Need advice on taking product & tutorial photos

[phnoob]

I want to be able to take product photos like the ones on this page:

SparkFun RedBot Kit - ROB-12697 - SparkFun Electronics

And tutorial photos like the ones on this page:

RedBot Assembly Guide Rev 02 - learn.sparkfun.com

I have a softbox and three flashes which work fairly well, but I want to move to constant lighting because the flashes make things extremely difficult, especially when trying to take pictures for tutorials.

Here's a test I ran on my workbench with two tube lights (probably not what they're actually called, but I'm talking about the ones you often see in office ceilings) overhead:

Camera: Nikon D3000
Lense: Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR

Shutter speed: 1/30
White balance: auto

F-stop: 5.59
ISO: 1100

I feel like the brightness of this photo is alright, but most of it is out of focus due to the low f-stop and there are also shadows underneath the object which I would like to prevent as much as possible.

F-stop: 7.09
ISO: 1600

F-stop: 9
ISO: 1600

Going from f5 to f9 makes a big difference in terms of clarity across the object, but the end of it is still out of focus and already it is becoming dark.

F-stop: 14
ISO: 1600

Not only are these photos dark, but the photos with an ISO of 1600 seem to be quite grainy.

F-stop: 22
ISO: 1600

Clearly I need better lighting, and I might try switching to a white background as well.

As I understand it, the key to getting photos where most of the object is in focus depends on using a higher f-stop number, but doing so lets in less light and as such requires better lighting.

My lighting budget is capped at around $400. I've been looking on Amazon (where I would prefer to order from) and found this inexpensive kit. Do you think that would work well for my needs?

I can buy a new lens and/or camera if needed, but would prefer not to.

I know product photos will always require some touching up in Photoshop to get the perfect white background, but for the tutorial photos I would like to get to the point where no post-processing work is needed.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[tirediron]

There are a number of issues, and you're not going to solve them all without a bit of work (and unfortunately, spending a bit of money too). First and foremost, while I can appreciate that continuous light may seem easier, it's not. Trust me on this. It really isn't. It provides nowhere near the amount of light needed, and if you can't do it with three speedlights, there's NO WAY that kit you linked to will be an improvement.

The first thing to do is buy the lighting bible. This will explain everything you need to know about the lighting aspects of this sort of shooting it is the BEST money you will ever spend on lighting. Next you need to understand how depth of field works, and more importantly where the limits are. When shooting small objects like this, it may not be physically possible to get all of the depth of field you require, therefor you'll have to resort to focus stacking (search that term in YouTube for some excellent tutorials) which is the process of taking several images with different points of focus and combining them, using software such as Combine ZP, a great freeware product, into one image with unacheivable depth of field.

There are a lot of other minor tweaks that will help improve the images, but those are a few places to start.

 

[phnoob]

Thanks for your reply. I will look into the book you referenced.

Using speedlights has been really difficult for me and I really want to move to constant lighting. With the speedlights I have to constantly take test photos because I don't know what the resulting lighting will look like, whereas if I had constant lighting I could see in "real time" what the final photo would look like.

The product photos in the first link I posted were taken with this setup, where it appears they use constant lighting:

I am familiar with focus stacking and use the technique with my Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Di SP AF/MF 1:1 Macro Lens when taking product photos of very small items. However, focus stacking takes a lot of time and so for larger objects (like in my photos above) I would prefer to avoid it if possible, and I definitely want to avoid it for tutorial photos.

For tutorial photos, it's not critical that the background be perfectly white or completely in focus, I just want to get as close to perfect as I can while avoiding post-processing work. Also, with the tutorial photos, I can't always use a tripod, which makes focus stacking impossible.

 

[Buckster]

The key to solving your issues here is to get a handle on using your speedlights.

Continuous lights aren't going to give you the results you're looking for because they're generally not bright enough to work without a tripod, as you're finding out. There are other problems with continuous lights that you haven't even encountered yet, and it's really not worth getting into it. Just put the idea of using continuous lights behind you. Seriously.

You just need to get a basic understanding of your speedlights. It won't take long, and then you'll be up and running the way you want.

Start with one speedlight, shooting through a softbox, on a light stand, set up as close to the subject as possible without blocking the product. Don't rule out being able to crop it out later though. Get it in close.

Put it on full power.

Set your camera on a tripod. ISO 100 (for less noise), F-stop as high as it will go (for lots of DOF). Shutter speed at the sync speed or lower (1/100 - 1/160 would be my suggestion) That speed is suitable to shoot hand-held, which is one of the things you want to be able to do.

Take a shot. Is the resulting photo too bright or too dim?

If it's too bright (which is VERY likely, given those settings), knock the flash power down. Shoot again. Do that until you have your flash power dialed in, then make a note of it - how far is it from the subject, and what is the power? Note your camera lens, aperture, shutter and ISO settings. DONE. That combination of light distance and power, plus those camera and lens settings will work forever to properly light a subject, no matter where the camera is and no matter what the subject is.

If it's too dim (not likely unless your speedlight is too far away or faulty), increase the ISO until it's right. Go through the same steps above, then make a note of the settings.

Many of us keep such notes on pieces of gaff tape or paper on our flashes or light stands or someplace handy to refer to later. That way, we know what settings to use no matter how far away from the subject we need to place the light to get the shot we want.

That's your starting point. Once you understand that basic relationship, you can start adding the other two lights, one at a time, until you have what you want. As you add lights, you will need to compensate for the additional power, but you should be able to figure it out from there.

One last tip: If you're still not getting as much in focus as you want, back the camera away from the subject more, and then crop the photo down to the subject in post processing.

 

[JustJazzie]

Thanks for your reply. I will look into the book you referenced.

Using speedlights has been really difficult for me and I really want to move to constant lighting. With the speedlights I have to constantly take test photos because I don't know what the resulting lighting will look like, whereas if I had constant lighting I could see in "real time" what the final photo would look like.

If you invest in a studio strobe or two, you will get the flash power you need AND a modeling lamp so you aren't shooting blind.