360 product setup

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Dazzdeadmeadow

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Name
Darren
Edit My Images
Yes
all,

Hope you are all keeping well!!


I'm looking to set up a 360 photobooth on a budget of £3000. I work for a company that takes 360 images of telecoms components to list for sale.

Currently I use a Spinme setup with Photorobot. The kit is only used for a 12 picture 360 spin and the turntable doesn't work anymore anyway (I manually spin the table). My boss doesn't want to spend the money on that setup again for another site, its a bit over engineered for what we need.

Camera wise, I am looking at a Nikon D3500 and a Zomei 72 inch Tripod. I'm then considering the following light tent and turntable...

https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/product/pixapro-120x80x200cm-led-light-tent/

https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/pr...hite-motorized-turntable-with-remote-control/

I'm trying to minimize the amount of work in post as I have a lot of components to get through. I thought the light tent would help with this and be cost effective. I know flash light kits can be damned expensive.

Anyway, will that setup get decent results? Has anybody got any advice or any other recommendations for a better set up??

I have attached as single from on of the spins to show you the sort of result I'm currently getting.

Many thanks guys, and stay safe!!!!

005048950_01-jpg.277198


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Dazzdeadmead
 
There are always several different ways of doing the same thing, and they usually all work well enough.
The products you've linked to are one way of doing it, there will be a fairly low level of PP work involved but the downside is that the lighting will be very flat and uninteresting and the products won't 'pop' and grab attention.

I set up a manual turntable (made from a piece of white reflective material fixed to a lazy susan) some time ago and used it for photographing a very large number of photographic lights and modifiers, selling to a knowledgeable customer base that expected interesting images. That, in my view, is a far better way of doing it and once I'd had a play and found out what worked best I simply handed it over to an assistant, who produced good, consistent results with a minimum of training.

Our setup was for 36 images, which in my experience is perfect for just about everything - less than that is poor, and very jerky. I assume that you already have the necessary website back end software or extension in place?

My setup is quite lengthy to explain, and it's a pretty niche subject so I won't do it here, but I've written an e-book (available on Amazon and detailed in the first thread in this forum) that explains the whole thing in detail.. If you send me a PM with your email address I'll be happy to send it to you.
 
Garry Edwards said:
There are always several different ways of doing the same thing, and they usually all work well enough.
The products you've linked to are one way of doing it, there will be a fairly low level of PP work involved but the downside is that the lighting will be very flat and uninteresting and the products won't 'pop' and grab attention.

I set up a manual turntable (made from a piece of white reflective material fixed to a lazy susan) some time ago and used it for photographing a very large number of photographic lights and modifiers, selling to a knowledgeable customer base that expected interesting images. That, in my view, is a far better way of doing it and once I'd had a play and found out what worked best I simply handed it over to an assistant, who produced good, consistent results with a minimum of training.

Our setup was for 36 images, which in my experience is perfect for just about everything - less than that is poor, and very jerky. I assume that you already have the necessary website back end software or extension in place?

My setup is quite lengthy to explain, and it's a pretty niche subject so I won't do it here, but I've written an e-book (available on Amazon and detailed in the first thread in this forum) that explains the whole thing in detail.. If you send me a PM with your email address I'll be happy to send it to you.
Click to expand...

Edit: Your example image has been over-lit to reduce PP work, and lacks contrast. Even using an automated, flat-lit process though, a different results can be obtained in just a few seconds, using software. This becomes an automated (batch) process when the images are processed and takes virtually no time at all.

005048950_01.jpg
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I think we are a slightly cross purposes here. I don't really need to think stylistically for these products. They range from anything like cables to USB sticks to units that weigh 50kg. We only sell to telecoms companies, they really only need a clear image of the unit to see the connection ports and identify if it is the right replacement part.

I literally have around 10,500 (and growing) parts to photograph so it's more of a case of getting as much done as possible. A 12 picture spin for us works well enough. I can definitely see the need for a 36 or more with prestige products such as jewellery. I think I was asking more if the stuff I'd listed would get the same results as I have achieved, with maybe a tad less Photoshop work.

Cheers
 
The most important failure in your post is using a light tent. This really is not the way to go for product photography.
It really is the bottom end of product photography and largely used for low end stuff on ebay.

The most important thing is lighting and knowing how to light and control the light.

With your example of telecoms ports, its essential to light so the ports can be clearly seen, that will be adjusting the lights as needed. You don't have this adjustement in a light tent.
 
Hi,

Yes, I was thinking that could be an issue. I think a studio flash setup will probably be best. Just need to research how to combine this with the Nikon. I currently use a Canon 5d and a Broncolor set of studio flash lights. Not an option for the budget I have been set! Any suggestions for good 3 light set up in the alloted budget range??

Thanks for the reply
 
We have been know to do a few of these :) some of these are old samples with 28 images we not do 60 min.

https://studio488.co.uk/product-photography-360-rotations.html

https://studio488.co.uk/360-degree-product-photography.html

https://v1.pixriot.com/?spin=437881cb64/Regatta/RWF617_805&t=1579782209


So this is what we have, firstly throw away the tent.

A turntable one that is programmable and can link to the camera shutter, off the top of my head I cannot remember what ours are(will come back to you)
A min 1M diameter disk to go on top
4 Led lights
webroate360 is our software of choice
Line laser
Decent tridpd and a geared head for micro adjustments.
We do 60 images a rotation and can do around 50 rotations a day (one person 7.5 hrs) so your 10 thousand products are going to take you a LONG time.....

Our images come out of the camera "almost" ready to go, they go into camera raw or capture one to brighten the whites and tweak the image and then are put into the software.

Once the rig is setup, there is no need to adjust anything in terms of lighting, except a slight adjustment to brightness now and again, we use godox as they have a remote control,

The biggest pain is centrally locating the product to the disk, a line laser is very helpful, if you get the object slightly out it does an orbit instead of a clean rotation. We also use Canons live view and ensure the grids are setup to show the centre of the disk, ensuring the camera, disk and product and on the same axis is bloody hard work, but once done its done (until you kick the tripod !)

So kicking the tripod is bad, to stop this once everything is setup, mark the floor, tripod height and anything else that can move :)

The rest is fairly straight forward :)
 
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Hey, great images. Tent is officially binned. See, I'm from more of a video background. I kinda stumbled into the job I'm doing now and still learning. Software wise we have our own software for spins and I just use Photoshop and Adobe Bridge. My main issues are minimising the background interference and finding a light kit that is cheap.

Initially the company spent 40k plus on the Spinme and Photorobot setup. The thing doesn't work now and I'm turning it manually. This setup does work but is blimin pricey for a bloke to be spinning it manually!

The 10,500 products is not something I'll probably ever catch up on, especially when new stuff is always coming in! I'll just keep chipping away!

Great response, thanks
 
Studio488commercial said:
found one we use, this will take a 1 meter disk and is a nice bit of kit, programme the number of images and the unit takes care of the rest, has lots of modes, and features will also control the shutter on the camera before moving to the next position.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vivat-Tu...271180&hash=item3b2eb1aa27:g:9UgAAOSw7fVdVCIZ

Leds are Godox SL-60w
Click to expand...

Turntable looks great, unfortunately it won't take the load of some of the bits I will have to shoot....up to 50kg!
 
Dazzdeadmeadow said:
Turntable looks great, unfortunately it won't take the load of some of the bits I will have to shoot....up to 50kg!
Click to expand...

In that case your into some serious cash, we have a turntable that takes 150Kg and I built our own shutter trigger, unless you get an automated turntable you will extend the time in doing this massively.
 
The original link I posted will take the weight, just needs a bigger disc on top. Any ideas where you get the platforms?
 
Dazzdeadmeadow said:
The original link I posted will take the weight, just needs a bigger disc on top. Any ideas where you get the platforms?
Click to expand...

Any plastic firm can make you a disk, or its a wooden/plastic disk covered in paper (reduces reflections), the problem with that turntable is it constantly rotates and is slow, you have to be accurate in your timings to get the images right, to do this with some sense of consistency and speed, you do need the disk to fire the camera.

We take the first product and take the images as the second product is rotating we work on the first set of images and 360 software, that way your not sat waiting. we are running at about 8-10 mins per product from start to finish, unpacking shoot, process, repack.
 
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I see what you mean. I can't seem to find any heavy duty manual turntables either. Have to have a proper rethink!

Thanks so much, really good advice
 
Dazzdeadmeadow said:
Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I think we are a slightly cross purposes here. I don't really need to think stylistically for these products. They range from anything like cables to USB sticks to units that weigh 50kg. We only sell to telecoms companies, they really only need a clear image of the unit to see the connection ports and identify if it is the right replacement part.

I literally have around 10,500 (and growing) parts to photograph so it's more of a case of getting as much done as possible. A 12 picture spin for us works well enough. I can definitely see the need for a 36 or more with prestige products such as jewellery. I think I was asking more if the stuff I'd listed would get the same results as I have achieved, with maybe a tad less Photoshop work.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Fair enough, then just go for an automated setup as suggested by @Studio488commercial
I'm glad that he's joined in this thread, he runs a high volume product photography business and although I personally disagree with most of what he says on this forum he knows his stuff and has already been through the process that you're now starting.

As he and everyone else has said, light tents are an abomination. They do have their uses, but they can never be more than a very poor substitute for proper lighting and the current crop, with built in LED lights, are the worst of the worst.

You've asked for my book, it's now been sent and you will see exactly how we went about the 360 photography. But even if you decide that a very simple, automated system is the best for you (and it may well be) you should still try to get the lighting right, just surrounding the subject with light can never work well.

Photography is all about the light, and good lighting is all about creating the right shadows in the right places - which is opposite to the approach taken, unfortunately, by most beginners, who often try to avoid shadows - but it's the shadows that make the subject look its best. With most 'normal' photography there often needs to be some kind of compromise, because too much shadow can be distracting. But 360 photography is weird (in a good way) because the subject moves and the light stays constant, so most presentations (and especially with shiny bits) end up with one or more shots showing really dramatic lighting that makes the subject come alive, whilst showing the product very accurately. It may be that you are only selling to corporate clients but it has to be a good thing to show the products at their best, and anyway it's possible that you may sell to the public one day, so it makes sense to do the job as well as you can, which takes hardly any extra time.
Studio488commercial said:
Making a manual one is easy, you just need a https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Table-La...hash=item46ac8d8ea1:m:mAlIHghtLo5s0MgvgDZkApw and a big disk :) simples.
Click to expand...
Yes, as per my book. Same product, same use, same approach.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Fair enough, then just go for an automated setup as suggested by @Studio488commercial
I'm glad that he's joined in this thread, he runs a high volume product photography business and although I personally disagree with most of what he says on this forum he knows his stuff and has already been through the process that you're now starting.

As he and everyone else has said, light tents are an abomination. They do have their uses, but they can never be more than a very poor substitute for proper lighting and the current crop, with built in LED lights, are the worst of the worst.

You've asked for my book, it's now been sent and you will see exactly how we went about the 360 photography. But even if you decide that a very simple, automated system is the best for you (and it may well be) you should still try to get the lighting right, just surrounding the subject with light can never work well.

Photography is all about the light, and good lighting is all about creating the right shadows in the right places - which is opposite to the approach taken, unfortunately, by most beginners, who often try to avoid shadows - but it's the shadows that make the subject look its best. With most 'normal' photography there often needs to be some kind of compromise, because too much shadow can be distracting. But 360 photography is weird (in a good way) because the subject moves and the light stays constant, so most presentations (and especially with shiny bits) end up with one or more shots showing really dramatic lighting that makes the subject come alive, whilst showing the product very accurately. It may be that you are only selling to corporate clients but it has to be a good thing to show the products at their best, and anyway it's possible that you may sell to the public one day, so it makes sense to do the job as well as you can, which takes hardly any extra time.

Yes, as per my book. Same product, same use, same approach.
Click to expand...

wow, that’s almost a compliment you miscible old git :exit::D:D:D:pint:
 
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Ha ha, I'm getting there is some history here

Well guys thank you both. Really great advice from both. Cheers muchly
 
Dazzdeadmeadow said:
Ha ha, I'm getting there is some history here

Well guys thank you both. Really great advice from both. Cheers muchly
Click to expand...
No, there's no real history. He runs a business producing high volume, low cost photos of products, but would be the first to say that he's not a photographer. That's fine by me, he's satisfying a customer demand and there's plenty of room for all sorts of photographers.

I've spent my working life doing the opposite type of product photography, I'm retired now but even when I was working we weren't in any kind of competition with each other.
And there are other differences too, He's says that I'm a miscible old git, but at least I know how to spell miserable:)
Studio488commercial said:
History is correct, Garry is just behind the backdrop in this image setting up the candles for the lighting whilst hiding the c-stands......

View attachment 277516
Click to expand...
And there you go, he thinks that the neck clamp is a C stand . . . And I know better than to use updated candles for lighting:p
 
Sorry, but I don't comment on anything that Pixapro / Essential Photo says, does or sells, and never will.
The reason for this, which doesn't imply any criticism on them, is that before I retired I worked closely with Lencarta, who they may see as their competitors. And although I'm no longer directly involved with Lencarta I still have a small shareholding and, more importantly, have a personal friendship with both the owners and several of the staff there. Because of this connection, I keep my thoughts to myself.

As @Studio488commercial has explained, and as I explained in my e-book, you can make a strong, weightbearing turntable of whatever size you wish very easily and very cheaply. For the benefit of those who haven't read Product Photography Magic our setup was to take 36 shots, so we marked the edge of the turntable so that a we could move it exactly 10 degrees for each photo. You only want to take 12 shots, so that's 360 / 12 = 30 degrees between each shot, so simple to do that even I could tell my assistant how to do it:)

If I was doing it again I would do exactly the same, but if you want to go for some kind of ready made solution instead then perhaps other people could offer their advice on equipment.
 
Hey guys,

Just thought I'd give you an update and a thanks for your input.

I went with a 4 head setup, white background and motorised turntable. All working out well, photos looking better than when lit from underneath on the Photorobot table. There doesn't seem to be anymore post work in Photoshop than the old method. More importantly, I have saved the company a shed load of cash with this new setup! We have phased in the new elements with just the camera and tripod to be added.

So, thanks both very much for your advice. Garry's Ebook is also a brilliant resource, I'd highly recommend it to anybody!

The only question I have was regarding a disc to sit on the turntable. What would be the best material to maintain the white background? A frosted acrylic, that possibly produces a nice shadow under the product but still reduces the work in post?

I see Studio488commercial has a ban...naughty boy??

Cheers
 
Thanks for letting us know how it's working out - not everyone does. . .

We just used a piece of shiny acrylic as a product base, the strength of the reflection is controllable by adjusting the height of the camera.
 
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