PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY – PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
DESCRIPTION
- You will photograph a single product of your choice
and present your final work. The
project will help you demonstrate your ability to produce a variety of
product shots for a single product.
  
GOAL
- Students will practice product photography. This includes working with product
selection, product placement, camera location, camera angles, lighting,
staging as well as editing.
END PRODUCT
- You must submit exactly five photos of your product. See the section on Variety down below.
- You must also submit at least two photos of your
setup. This can include a photo
of you taking the photo. Or a
photo of your product and sweep visible.
Or your product with a lamp beside it. Or the product beside a window. (Search “Product Photography Setup
DIY” to get examples.)
STUDENT
EXAMPLE
- Click here for an example
project by Mason S.
CHOOSING A PRODUCT
- First of all, it is important to choose a product
that you will enjoy working with.
- Your product should be small enough that you can
easily move it around for photography.
This will allow you to try photographing it in different locations
and lighting conditions.
- You are asked to show some variety in your
photos. Choose a product that
allows for this.
- Avoid a challenging product (unless you want a
challenge!). Some products are
difficult to sit on the ground.
They need a support structure or they can be hung by a string. Consider this before making a product
choice.
- Possible product ideas:
|
Can of pop
Container of juice
Pen
Cell phone
Scissors
Bottle of wine
Shoes
Wrench
|
Computer mouse
Hair brush
Kraft Dinner
Toothpaste
Laptop
Fresh fruit
Dish
Statue
|
Hammer
Clothing
Vase
Sunglasses
Hat
Stapler
Controller
Fishing Lure
|
Pendant
Football
Clothing
Flower
Watch
Bowl of soup
Sports racket
Plant
|
EQUIPMENT / LOCATION
- Spend some time getting yourself
ready.
- Find windows that might be
provide good lighting.
- Find other light sources that
might be useful.
- Find backgrounds (wall,
cardboard, wrapping paper, grass, sky, …)
- Find props that could be used.
- Consider creating a DIY tripod.
VARIETY
- As a photographer, it is
important that you can show a range of skills. Therefore, one important aspect of
this project is to show variety.
- Here are different types of shots
that you can consider including:
- Classic product shot (your
product on a white background)
- Other product shot (your product
on a non-white background)
- In-context shot (your product
being used)
- Features shot (your product’s
features being displayed)
- Packaging shot (your product in
full packaging)
- Environment shot (your product
in its environment)
- Close-up shot (showcase of
important parts of your product)
- You can also achieve a nice
variety of photographs by changing the camera angle, the camera distance
or zoon, the lighting conditions, the location, the product placement,
the staging, the background, the use of reflection and so on.
- How much variety is
required? It is up to you. One person might choose to do 3
classic shots (with different placement and lighting for each), 1
in-context shot and 1 close-up shot.
Another person might do five different types of shots.
EDITING
- You are permitted and even encouraged to use an
image editor such as Photoshop to edit your photos.
PRESENTATION
- You will present your photos.
- For each product photo, you should talk about your
setup, your decision making and why you think this photo is effective at
demonstrating your product.
- You are encouraged to show failed attempts of your
product photography.
- You are also encouraged to show your pre-edit
photos.
IMAGE SOURCES
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