Beginner Confused

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burningcotton

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Hi,

I am very new to photography and need to take my own images of products that we put for sale on our site.

At the moment I am using a point & shoot (Nikon coolpix S3500) and it definitely needs to upgraded. Not sure whether to get a better point & shoot or to go entry DSLR?

Also I am on a tight budget.

Any recommendations?

Sorry if the above makes no sense.

Thank You
 
Products ? size shape and the quality of photos needs to be taken into consideration. Will the image be clickable to zoom into, you would then need quite a hi-res image to begin with. I would, if the product is medium sized, ie table top, purchase a light tent. They provide an even lightfield to obtain smooth lighting across the product. A tripod would also make good sense. I would try first with the camera you have.
 
How many products? Given that you are presumably selling a product that needs to look good and by the time you have bought a camera amd learnt to use it and how to light the products and bought the kit and set up a small temporary studio that will take time and learning to do and more kit, and then theres the software needed to process the images to make them look nice and the experience of using it so that the image looks really nice on your website.
I'm sorry if I sound slightly cynical, I'm not really but depending on what you need it may just be cheaper and quicker to pay somebody who knows what they are doing
 
There will be quite a few products, all mainly small (fits in the palm of your hand). I have a tabletop light tent, purchased a cube one, and using a Nikon Coolpix S3500 to take the photo's but they dont quite come out as clear as I need them to. A lot of places recommend a DSLR but i'm not sure.

The photo's do have a zoom in function once listed.
 
Its not the camera....theres a reason profesional product photogrpahers exist :)

might be worth youtube product photogrpahy and you can see what i mean..
 
OK, you're on a tight budget, but what does that mean? How much do you want to spend on this?
 
KIPAX said:
Its not the camera....theres a reason profesional product photogrpahers exist :)

might be worth youtube product photogrpahy and you can see what i mean..
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This^

The magic doesn't happen in the box.

I appreciate you might not want to learn to create billboard quality adverts, but illustrating the quality of products requires some understanding of lighting.
 
As above, I'm betting it will work out to cheaper to get someone to do it for you, then to buy a DSLR and everything you need. Go through the long learning curve how to use it and you still probably won't get as sellable pics anyway. And quality photography does make a difference to how much you sell.
 
A mate of mine sells lots of motorbike stuff on #$@& auction site, he knew I have a couple of cameras and like taking photos. He asked me to take photos for him, and upload them to the site. I did for a little while, but I soon got miffed. He was making money while I supplied the photography for free, I soon stopped doing that as he never gave me anything for my efforts. it started off as a bit of fun for me, but quickly felt like unpaid work !
 
jonbeeza said:
A mate of mine sells lots of motorbike stuff on #$@& auction site, he knew I have a couple of cameras and like taking photos. He asked me to take photos for him, and upload them to the site. I did for a little while, but I soon got miffed. He was making money while I supplied the photography for free, I soon stopped doing that as he never gave me anything for my efforts. it started off as a bit of fun for me, but quickly felt like unpaid work !
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Did you ask him about payment? It sounds as if you were quite happy to do this for him at first, and it may not have crossed his mind that you might have started thinking you should get something out of it.
 
MartynK said:
Did you ask him about payment? It sounds as if you were quite happy to do this for him at first, and it may not have crossed his mind that you might have started thinking you should get something out of it.
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No because it started off as, can you do me a favour and take a couple of photos of these for me. Then, it was any chance a couple of photos of these etc. It started off taking a couple of photos of a motorbike, then quickly onto taking loads of photos of bikes broken up, and all the spare parts.He always complained of being skint, so he said he could not afford dropping me a few quid. Not so much of a close mate any more, soon p****d me off he did.
 
burningcotton said:
£200 to £300.
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Are you shooting e-cig vaping bits and pieces? Just your user-name - burning cotton ;)

If so, to do that job properly is not easy - very small bits and pieces, shiny metal, on a white background. I've spent a fair time on e bay and Amazon looking at those and the quality of photography varies hugely but it's so important, especially zoomed in when you need to see the detail. If I can't see what I need to see, I don't buy. There's also something reassuring about buying from a seller that has taken the trouble to do things properly.

You could do it with the Nikon S3500, just about, at the long end of the zoom, a light tent and tripod, but it needs a fair amount of skill in lighting, with the final polish in post-processing. Without that, you're stuffed - the camera is almost irrelevant.

The other thing is, even when you have all the skills and equipment, it takes time setting everything up, arranging the items carefully, covering all the angles needed, making small adjustments for every item, and then post-processing. It's not a five minute job.

There's nothing to stop you acquiring those skills, if you have the time, and you'll get a lot of help on here, but there's a lot more to it than just buying a DSLR.
 
jonbeeza said:
No because it started off as, can you do me a favour and take a couple of photos of these for me. Then, it was any chance a couple of photos of these etc. It started off taking a couple of photos of a motorbike, then quickly onto taking loads of photos of bikes broken up, and all the spare parts.He always complained of being skint, so he said he could not afford dropping me a few quid. Not so much of a close mate any more, soon p****d me off he did.
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Never happened to me in a photography context, but I know what you mean. Favours quickly turn into expectations...
 
burningcotton said:
some do and some don't.

Overall i would prefer not to rely on them.
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That's fair enough, but it's quite a learning curve to do this well. It's not just about buying a camera, it's about learning how to light and shoot products.
 
burningcotton said:
£200 to £300.
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If you are set on the DSLR route you could do worse than a second hand 20D* (about 70 notes), with a 50mm f1.8 (about 50 notes second hand), and spend the rest of your budget on a tripod and a couple of flash guns and radio triggers. (*the proviso here being the assumption that the shots are for internet use, the 20D is a good camera despite its age, but at 8Mp you aren't going to be producing huge files fit for billboard printing)

that said I agree with whats been said so far - the real issue is not the kit , its learning about lighting and how to get great shots - theres a lot more to it than sticking the products in a light tent - google will give you a big list of videos (some great and some less so)
 
big soft moose said:
If you are set on the DSLR route you could do worse than a second hand 20D* (about 70 notes), with a 50mm f1.8 (about 50 notes second hand), and spend the rest of your budget on a tripod and a couple of flash guns and radio triggers. ...
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As a straight 'kit' answer this is about right and has given me an idea.
 
Actually this reminds me of the guy who came here having bought a D800e to shoot products, then wanted to buy a cheap lens and had no budget for lighting :eek:. Talk about a complete arse about face of prioritisation.
 
Well you will be glad to hear that I have been messing around a bit more with lighting. I've been using a portable table tent with three lights (side to side and top). Even with the Nikon coolpix i have, it is pretty good.

I think I will look at some better lighting and a better camera that can pick up more up close details.

Also, the photo's dont need to be big to fill billboards so I think i'm safe there.

Thanks
 
I know this industry very well and my advice would be to use any manufacturer stock photos that are floating about. Models change so quick that it's often more hassle than it's worth to take your own pics and will be doubly hard for you with your current lack of experience and proper kit. There's no harm in having it as a longer term goal though.

I'll hunt down a handy tutorial on taking product photos on a budget, made by one of the vaping bloggers/reviewers I've had dealings with and will post it up
 
driver_wedge said:
I know this industry very well and my advice would be to use any manufacturer stock photos that are floating about. Models change so quick that it's often more hassle than it's worth to take your own pics and will be doubly hard for you with your current lack of experience and proper kit. There's no harm in having it as a longer term goal though.

I'll hunt down a handy tutorial on taking product photos on a budget, made by one of the vaping bloggers/reviewers I've had dealings with and will post it up
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Thanks, that would be very helpful
 
I disagree totally. One thing that is absolutely vital is to get complete consistency, and manufacturer's stock photos will be in different styles and will make your website look a complete mess.

I'll just echo what other people have said - it's all about the lighting, whatever you do don't produce the crappy bland shots that results from light tents with fixed lighting, get a proper studio lighting kit and learn how to use it.
 
Lighting, lighting, lighting. The camera matters not a jot, as long as it can focus close enough to shoot the stuff you need and it doesn't produce dreadful Image quality.
 
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