I'm going to try and find some more lights to use and then take more pictures today. Should I be putting the lights above or at counter level? Maybe both?

 

[Stephen]

Thank you both. I'm going to try and find some more lights to use and then take more pictures today. Should I be putting the lights above or at counter level? Maybe both?

Both. You want as much light saturation as you can to eliminate shadows. Play around with their positioning and see what looks best in test photos.

 

[nnnnnate]

I bought some cheap chinese photography lights off facebook market place a couple weeks back and finally decided to take some pictures. Rather than use my canon I opted for my samsung phone that has decided to not connect to the network anymore. I feel like I got some pretty good pictures. I just cut a piece of the gray paper off and laid it on the ground rather then set up the backdrop stand.

Trying to capture the grain figure in this one so I adjusted the light settings. Thats why the background is so dark.




The focus is on the apple rather tan the bowl so maybe some of the details of the bowl blurred a bit. It still shows the grain really well though so thats good.

 

[Stephen]

I bought some cheap chinese photography lights off facebook market place a couple weeks back and finally decided to take some pictures. Rather than use my canon I opted for my samsung phone that has decided to not connect to the network anymore. I feel like I got some pretty good pictures. I just cut a piece of the gray paper off and laid it on the ground rather then set up the backdrop stand.

Trying to capture the grain figure in this one so I adjusted the light settings. Thats why the background is so dark.
View attachment 165217

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The focus is on the apple rather tan the bowl so maybe some of the details of the bowl blurred a bit. It still shows the grain really well though so thats good.
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Those look good!