Week 11

Question 1 – Written assignment (Research and analysis)

Draw up a list of the most important aspects of a product photograph. Refer to shadows, lighting, quality, ISO and editing in your answer. Mention at least five things.

1 – Lighthing: Good lighting is the most important aspect of product photography. We need to have full control over lighting the product. It should be soft, balanced and even.

2 – Shadows: As the lighting is diffused, the product’s shadows, if any, are soft.

3 – ISO: Should be kept at the lowest possible, ideally never higher than 100. The higher the ISO, the more noise.

4 – Quality: Product shots should be of a very good quality. It’s important to choose the highest resolution setting on the camera to get sharp photos.

5 – Editing: When the file format is Camera RAW the photos are easier to edit. The editing should be minimal, just to make small adjustments like cropping or removing the background, sharpening or adjusting the levels.

Question 2 – Practical assignment

1. Make your own DIY light tent.
2. Take product photographs of the following objects:
   • Something fluffy, like a stuffed animal
   • Something shiny, like a knife and fork
   • Something hard, like a book or a mug
   • A liquid, like a glass of wine
3. Draw a diagram of your lighting scenario for each of the above photographs and submit it along with the photographs.
4. Edit your photographs with the software of your choice. Write an accompanying paragraph for each of your photographs and explain what you did during the editing process.

This is the light tent I made for this assignment. I used the cardbox lamps I made for MA06 last semester.

Lighting scenario for all of the pictures above:

I edited my RAW files in Lightroom. I adjusted the temperature, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks and texture until I thought the photos looked the best.