Product Photography: On Location
Product photography for large products, or for those too delicate or valuable to send through the post, can be a challenge. If it can’t be sent or brought to the studio, can you still get studio-quality images? Yes, you can - it just needs a different approach, the right equipment, and a photographer able to adapt to conditions that might not quite be ideal.
Case Study #1 - Outdoor Furniture Photography
Leamington Spa-based outdoor furniture manufacturer/supplier Woodberry wanted to gauge customer opinion of a new style of bench seat they were developing. The solid wood, metal and glass construction of the bench made it difficult to move about, and the lights inside the glass-filled leg columns meant that their attempts to take a photo with mobile phones had not been successful. They were either getting shots where the wooden top was properly exposed, but the illuminated glass legs were completely blown out (so bright that no detail was visible), or so that the legs were OK but everything else was so dark it was impossible to see what the bench looked like. On top of that, the workshop visible in the background was distracting.
To solve these problems, I set up my portable studio lights to throw a soft wash of light over the wooden benchtop and pick out the metal cage legs, then controlled the camera settings so that the illuminated glass “rocks” showed up as lit, but not over-bright. The additional benefit of using precise lighting in this way is that the busy background disappears into darkness, and even the chipped and scratched floor of the workshop comes into its own as an interesting, textured surface, giving the whole image a classy, premium feel.
Case Study #2 - Cast Iron Fire Pit
Product photography for heavy items brings its own challenges. This cast iron fire pit weighed in at around 25kg, which although not heavy enough to require specialist lifting equipment, meant it was too heavy to post economically to the Foxlight studio. Fortunately, the Leamington Spa branch of BPS GardenForce had an example on display and were happy for me to come into store and set up a temporary studio. With a white paper-roll background, a pair of lights and a reflector, I was able to use a corner of the showroom to get the required e-commerce product photographs on a white background, showing the overall look and key details of the fire pit. I was also able to use one of the mocked-up patio display areas and some chairs, fake plants, and other bits to create a “lifestyle” shot to show the fire pit in context - all without taking the product out of the shop.
Case Study #3 - Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Boxes
Photography for fresh produce is another case where it’s usually not practical to send the items to the photographer, due to the risk of damage en-route and the possibility of fruit or vegetables going from ready-to-eat deliciousness to overripe mush if it is delayed in transit. In this case, the client was a chef looking to launch a local fruit and veg delivery service, and needing photographs of both the box that customers could buy and more portrait-style images of himself too, as he was to be the “face” of the brand. We arranged to do the shoot at Oldberrow Manor. Unfortunately, the majority of my time there coincided with a heavy downpour of rain, which meant we had to do most of the shoot indoors. We had the use of a newly converted office (so newly converted, in fact, that the paint on the walls was still wet and there were wires sticking out where the sockets were going to be!). But with my portable lighting set-up, I was able to turn the room into a temporary studio for the posed shots, and grab some detail shots of the box itself outside in-between the showers.
These are just a few examples of how product photography on-location can present unexpected challenges, or at least call for a more adaptable approach than the controlled environment of the studio. The problem-solving element of product photography is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much — so if you have an item, or a range of products, big or small, that needs to be photographed, please get in touch.
