Beginner Set Up

Meshugy · Jan 15, 2007

Jeremy Z said:
It doesn't even have to be as fancy or expensive as a digital SLR. A simple point and shoot digital camera would do the trick nicely, and for under $200.

Tried that...couldn't good product detail or close ups. Most products ended up looking washed out. You couldn't see the detail of the grain on guitars. A friend of a friend who works in a studio and does all the photos for amazon.com products got way, way better results with an SLR. He did one free photo shoot for me...it turned out so much better. But he was also a pro....but if I can even get 50% the quality he got then it's worth it.

Also, I'd like to get some good family photos too so the SLR seemed like an all around better choice. Ain't cheap, probably has way more features then I need or will ever know how to use.

imagine photography · Jan 15, 2007

I am just beginning to go pro but have used both point and shoot and slr cameras and slr is definitly the way to go. Also, I agree on the grey background. YOu will soon find out that you must have good lighting if you are going to get white and to do this you have to learn your settings other than auto. I recommend using any color but white and trying natural lighting for your family pictures. Outdoors is so much easier to get good lighting.

Meshugy · Jan 15, 2007

imagine photography said:
I recommend using any color but white and trying natural lighting for your family pictures. Outdoors is so much easier to get good lighting.

Till now I've mostly done my product photos outside. We get a lot of nice overcast skies here in Seattle which makes a really nice and even light for photography.

Here's a couple of outdoor point and shoots....OK. But doesn't really get people psyched about the guitar. Detail is lame and barrel distortion made the body look warped.

Meshugy · Jan 15, 2007

and here's a few the pro took with an Canon EOS 20D/

Jeremy Z · Jan 16, 2007

Well, it would have to be a high-end point and shoot then, if you're looking for that kind of detail. One of the superzooms with a fast, sharp lens. I took a lot of sharp photos with my Olympus C-750.

An SLR with a proper lens (the body isn't so important) is the way to go for top quality photos. Your friend's photos would have been just as good with a $400 Rebel and that same lens.

Also, although your cloudy skies provide even, shadowless lighting, that is not necessarily what you want if you're trying to show the contours of wood grain. Light coming a bit from the side would probably be better.

Bobby Ironsights · Jan 16, 2007

Meshugy said:
Sheets of what?

I think he meant sheets of bed.

Jeremy Z · Jan 16, 2007

Yes, bedsheets.

I've seen a lot of shots online where the background is a gray or black bedsheet with splotches of paint. But you can skip the paint, since you want all the attention to be on the instruments.

If a lot of your instruments are wood, a dark cream color might match it well.