Looking to Take Pics for Online Business Site

[jsyang15]

im a total beginner at this and i was using the search function to look for the best possible setup...but my question seems to be a lil too specific...the scenario is that i went to a camera place yesterday and the salesman there was pushing that i spend like $5000 on a full lighting system with flash, fillers, and etc...but i feel for an online shoe site, that is quite excessive...would continuous lighting be enough? the only thing my company has purchased is a canon eos20d...i figure a new lense is going to be obvious for detailed pics to upload online...but is all that lighting eqipment necessary or would a simple continuous lighting setup be suffice? any help or recommendations would be great...

 

[markc]

The main advantage to strobes is that you don't have this hot light shining in the model's face all the time. For still-life, many people prefer continuous lighting. You'll still probably want reflectors, but you can use foam core for that, and diffusers, like umbrellas.

 

[Rob]

A light tent or a couple of soft boxes should do it fine. You don't need to spend $5,000 dollars on a portrait studio setup as it wouldn't really be the right thing and it will be a faff to set up and take down.

A soft box is essentially a light with a light paper or plastic frame which produces an even white light. A light tent is a tent, made of light white fabric which produces an even more balanced light.

You'll be wanting a tripod, as the camera should be shooting at it's lowest ISO for the sharpest shot, and a decent depth of field, probably f8+ which is going to make hand-holding with artificial constant lighting near impossible.

This is a $80 soft box: http://www.webphotosupply.com/425691.jpg

This is a $20 light tent: http://www.firstwayinsurance.com/auction/12x24-animated-tent.gif

You can make them yourself using halogen floods from your hardware store mounted on a board (about $10), but it's not gonna break the bank, so buy reasonable ones.
I would go for two soft boxes, a roll of colorama background or similar (black felt is great for shoes) and a tripod.

Rob

 

[Rob]

Oh, I forgot to make a point... constant lighting will be advantageous to you as you don't need to worry about your subject walking off (bad joke sorry!). Strobe lighting is IMO much more difficult to adjust when you are talking 2+ light sources - flash guns and brollies are cumbersome and can be very difficult to get right on a small object like a shoe.

Soft white light is the way forward (IMO).

Rob

 

[jsyang15]

i appreciate all the information...forums are great, i appreciate all the info and now i know what to look for when shopping for the supplies...

 

[xion]

I just setup a home studio - the lighting cost about $1200 - check out my website (click on the signature url below) where I have tried to detail the process. The website is still to be completed.

 

[markc]

Xion, that's a great set-up for working with models, but being a strobe kit, isn't the most cost effective for product photography.

 

[xion]

Xion, that's a great set-up for working with models, but being a strobe kit, isn't the most cost effective for product photography.

Markc - You are right on this. I wasn't sure if jsyang15 wanted just for shoes or if he was also shooting models wearing them. For the products he can get cheap continuous lights with a light tent or white foam boards for reflectors. The only issue is the color correction, which, with his digital, he can set up the white balance.