Lessons From Isolation: Part 3

Well this was a fun one.  lol.  I started out saying I was going to use a crappy desk lamp (nightstand lamp in my case) and then finished the video by saying “I didn’t like it, find a window to use.”  Yeah, well, we need to always be flexible.  Right??

In this video, I’m photographing my son’s stuffed toy rather than shave bowls.  (The shave bowls have all sold!) I try out a few different options as far as backgrounds and lighting go, and I only felt a mild sense of frustration at not being able to use my big camera and proper lighting equipment.  I mean, I know I CAN use the toys at my disposal, they’re not broken or lost or anything, it’s just that I’m trying not to use them because you are likely using a cell phone and that’s it. I’m trying to level the playing field, as it were.

A funny thing that I see in the photos that I didn’t mention in the video, is how much a background can change the look of your item.  I’ve got two photos on orange (with different lighting) and one on blue/white.  All three look crazy different!  It’s worth experimenting with your products to see how your background enhances or detracts from the photo.

I explain it in the video, but I’m going to say it again here.  Your background should be just that – background.  Unless you want it to be part of the main focus of the photo, treat it as less important.  Push it away from the camera.  Separate it from your product.  Don’t allow it to be as clearly in focus as your product.  Here’s a sample I shot this morning to illustrate what I’m saying here.  I’ve used a curtain that we were building a fort with yesterday, and draped it over a kitchen chair.  I’ve set my morning coffee on a small stool underneath the curtain.  It’s all very glamorous.  😉

See the difference in these two?  And I could have made them so much better just by ironing or steaming the curtain.  

And now, without any further rambling or impromptu sample photos, here’s the video.