Gemstone Photography and Composite

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Doug Simon

The annual Gemstone Show was back with its regular month schedule for February 2022!

Our client wanted a layout with raw turquoise stones, the caliper and a polished stone, but with some sort of staging. We suggested using a stock background as a great affordable choice to create a wow factor for website photography. The original stock image provided the texture and grit; and photo editing layered on eye catching dimension. We shot a catalog of turquoise gemstones, but the lighting for the unprocessed turquoise and caliper required lighting adjustment and filtering.

Equipment Used:
Canon 5d Mark III
Canon Macro Lens EF100mm f/2.8
Multiple Softboxes
Multiple Gradients

Amazon Product Photographer

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Doug Simon

Amazon Product Size Reference

Product photography on Amazon has required the product’s background to be pure white with a hex number of 255, 255, 255. This is still standard, but Amazon has broadened product images to include lifestyle photos and staging shots. These allow the seller to show their product in a setting it will be used (staging image) or a person interacting with the product (lifestyle image).
Camaro Product Staging
Our client needed his very small hidden camera in a staging setting, where from a distance it is unlikely to be easily seen and in multiple settings to show its diversity. In addition to stating the measurements in his product details he wanted a visual reference to show the size of his camera. For this purpose, he chose a silver dollar (top image).
Product Staging with Inset

The product and interior staging shots photos were shot using a Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens with continuous fluorescent lighting. The exterior auto staged photo was shot with natural light, angling the car for optimum use of sunlight.

Product on Black Acrylic

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Doug Simon

Product on Black Acrylic Staged

This innovative speaker design offers stunning sound. The product photography needed to reflect the mood.

The photographer used two Arri 650T fresnel lights with 300 watt bulbs and two Matthews 48″ x 48″ artificial silk scrims, 1.6 stops. Also used a Rotolight NEO matching the Arri tungsten temperature for the top of the speaker.
Canon 5D MarkIII
Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens

We used a sheet of black acrylic to create a classic look. There is nothing in the background, but shooting at a 9.0 aperture kept the product in sharp focus while turning the background completely black. This shot is straight out of the camera, no Photoshop adjustments or editing.

Speaker on Black

Simple Product Staging on Black Acrylic

The designer requested a size perspective so we added wine glasses for a simple staged product image.

Jewelry Lifestyle Photography

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Doug Simon

Lifestyle jewelry photos are a great asset to show off your jewelry collection and add “eye candy” to your website. Showing your jewelry worn breathes warmth and personal connection to your gemstone jewelry – rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. This session was shot at the jeweler’s store within a two hour window.
Lifestyle Jewelry Photography
These lifestyle images were shot using a Paul C Buff Beauty Dish with a 20% grid using an Einstein studio flash, hand held reflector and a Canon 24-70 mm lens.
Gemstone Necklace
We also shot environmental jewelry product pieces in a couple of settings. Creating a stunning bokeh background to set off the sparkling gemstones.

A tight crop (below) brings the ring forward.
Jewelry Product Photography
This diamond ring (below) was set into a succulent. We manipulated the image with photo editing to keep the focus on the ring. These product images were shot using a Rotolight and a 100mm 2.8 Canon lens.

Environmental Product Photography

Flat Lay Product Photographer in Orange County

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Doug Simon

Flat Lay Product

For flat lay product photography an overhead camera rigging system with an HD monitor gives the Macro lens the flat, level shooting plane for tack sharp focus. We lit using 2 soft boxes and a quarter stop 48 inch scrim with a 3rd flash behind.

Sequined Bikini Product Photorgapher

The sequins took a bit of light modifying, to maintain the jewel tones without blowing them out. We used foam core to create a box to channel the light.

Swimsuit Photographer

Flat lay product photography requires one essential tool for setup: pins. Lots of pins, lots of foam-core layers and additional time. Spandex can be a bit of a wrestle due to the elasticity, but pinning does the trick.

Slider Layouts

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Doug Simon

Slider Layouts and Editing
Our client was multi-tasking. Just as he realized he had the product photography images in multiple angles covered, he realized he needed the “pretty” images for his website. Sliders are a popular advertising element on websites currently. To stay ahead of competitors go beyond using image only sliders. We create display ad layouts and created these for specific dimensions saving additional time and expense for our client.

Slider Ad Layout

Photo Editing and Ad Layouts

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Doug Simon

Lipstaick Ad Layout
Single business owners wear multiple hats. Recognizing the value of professional product photography is the beginning for many. Single product images are great for e-commerce catalogs. When your website or print ads need that wow factor or layout for your advertising campaign message we can help.

We offer editing and layouts. Working with images from inception we excel at bringing balance within a frame, whether it is framing with a camera lens or editing your photo to keep the focus on your product or services. We can combine multiple images, add backgrounds, extract products for stunning layouts.

Cosmetic Photo layout
These cosmetics were all shot for the product description e-commerce. This layout showcases the branding suitable to stand alone on a website or can be extended to add a marketing message.

Captioned Product on White
This captioned image served the seller to get more detail visually onto Amazon’s platform.

When refreshing your branding you may be juggling web designers, print ads, new logo, painters, vehicles painted and more. In this case the photo session was ahead of the logo painter for the building. We were able to work from the logo Illustrator files to add to the photo and maintain realism and save time for the client.

Photo Editing Logo onto Building

Professional Photographer Tips

Take Better Photos

Category Archives: Ad Layouts