Simply effective product photography

Another little product shoot from earlier this month, a further example of how I like to keep things nice and simple. The products in question were a range of samples produced by a local firm of screenprinters, engravers and precision engineers. We have created images for this company in the past, and the purpose of this assignment was to show off the new line aimed at the medical profession.

One empty meeting room, one camera, two lights and a plain card background - that's all we needed in order to produce a set of simple yet effective pictures which can be dropped into the company's website, brochures and all manner of marketing material.

Here is a time-lapse video showing the process, from start to finish. Be sure to check out the selection of images at the end of the film:

Business Brain: Part 2

Last month, I posted the introduction to an assignment I was asked to undertake recently. The premise was to illustrate 'the business brain', with an emphasis on telephonic communication. If you missed the intro (Part 1), you can check it out here. As for Part 2... keep reading to find out how our initial thoughts developed into the resulting image.

OK, so having finalised the envisaged look of the picture, the next thing to do was make sure all the props were in place. As I said in Part 1, the 'brain' itself came courtesy of Ebay, but the question was - would it look right? How to decide.... hmm....? Obviously, we met up in a neutral place - in the car park of a local hotel on this occasion - to find out. Picture the scene then, as two cars roll up (under the watchful gaze of the hotel's surveillance cameras, no doubt)... Man 1 gets out of his car, greets Man 2 and partner, before producing brain out of a nondescript carrier bag and plonking it (technical term) on the rear of Man 2's car. Oh, how we would love to see the fuzzy grey camera footage from those few minutes - fame at last, eh John?!

Back at base, the only 'physical' things left to sort were the background and the spiral cabling which would be fixed directly onto the brain. The picture on the left here shows some early contenders - but none of them were quite right, and it was agreed that only a true 'spiral' cable (such as that found on telephones) would do. Sounds kinda obvious, but you have to try these things. As it happens, we actually decided to use the lead from an electric guitar, as this was nice and chunky (another technical term!) - an important factor to make sure it stood out in the picture.

With props sorted, then, it was time to think about the background. In order to create an infinity curve (a background with no 'horizon'), we went with a simple piece of A1 (24"x30" approx.) blue card which would offer a nice range of tones - from 'highlight' to shadow - dictated by the lighting. I already had this card to hand, and it turned out to be the perfect shade for our purposes. (I always keep a stock of backgrounds for small table-top arrangements such as these).

Now we're getting to the 'fun' bit - how to go about attaching the cable to the brain. In this picture, you can see the brain, cable, background card, wire cutters and... hair clips! Ironically, I have no other use for such items as hair clips (as colleagues testify all too regularly!), but these little pieces of metal did a great job of holding the cable in position. The process involved cutting off the rounded tips and pushing the clips into the foam-filled brain.

Here's a little 3-minute time-lapse video (shot on the G9, naturally) showing the somewhat labourious task:



Well done if you watched that all the way through - it really was that exciting in real life, too! But it's the result that counts so... you know...

Having put everything together, here is what the finished object looked like. Again, the G9 was used to take this quick snap to send off for approval (the picture also acted as a reference during the main shoot itself). Of course, the hair clips are clearly visible here; we got around this, ultimately, by using contrasty lighting and good old Photoshop to remove them at the post-production stage.

You'll also notice that the plugs are not shown in the picture. Nothing as drastic as cutting them off - they were simply cropped out of frame.

As for the lighting, we kept this really simple too. Ridiculously so, in fact - just one Nikon SB-800 mounted directly above the set-up on a Super Clamp, firing through a 2ft Bowens soft box (for a more diffused effect) and angled forward slightly. This gave a pleasing shadow underneath the brain, as well as a nicely graded fall-off effect on the background. Oh, and the flash was triggered wirelessly using a couple of Pocket Wizards. And yes, in answer to all you Strobist techies out there, I could just as easily have used the SU-4 function for this purpose.

Here's another time-lapse (somewhat more visually interesting, I hope!), showing how it all looked. Again, note the really simple arrangement - why complicate things?!




And the final result? Well, you've just seen the image itself (supplied in both colour and black & white), at the end of the video. As for the brochure - with text and bordering put in place, and a couple of final tweaks at the design studio, the final cover looked like this. Again, very simple, allowing the image and text to convey the message.

There is often a great misconception that 'studio' shots require grand set-ups, excessive lighting and high production costs. While this may be the case with larger projects, it does not have to be the case a lot of the time. Sure, on this outing the shoot location may not be the most glamorous - but so what? It is, after all, the resulting images that count. You'd be amazed how many 'high profile' assignments for large companies and corporates are actually shot in less-than-thrilling surroundings - but again, who's to know? And working on-site with our clients, using improvised studios, is a great way to get to know the way their businesses work, too.

If you have any thoughts or questions relating to this post, the shoot, technicalities or the way we work in various 'studio' arrangements, please feel free to air them in the comments section by clicking on the link below. Remember, it's all about sharing information and spreading the word - so it'd be great to get some discussion going!

Oh, and for more behind-the-scenes GBP videos, check out us out on YouTube.

Business Brain: Part 1

It's amazing what you can buy on Ebay, isn't it? From antiques to clothes, music to animal feed, there really is very little you can't find online. Me, I've just taken delivery of a new brain. Not before time, some might say! But wait, don't start jumping up and down excitedly just yet. Let me explain.

I received a request last week to produce an image for use on the cover of a promotional brochure; the underpinning message was along the lines of 'the business brain'. So, with thinking cap firmly in place, we set about putting some ideas down on paper and searching for reference material – again, the internet is a great tool for this!

The first obstacle to overcome was the 'brain' itself... Initial thoughts (see image at left) led us towards creating a basic framework on which the object would be constructed – chicken wire and papier maché is always good for this; however, given our time constraints, we turned to Plan B - good ol' Ebay!

You can see what we came up with in the picture above.

Ironically, we anticipte that the actual 'brain' will not feature a great deal in the final picture; it will be there simply to act as shaping tool, and will be predominantly hidden by a length of spiral cabling. The main emphasis of the image is on communication and specifically business communication.

This job will be completed in the next couple of days - a simple studio shot, lit simply, containing our basic model components and a plain background. Keeping true to our theory of 'why complicate matters?', the picture's success will lie in the fact that all elements work well together in a no-fuss, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) approach.

More to come - including a video of the whole process from start to finish!

EDIT: Part 2 can now be found here

Oh, and for more behind-the-scenes GBP videos, check out us out on YouTube.

Marketing Portraits - Set-up and break down

Right then... This is the first video we have produced for the GBP Blog, so please be gentle! As always we're looking to add more and more interesting content here, so do give feedback about what you see... and, of course, tell us what you'd like to see in the future, too.

This video is, quite simply, an illustration of how a shoot can be arranged in any loction, fitting in with the client's working day. The resulting images were to be used in a marketing campaign, both on large vehicles and printed matter.

People often ask us what is involved when setting up a shoot - for example should they come to a studio?/what should they wear?/how long will it take?/how many people will be present? In this instance, our 'studio' was an on-site cafeteria - which we took over for a few hours. Our subjects (7 in total, although only 2 appear in this time-lapse video) were actively on call, so we just grabbed them when the opportunity arose - this actually worked very well, as it often does, and we were only kept waiting for a few short minutes between sitters.

As for the technical stuff - we shot on the usual Nikon cameras, directly hooked up to a Mac. Okay, I admit it, I'm not a Mac user... and that's why you'll see Matt pressing all the buttons on this occasion whilst I take care of the light and, well, simply point at the computer :-)

It's always nice to preview images on a larger screen, as they appear, but in this case it was especially important as the lighting arrangement was very specific and had to be tweaked until it was just right. Speaking of which, 3 Nikon SB-800 speedlights were used, triggered remotely using Pocket Wizards. Naturally, the video was shot on the trusty G9. Be sure to watch out for the photographs at the end!

Enough talking... on with the show:

Oh, and one last thing - a big 'thank you' to Paul for the backing music. Seriously, you really brought this first video together for us!

For more behind-the-scenes GBP videos, check out us out on YouTube.

Why good business sense counts for a lot

I don't ask for much when I'm looking to buy something. Following a bit of research, a good price combined with polite, professional service is usually all it takes. Call me old fashioned, but surely these are the two key elements to any service, regardless of whether it is photography, dry cleaning, your local newsagent... whatever.

Yet it is with alarming and increasing regularity that business owners fail to take these qualities on board. In the past couple of months, I have witnessed both ends of the spectrum - from a company who, although it's product is a good one, clearly doesn't know the meaning of the words 'customer care' and left me feeling so under-valued as a consumer that I am almost lost for words... right through to another who, quite frankly, blew me away by the speed, efficiency and professionalism of their service.

Clearly, I am not going to name and shame those who failed to impress, but I would like to take this opportunity to tell you all about the company who impressed me so much...

They are Movie Cameras Inc, a movie camera prop hire specialist supplying the film and tv industry; they also have a second arm dealing with everything from lighting stands to replacement bulbs, gels to clamps. Check out their online shop here to find out more.

So what is the long-term result of these recent dealings? Well, I am still battling away with the first company, waiting for them to honour their end of the agreement (note: a delivery was promised for today and, unsurprisingly, nothing has turned up - that was over a week ago. I was also let down on this front 3 weeks ago, too). Hmmm... I guess this is what they call a waiting game?! Once that delivery does finally arrive, I shall be cutting all ties - these people have lost my business.

As for the second company... Well, it is with pleasure that I can say that a good connection has been established, and cross-website links and recommendations are flowing (for example, there are already links on Strobist - a website which has over 200,000 regular readers worldwide and a discussion group of more than 20,000 members). And I'm sure that there will be more as the months roll by. What's more, I would have no hesitation in spending my hard-earned cash with MCI at any time in the future.

So... can you see the connection yet? Good business practise = customer satisfaction = personal recommendation = secondary promotion = additional sales & business growth.

Now, I would never claim to be a business expert by any stretch of the imagination, but is this logic so difficult to comprehend?! I think the philosophy really is simple to the point where it has almost become a no-brainer.

Be professional, regardless of your industry or the individual you deal with. Be sure to look after your customers and they will look after you.

Simply done

Big studios, big lights, big fees - that is the perception a great number of people have when they consider commissioning professional photography.

Of course, we could exploit this and charge a small fortune - but how would we sleep at night?! No, we're far too honest for that. However, it is true to say that, in all reality, the elements of time and money are big factors for most people - and often at least one, the other or both is in short supply.

When thinking about your photography, two questions are no doubt going to be at the forefront of your mind - "how long will it take?" and "how much will it cost". Simply put, it needn't take a long time. Nor does it have to cost a lot. Tip: Planning is everything!

The images displayed here (view larger) were shot in the corner of a back room on-site, at short notice, and were lit with a single light. Nice, bright displays were dropped into each screen as required after the shoot; it was then a matter of arranging the 'complete' pictures in the layout of the promotional brochure, before sending the design off to print.

A simple set of photgraphs, simply approached - and simply effective.