Offering Photography Advice

[pepsiplease69]

I was going to comment that tilt-shift lenses are quite expensive.

 

Last time I was looking at Canon Tilt-Shift Lenses it was way out of my range.

[Pen Engineer]

Amadeus, here's a .pdf of the User Manual for your 350D:

http://www.sensorcleaning.com/manuals/Canon_EOSDRXT350D.pdf

 

It is a superior camera to any current phone, tablet, or dusty film camera, is what I meant. Keep in mind that DSLR cameras perform best with high quality lenses. The most expensive cameras offer more in terms of usability, but image quality on a 350d with a good lenses and technique can be absolutely outstanding.

 

Vaibhav, this advice applies to your question too. I'm hard pressed to really recommend one camera over another, but I will say that you should budget the majority of your purchase for lenses rather than camera body. Which camera you choose really depends of so many factors, like how much you already know, how you're going to use it, etc., but you can get very good information and make side-by-side comparisons of most cameras on this website:

 

http://www.dpreview.com

 

Buying Guide:

https://www.dpreview.com/buying-guides

 

Side By Side comparisons:

https://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras

 

In general, my personal preference would be for a DSLR rather than a mirrorless, but that's also a huge discussion, so please start by referring to the site above and then if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks so much for the link. I downloaded the manual and... now it's up to me, guess, first I have to charge the battery

[Usernameistaken]

Food for thought:

 

Instead of trying to photograph your pen by just working on it until you are merely satisfied with a "see what I get," agenda, try envisioning what your photograph will look like before you even turn on your lights.

 

Once you have an idea of how you want your image to look (dramatic, serene, classy, contextual, high contrast, low-key, etc), try to achieve that. You might surprise yourself.

 

Most often, I know exactly how I want to compose my picture before I even set up my studio. Sometimes the results match my "vision" and sometimes they exceed it, but it's much easier to create something with a plan than to leave it to chance.

 

Or, as Claude Monet said more eloquently, "No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition."

 

More soon...

 

James

[mehandiratta]

Amadeus, here's a .pdf of the User Manual for your 350D:

http://www.sensorcleaning.com/manuals/Canon_EOSDRXT350D.pdf

 

It is a superior camera to any current phone, tablet, or dusty film camera, is what I meant. Keep in mind that DSLR cameras perform best with high quality lenses. The most expensive cameras offer more in terms of usability, but image quality on a 350d with a good lenses and technique can be absolutely outstanding.

 

Vaibhav, this advice applies to your question too. I'm hard pressed to really recommend one camera over another, but I will say that you should budget the majority of your purchase for lenses rather than camera body. Which camera you choose really depends of so many factors, like how much you already know, how you're going to use it, etc., but you can get very good information and make side-by-side comparisons of most cameras on this website:

 

http://www.dpreview.com

 

Buying Guide:

https://www.dpreview.com/buying-guides

 

Side By Side comparisons:

https://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras

 

In general, my personal preference would be for a DSLR rather than a mirrorless, but that's also a huge discussion, so please start by referring to the site above and then if you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

Thank you ....

[Sandy1]

+

 

Food for thought:

 

Instead of trying to photograph your pen by just working on it until you are merely satisfied with a "see what I get," agenda, try envisioning what your photograph will look like before you even turn on your lights.

 

Once you have an idea of how you want your image to look (dramatic, serene, classy, contextual, high contrast, low-key, etc), try to achieve that. You might surprise yourself.

 

Most often, I know exactly how I want to compose my picture before I even set up my studio. Sometimes the results match my "vision" and sometimes they exceed it, but it's much easier to create something with a plan than to leave it to chance.

 

Or, as Claude Monet said more eloquently, "No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition."

 

More soon...

 

James

 

 

+1

 

Hi,

 

Some time ago I took a night course in B+W photography that included the Zone System. There was a lot of emphasis on previsualization. http://www.grahamclarkphoto.com/how-to-pre-visualize-a-photograph-like-ansel-adams/

(That is not to say that the extemporaneous work of those such as Cartier-Bresson are without merit.)

 

That course also taught me that I have about zero interest in photography. (My rollei 35 lives in a ski boot.)

 

I have contributed few photos on FPN, but the one I think I got right was a depiction/comparison of two Estie nibs, the 94550 : 9550; I wanted to show their geometry, tipping shape and gauge of steel.

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%202015/DSCN7199-EstieManifold.jpg

 

I like digital - I can hold down the button until the card's full or the battery's dead - no darkroom required

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 14, 2016 by Sandy1

[Usernameistaken]

(That is not to say that the extemporaneous work of those such as Cartier Breton are without merit.)

 

I agree that there's always room for extemporaneous thoughts and actions, but I would also argue that even the most extemporaneous seeming masterpieces feature a fair amount of pre-production forethought.

 

For example Bresson's "Hyres, France" (cyclist under a staircase) - that image was framed very thoughtfully, in a way that would allow the action to pass through exactly how the photographer wanted it. Remember, when that photo was taken, there no so such thing as a point and shoot camera, so "snapshots" were more uncommon than "photographs." Bresson certainly did not just run up the staircase, turn, and get lucky.

 

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/286639

 

Even outside of the studio, when doing things like street photography, I find it useful to frame up a composition and then let the action fall into the frame so I can capture the moments that are most meaningful, without having to watch all the minor details that build a beautiful composition.

 

The Zone System is related, in that it requires a lot of forethought about exposure values and discreet areas of the image plane. It's too bad that the BW night course turned you off to photography. I therefore encourage you to take what I've said and throw it in the garbage, so that you can pick your camera back up and just fool around for the fun of it... see what happens and learn on your own terms. If you do and then have any questions about the whats and whys of your experiments, you may ask here or PM me directly anytime.

[Usernameistaken]

My lost pen hunt resulted in a serendipitous day recently: I was speaking to a local merchant and he asked about my photography and then hired me to shoot a simple postcard image for him. We selected the Cross Peerless from his showcase, which I'd had my eye on a few weeks prior as a reference I wanted to measure, so I was glad when he suggested it. He cleaned it, packed it, and I was on my way back to my studio.

 

En route, I passed a kitchen remodeling shop that had left a pile of laminate sink cut-outs on the sidewalk, with a sign that said FREE, and I was able to grab a background for the image that I was, moments earlier, commissioned to produce... a good day.

 

It's not perfect, but it suits its purpose, and I thought it might benefit some of you to see it, with some description of what I did.

 

The two minor challenges I faced building this simple set were:

 

1. We wanted the pen to stand up.

2. The piece of laminate I found wasn't large enough to serve as both a surface and background with a standing pen shot from straight-on.

 

There are many ways to prop an object, and which you choose depends on the size, weight, and other physical properties of the item, and the materials you have on hand. There is no right or wrong method, but there are some guidelines that can help.

 

- I try to use a method that allows repeatability, since the item might be on set for a while and need a dusting before shooting a final image. I need to be able to move the item off set and place it back in precisely the same spot when I return it. This means making something stable but as lightly affixed as feasible.

- Decide whether it is realistic to prop your object invisibly, so that nothing needs to be removed digitally, or whether it is easier to use a visible prop and then remove it after your capture. This depends on a number of factors, including whether your background can be easily cloned, where your shadows fall, the size and weight of your item to be photographed, and the configuration of your set (among others).

- If you can truly lock-off your set, then you can also consider shooting a frame for the subject and a frame for the background and combining them in your post-production software. Basic compositing is among the simplest techniques to learn, both on the photography side and the computer side. Anyone who considers it cheating doesn't realize that it is directly related to darkroom compositing techniques that have existed for more than a century. When I say "lock off your set," I mean that once your frame is composed and focused, literally nothing moves. This requires very stable camera and lamp supports and a very stable surface, background, and propped subject, as well as a solid floor that won't flex as you move near the set. The objective is to have the empty background image match, pixel for pixel, when overlaid on the master the image. Then simply "erase" enough to reveal the subject from behind (you can also go vice versa). I've oversimplified my description of the technique, but I can answer specific questions if anyone has them. In the case of my Cross image, I took just a small amount of a separate background image to hide a slight shadow caused by a hidden armature wire, the suspended filament, and an ink spot that pooled under the roller ball tip when I removed the wax cap. Even when I don't intend to composite background plates, I still shoot empty backgrounds of most of my sets, because sometimes you discover a use for them later.

We wanted the pen to stand at an angle that would mimic a working stance. Normally this would require just a single piece of armature wire hidden entirely behind the pen. But in this case, since I seem to have forgotten to buy more heavy duty wire, my only option was to use a too-thin piece I had on hand. That provided most of the support I needed, but the pen still wanted to droop, and I needed it completely stable, in case I had to shoot different exposures for different features (I didn't).

 

I made up for the insufficient support with a piece of very thin fishing line suspended from the top. Luckily the groove on the pen's finial provided a no slip channel. Otherwise I would have needed to affix the fishing line to the metal itself. Since this line needs to be removed in post-production, I was careful not to cross any areas that would be difficult to reproduce when I cloned over it.

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-1.jpg

 

When I attach wires and other props to items, I am very cautious to know the tolerances of my materials. Many of the objects I photograph don't belong to me and are high value items, so I take my time and use only the tools most appropriate for the job. When looking for new techniques, I refer to museum, archivist, and auction house best practices. I only use acid free products and high-quality adhesives.

 

One very effective technique I use to grab items tightly but gently is to place a strip of artist's tape on the object and then use any number of other double stick tapes or a low heat glue gun to affix my support on top of the tape. This works well on many materials.

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-2a.jpg

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-2b.jpg

 

Making the surface fill the entire frame was accomplished by simply lifting the rear edge about 20 degrees, so that it reached the top of my frame. Then, I could shoot the pen straight on without having to assemble a separate background.

 

Angling the background/surface creates a new challenge of not allowing the easy placement of fill cards (white) and cutter cards (black) I like to use, since my surface is now a ramp. Extra stands, clamps, etc., can often prove vital in these circumstances. In this case I was able to work it out without getting too fancy, but having a large selection of variously shaped bounce cards was helpful.

 

The lighting for this shot was pretty simple. I used two lights, one positioned above the pen, bouncing off a large reflector card at the front of the set, illuminating the platinum body, and one light positioned from behind, casting a rim light on the pen before bouncing into three strategically placed reflectors, illuminating the gold features and filling the body a bit too.

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-3.jpg

 

One of my favorite techniques came from a discovery years ago that the most beautiful light rarely comes directly from the bulb or flashtube. This is like comparing the mid-day sun to "golden hour." There are times when lighting a subject more directly is entirely appropriate, but, in general, I really like light from edges and reflections more than from more obvious positions.

 

This is often called "feathering" the light. It's one of the reasons I use strobes. Since I am essentially throwing away the majority of my photons, I require a powerful light to make up for that loss (for constant lights, slowing the shutter speed is the solution for the lower power).

 

I will often add one or more reflectors to catch that stray light and send it back to my set or subject, so it's not really wasted.

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-4.jpg

 

My photo at the end of this post used a specialized light modifier called a grid. Grids tighten the light beam, sending it in parallel bundles of photons, rather then letting them spill too far off the edges of the lamp's reflector, causing my photo to be lit in the middle while the corners are darkened. If you look up "Honeycomb Grids" or "Grid Spots", you'll find them, and while such photography equipment might be made to a high standard, a grid is something any of the ingenious folks here can devise a DIY solution for, once you see how they work. They can be made or purchased for any type of light, including speed lights, and they come in different degrees (5, 10, 20, 30, 40), restricting the light to different angles. The grid shown here is a 10 degrees. This effect can also be achieved without grids, by placing black cards where they will cast shadows from your lighting angle(s), but that takes a bit more finesse.

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-5.jpg

 

 

(Incidentally, you might enjoy this website for ideas: http://www.diyphotography.net search "grid")

 

In the above photo of the grid you'll also see a classic production industry consumable, called Cinefoil (or generically "black wrap), draped over half of it. The purpose of its placement was to remove some stray light that was reflecting off the lustrous finish on the laminate, to camera right.

 

If I had to choose one modifier for everything Cinefoil might be a close second to the V-flats I described earlier. Cinefoil is heavy duty foil coated with a deep matte black used to block light. From it you can make snoots, flags, barn doors, Cucoloris (not sure the plural of that word, but a fun tool, look it up), and more. It comes on a roll and pieces are reusable for years. I've been working on the same roll for a long time:

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/44694-REG/Rosco_RS100112_Matte_Black_Cinefoil.html

(comes in other sizes, too)

 

So, to sum up the lighting scheme, I am using powerful lamps, restricting their light beams, blocking half of one completely, bouncing them from at the front, and feathering them to use mainly the edges of my light waves... in reality using very little of the lamps' potential power. This is why high-powered strobes are easiest to work with - you can do all these things to modify the light and still have enough power for adequate exposure levels.

 

http://www.jamesburger.com/new/20161013_pen-lesson/2-6.jpg

 

As I said, the image is not perfect, and like many others, I was thinking of improvements even as I was disassembling my set, but as long as it results in a satisfied client and a paid invoice, then I'm happy to move onto the next project.

 

I hope some of this is helpful to someone.

 

Regards,

James

Edited October 14, 2016 by Usernameistaken

[Sandy1]

 

I agree that there's always room for extemporaneous thoughts and actions, but I would also argue that even the most extemporaneous seeming masterpieces feature a fair amount of pre-production forethought.

 

For example Bresson's "Hyres, France" (cyclist under a staircase) - that image was framed very thoughtfully, in a way that would allow the action to pass through exactly how the photographer wanted it. Remember, when that photo was taken, there no so such thing as a point and shoot camera, so "snapshots" were more uncommon than "photographs." Bresson certainly did not just run up the staircase, turn, and get lucky.

 

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/286639

 

Even outside of the studio, when doing things like street photography, I find it useful to frame up a composition and then let the action fall into the frame so I can capture the moments that are most meaningful, without having to watch all the minor details that build a beautiful composition.

 

The Zone System is related, in that it requires a lot of forethought about exposure values and discreet areas of the image plane. It's too bad that the BW night course turned you off to photography. I therefore encourage you to take what I've said and throw it in the garbage, so that you can pick your camera back up and just fool around for the fun of it... see what happens and learn on your own terms. If you do and then have any questions about the whats and whys of your experiments, you may ask here or PM me directly anytime.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your thoughts and generous offer.

 

I don't think that taking a course in photography turned me off of photography. Indeed it taught me what a good photo looks like (visual literacy); and how much skill and work and patience it can take to get there. It also helped sharpen my powers of observation, and provided metrics to deal with what I was seeing. So that course was very positive: N+2.

 

Perhaps I am too much in the moment to have a camera intrude, so prefer to write about it later. e.g. When I go heli-skiing in the Andes, while others in the party are fiddling with their GoProHero cams, I'm on virgin powder. And at night they're editing video files while I'm outside getting dizzy from gazing at the heavens.

 

As a personal aside, well Off Topic, I abhor the current swarm of photos, such as 'selfies'. Ah err umm - there are snapshots then there is visual litter.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 15, 2016 by Sandy1

[ian1964]

I really think this thread is worthy of a "bump"

[Usernameistaken]

Thanks, Ian. I'm glad you find it useful.

[ian1964]

Thanks, Ian. I'm glad you find it useful.

No..Thank you! The advice has ignited a passion I did not know I had. My wife bought me a Sony DSLR a few years ago and it sat in the draw until this thread. Now with your help and some free Google Nik software, I am loving my camera

[OMASsimo]

James,

 

Thank you so incredibly much for sharing your expertise here and showing all the inspiring production and background shots. Your work is impressive, indeed. I have worked as a freelance photographer while still studying way back when. These were the days we used Hasselblads and Sinars on film. :)Today I usually don't have the patience anymore to build an elaborate set to shoot a picture for the internet. (It's different for things that are supposed to be put on the wall.) So, I often use just a single 4x6' soft box and one or two reflector cards.

 

A very helpful device is a card with a hole the size of the lens that you can attach to the camera (e.g. with a rubber band). I also use a set of cards coated with crumbled aluminium foil on one side and plain white on the other. The aluminium side often yields about one f-stop more than the plain white side, which allows for easier light adjustment without another strobe head. That's also helpful for the folks who don't have a few 3000 Ws power packs and a bunch strobes. A north side window should be enough for this kind of setup.

 

I have many vintage pens and wouldn't want to use hot glue or gaffer tape to keep them in place. A simple alternative is putty. There is a special watch maker's putty, which is used to clean tiny parts of the movement. I use Bergeon Rodico premium for holding small parts in place. It's sticky but absolutely safe to use even on the most precious materials. Of course, this wouldn't be strong enough for the above example of propping up a pen in the air but it's sufficient for most other purposes.

 

Last but not least, there is one book I highly can recommend for better photography: "Light - Science & Magic" by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, and Paul Fuqua. I think that's the best book I know of to learn about the principles of lighting.

 

Finally, here is one recent picture with the extremely basic setup of 4x6' softbox (like a window) from the right (roughly 2' distance) and a single silver 8x10" reflector card from the right.

 

 

I'd absolutely love to hear your feedback on that with suggestions for improvements. This literally was a 5-minute job.

[ian1964]

I realise you are asking James a question (sorry) but can I ask you regarding your North facing window. Do you live in the Northern Hemisphere and what time of day. Thanks.

[OMASsimo]

Oups, I'm really sorry that I was so self-centred that I didn't think of the Northern/Southern hemisphere distinction. Yes, I'm living in the Northern hemisphere. So, our North window translates into a South window for you I assume.

 

The thing is that you want to exclude direct sun light because it would cast very hard shadows. You want a large surface light source (e.g. the size of the window) while the sun is a point light source. It's all about the reflections of your light source from the different surfaces of your subject.

 

P.s.: I love to share the little I know but James is the expert who is so incredibly kind to enlighten us with his professional knowledge.

[Usernameistaken]

It's a nice photo OMASsimo. My first criticism would be to clean the dust specks, if that's what they are. Once you are happy with your lighting and composition, just a quick sweep with a very soft artist's brush should do the trick before final capture. (I've attached a photo showing the spots I'm taking about.)

 

After capture, you can, of course, spot clean on the computer, if you have the software and just some basic knowledge. If those are not dust specks, I realize they may be part of the pen (maybe tiny chips?), in which case it becomes a debate between truth and beauty. To my eye, the white specks are literally the first thing I see (I'm trained to find imperfections despite beauty!).

 

I'd love to see more light on the clip. I understand this might change your lighting position, because that clip is concave, but I think the lettering would look better if it were more uniformly lit. It might even just be a matter of twisting the cap toward the camera one degree and adding a white card to reflect.

 

Maybe also tone down that brightest spot in the middle, by the center of the bow, which tends to draw the eye upwards away from the main subject.

 

These are all minor tweaks, and, to be fair, you asked for it

 

Compositionally, and thematically, it is a very pleasing shot, and it's worlds above from the average hobbyist photo. Keep up the good work.

 

We still use Sinars (Leaf) and Hasselblad, but I personally am sort of glad to be done with film!

 

The suggestion for different types of bounce cards (which are often called show cards on set), is good. Such reflectors are more useful than almost all other lighting accessories available. I have worked on large scale productions where we load in extreme amounts of lighting gear and then ended up using one light and some bounce cards.

 

Yes, the board with a hole in it is a good idea. I've heard it called a lens board, but in reality that is an entirely different thing, so I sometimes call it a lens card. I use the same foam core for this as I do for the V Flat's I've described, so I can have a black and a white side, and the thickness of the foam core allows me to cut a fairly form fitting hole for my lens which then usually wants to stay put. You can actually see the biggest one I have in the set picture from my above post. This type of card is good for hiding the back void that often haunts from front of still life sets, and it is the simplest way to generate a large light source from your camera position.

 

Ian, In the northern hemisphere, artists love working with north facing windows for their primary light (especially painters) because it gives a relatively consistent cast throughout the day, being that the light is almost always reflected from the sky rather than cast directly from the sun. So not only is it consistent and predictable, but it is relatively stable throughout the day, meaning you can walk away from the art for a little while and come back to relatively the same illumination to work under. North light can often be referred to as shadowless light, so it is not great for chiarascuro effects or other high contrast work, but for copy work and documentation, it is often all the light you need and it can certainly be enhanced/sculpted with reflectors (white cards, mirrors, etc.).

 

In the southern hemisphere the effect should be comparable from a southern exposure. If it is not, please contact your government, as my jurisdiction is limited.

 

 

[ian1964]

Thank you to both of you I am very grateful

[OMASsimo]

James,

 

Thank you so much for your more than justified criticism. I'm really grateful that you took the time.

 

My problem is that it's just for fun and so I often stop at 80% satisfaction. I wouldn't release such a shot to a client. But getting the missing 19% isn't that easy and I often get stuck. I see that it's not right but it would be hard work figuring out how to improve it. You just pinpointed the weak points of the photo in no time and that's very helpful. I think I'll rebuild the set and try to improve the flaws you pointed out.

 

In fact, I didn't pay attention to the dust - and that's what it is. I use a small 12" laptop and my eyes aren't the best anymore.

 

A small turn of the pen would improve the reflection on the barrel, bringing out the lustre of the material a bit better.

 

I'll need to position the reflector card more precisely to better shape the clip by the light.

 

Last but not least, I shouldn't be so lazy and use a tripod. The above shot was handheld.

 

Peter

[OMASsimo]

OK, here we go. Coming home from work, I went straight to the studio to rebuild the set and improve the lighting. This time I didn't do a "quick and dirty" job and paid more attention to the details. Lets see what you think:

 

 

 

 

Now, first of all I used a tripod for better precision and I built the set on a real table top. Lighting comes from a single 4x6' softbox from the front and the pen is turned by roughly 30°. Fill light comes from two grey cards like James' V-flats and one white card with a hole attached to the lens. I paid attention to fill the entire clip by the grey card. A white reflector would have made it too bright. I used a polarizing filter to tame the reflections on the barrel. (In fact I only did in the top picture. For the bottom picture I burnt the reflections in the post processing). Finally, I adjusted several things in the post processing as usual for presentation on the web. This time I also removed the dust specs as much as possible. Despite cleaning it meticulously and brushing it off right before the shot, it was impossible to keep the dust off. This material is just like a magnet for dust. In fact, it's worse than spotting a 4x5" sheet film.

 

Well, I think I'm about 90% happy with it now but feel that there's still room for improvement. I wonder, is the light on the clip a bit too flat now? Any sugestions?

 

Peter

 

 

P.s.: A couple of cell phone shots of the set. Sorry for the poor quality

 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by OMASsimo

[Usernameistaken]

Nice job - definitely an improvement. I prefer the second shot. In the first shot, I see what you're trying for, but the triangles in the corners bother me because it is something I was always taught to avoid, since it draws the eye away from the center, rather than towards it. I watch out for clipped corners before capture, so anytime I get that too-clever idea in my head, I banish it and recompose. Of course, there's always room to break rules, but in this case I think the more traditional composition is preferable.

 

I like how you turned the engraved features on the pen body toward the camera in this revision. It makes the image more interesting to me.

 

You could throw a black edge on the on the clip with a well-situated and properly sized black card, which would recover the contours. The top edge is the right place to do that, in my opinion. You could also or alternatively skew the fill card on the camera so it is not illuminated quite so evenly, which is one way to introduce more of a gradient along the length of the clip.

 

I didn't get too far into post production in my previous comments, because I wasn't sure how familiar you were. But based on your second post, it seems like you know enough for me to suggest that you could play with the curves a bit, or maybe just bump the contrast, or go right on the black levels slider. Just a bit of this would give the photo more punch, and it's not something that can always be done in capture, because of the nature of digital raw files. I do notice that the first photo has a bit stronger contrast than the second (I believe because of a different position for the white fill card).

 

Dust... once you've done the best cleaning you can, there's really not much else to do except clean the rest in Photoshop. As long as I don't have dust in any hard to retouch places, I'll allow some of it to remain, but in certain, more critical circumstances, I'll sometimes put a fan near the set, just to keep the air moving, which helps a bit to prevent dust settling after the best cleaning I can muster. I also have an air compressor for the sturdiest and most stubborn products, but each of these solutions can be limited or problematic depending on the particulars, so just be aware of the problem before shooting and address it the most suitable way.

[Simulacrum]

Usernameistaken:

 

As a photographer myself - (though much less experienced in product photography than you) I'm familiar with all the info you were giving out, and yet I still learned a lot from your detailed descriptions and shots of how you specifically setup your studio lighting. This is tough info. to find out through anything other than experience (in my experience). So very awesome of you to share that stuff. And I really like your shots on your website, very playful yet still having some hints at serious content (not meaning that there is 'only' kinda serious content - hopefully no offense). I've often thought about shooting my kids toys with studio lights, so I thought that was really cool to see that you've done something like that. And love that Cartier Bresson shot! Good advice to everyone, you obviously know your craft. You're like 'the man with no name'. Should call you Eastwood! lol.

 

Look forward to more photo shoots!