Few Equipment Questions - Product Pictures

[KabeXTi]

I do a lot of graphic artwork for my company (web art, product photagraphy, sell sheets/brochures, etc.) and I really don't have any type of studio or legitimate lighting that any average person in my position would have.

I have a few questions for some of you pros or aspiring pros about what type of equipment would make for a decent makeshift studio for product photography. Here is a sample of a couple of products so you have somewhat of an idea of what I'm shooting. There are many more and in many other configurations but this is just to show an example. (Camera is a Nikon D40 w/ AF-S 18-55 F/3.5-5.6, for now)

A) What type of lighting is good? Something not too harsh because these products reflect a lot of light.

B) What type of Background, etc. would be good? These products are not very big so big curtains, etc. would be a little overkill right? Maybe not? Right now I'm using some butcher paper below and behind so I can cut out the images easier, but if I can get a background that would produce nice images without having to cut the item out that would be great.

C) What type of lens? Prime for razor sharp images or zoom for closer and further shots without having to move the tripod?

Any other help/advice would be much appreciated. I have never taken any classes on photography let alone product photography but I guess I have enough skill to get by for now. I just want to up the level of product photography for my company.

Thanks

 

[KabeXTi]

Bump. ANY input is appreciated.

 

[250Gimp]

I'm not a product guy, but the shots look ok to me.

The bottles in the rack have too much shadow over the tops of the bottles for my taste. Maybe some low power light from the front on a downward angle to light them a bit.

Cheers

 

[KabeXTi]

Thanks for the input 250Gimp. I agree with the shadows not being a good element in the rack picture, too.

The lights I'm currently using also put out a yellowish hue and are pretty harsh. What lighting would give me a nice white light? Would an umbrella be a good way to un-harshen the light reflection or is there something else anybody would recommend? (i.e. Reflector, etc.)

Bump again!

 

[jasonkt]

Well I'm not a product pro but I can give you some input since you haven't gotten a lot...

What kind of lighting are you using? If you get pretty good power out of your light, you might think about a softbox. Pros definitely use them all over the place, and if you want to go the budget route, there are some good DIY projects out there (let google be your guide). Also an umbrella would certainly help.

I've done some work at home with VERY inexpensive supplies:

-pan reflectors with clamps and energy star daylight bulbs
-frames with acetate to act as diffusion (similar to a softbox)
-white/black/silver show cards for reflections and/or backgrounds

Definitely not a set-up to brag about, but I was happy with the results I was able to achieve with it.

Good luck!