Food and Product Photography

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Doug Simon

Food product photography is fascinating. Take a pile of grains, seeds or powder and find the best arrangement of the pile. How to sprinkle just the right amount of spread, where to stop the bulk of product and control powder spillage is critical. Stacking the chunky ingredients begins with balancing the chunks, then rearranging to create the visual look of the interesting sides and of course the crumbs. It takes a fair amount of time to get some test shots for the client to choose from. There is a beauty in ingredients!

Equipment Used:
Canon 5d Mark III
Canon Macro Lens EF100mm f/2.8
Multiple Softboxes
Multiple Gradients
paper funnels, small brushes

Food Product Styling

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

Jewelry Photographer in Tucson

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Doug Simon

Product on white photography is at its best when jewelry is the object. The gorgeous reflective surfaces create light magic on their own. Adding photographic lighting which is then manipulated to capture the most interesting reflection is the fun part. Every nuance of the camera changes the drama. That also makes it one of the most challenging product photography sessions. So many choices!

…and waiting until the necklace stops swinging!
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon Macro Lens EF100mm f/2.8
Softbox with gradient
Rotolight
Back lit

Product Branding Photography

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Doug Simon

Product logos are an investment and well thought out. As your business grows your logo becomes your brand (think old western movies). When expanding your advertising into merchandise your photography needs change a little. For our health supplement client the next step was t-shirts, hoodies, totes and facial masks.

While the lighting tools are the same the configuration of the light sources and modifiers changes substantially. We still used one softbox for continuous lighting, scrims to direct light and foam core for bounce. Shot using a Canon 24-70mm lens and a Canon 5d Mark 3 camera.

Gemstone Jewelry Photography

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Doug Simon

Jewelry photography requires a lot of time for trial and adjustment. Gemstones are often translucent so the lighting is critical to capture the many shades and the way the human eye will perceive it when worn. Manipulating the backlighting is key coupled with light modifiers to direct the light.

No flash was used. The difficulty in photographing jewelry is the highly reflective surfaces. With more stones and beveled cuts the number of reflections multiply. We used one softbox for continuous lighting, scrims to create gradients and foam core for bounce. Shooting an entire product line with few “like-products” requires a new setup for each piece.

Shot using a Canon f2.8 100mm Macro lens and a Canon 5D Mark 3 camera.

Health Food Bottles – Product on White

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Doug Simon

Dark glass bottles shot on white background are a challenge. (The largest bottle above is plastic.) The goal is to manipulate a soft subtle reflection on the face of the glass. Backlight was critical to bring out the depth of the bottle without blowing it out. The backlight had to be focused and controlled. We shot 90 products in a range of sizes all light modifiers had to be adjusted for each size and shape.

We used no flash, multiple diffusers, continuous lighting, 100mm 2.8 Canon Macro lens and one softbox.

Product Photography on White with Multiple Angles

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Doug Simon

Some products are just gorgeous due to their exterior surface. This diamond pattern is lovely! The reflective nature is the tough part about photographing this product. Our client is launching a new product line with two sizes of this unit. They also wanted to show the quality of craftsmanship, details and a product styled use image.

Product styling always sounds simple: Grab some items and stack them inside. The last thing you want for your product is distraction from the unit. In this case we discussed colors of soda, lid options, choice of cans, what to put on the top rack, position of the labels and making sure everything was “balanced” to the eye–and keep these items from moving/rolling. Attention to detail pays off in a well laid out composition and the product “shines”. In this case–it always shines!

Reflective products (glass, metal, jewelry, high gloss acrylic products) offer challenges. Once the lighting is in place-then you begin to block out reflections you don’t want – inclusive of the photographer in the product. Controlling the light to not blow out the high reflection, yet show off that very shiny surface we all love. The diamond metal pattern here controlled some of the typical hot spots. We were also able to make use of massive overhead natural lighting and several white reflectors to obtain an even product surface look. Working all of the elements together takes a lot of time. We spend more time setting up a shot, than shooting, typically. Shooting multiple angles meant repositioning everything (continuous lighting, white reflectors, c-stands, every clothes pin and re-taping) with each change of angle, and the second unit.

When you’re selling online any product photography should include an all-the-parts shot, manuals included. Let prospective clients know what’s in the box. We’ve also been asked to edit the photos adding the dimensions for clients. Make it easy for people to buy your product!

Continuous Lighting
Natural Lighting
White Reflectors
Canon 24-70mm 2.8 Lens
Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro Lens

Product Photographer in Tucson Arizona

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Doug Simon

We shot a full line of industrial lighting products at the manufacturing plant. From overhead lighting you see in commercial retail stores and manufacturing plants to stylized industrial quality hanging pendant lights and solid metal exterior parking lot lights this was an extensive catalog. Some of the lighting products measured nearly 9 feet in length.

Shooting against a backdrop we used existing light which was a mix of tungsten and fluorescent light. We used a 5′ x 5′ scrim to soften the overhead skylight. By trial and error we shot with automatic exposure, viewed each product for accuracy and adjusted as needed to match our eye. Once we began photo editing we had a great reference which gave us a perfect color match. This was the most efficient way to shoot the products within an 8 hour day. Crucial to time management in a product shoot like this is having an employee of the client on hand to move product.

Industrial Hanging Pendant Lights

Business Photographer in Tucson Arizona

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Doug Simon

Business Photographer in Tucson, AZ
Douglas Simon Photography has relocated to Tucson, Arizona. We’re serving the Tucson and Phoenix area throughout Pima, Maricopa and Cochise counties.

We’ll be continuing to serve our California clients.

Many of our product photography clients are shipping their product lines to us and the rest of the process is the same using email/phone and digital transfer of images. We look forward to continuing our relationship with everyone. Of course, we can handle all your photo editing and composite photography needs.

If you have a need for onsite photography don’t hesitate to call or email with details as we will be returning to Southern California for photo and video sessions.

Please note our NEW phone: 520-367-4402

Our email address hasn’t changed.

We thank you all for your business over the years,
Doug & Brenda
Ph 520.367.4402
PO Box 23181
Tucson, AZ 85724-3181

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.

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Category Archives: Catalog Photography