Product Lighting

I'm currently working on product shots for a machine shop. The owner wants them to "look sexy!"

I'm not sure what sexy looks like in metal parts, but here's the current effort.



Shot w/ Canon 30D w/ EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro at f/10 1/200 ISO 100.

Lit with 3 studio strobes, one in a 24 X 36 softbox directly over head, one in a 24 X 36 softbox off camera right, almost parallel to the face of the part, and one with a 7" reflector and 20 deg. honeycomb grid behind left to create the specular highlight in the holes.

Shooting these pictures is much like shooting a portrait, each requires evaluation to see which is the "best side" and then to determine a lighting approach.

This is the 3rd in the series, but the first to have the PP complete, including removal of the support.

I'm new to this sort of photography so take it with a grain of salt but I would find this "sexier" if it had a bit more dimensionality to it somehow. Now how do you go about doing that? I don't know. It just looks a bit flat to me in this shot. How large is this piece anyway? Would it perhaps fit inside a lightbox that you might have access to? I'm anxious to see response from some others that actually know what they are talking about. I do like this image by the way, I just feel that there is a way for you to make it much stronger visually.
James Newman

The object is <2" (50mm) in diameter, and approximately 1/4" (7mm) thick.

A light tent makes the object look even less dimensional because it completely removes the highlights and shadows. This one, though from a different angle, is lit with flat even light.

Chas

you might produce the spec. highlights just with small mirrors or reflectors, to make the light a bit less equal, and add a reflector at the left, to avoid that black °hole°

From metal, the human eye expects the highlights nearly burned out. So the overall might be brighter: lifting up the diagonal of the curves already helps.

The position of the object is fine...

Bonsoir Charles

I gave a try to the 1st pic to see what sexy could mean…

I'm not sure I succeeded better, but i tried ;-)



Highlight and shadow menu (shadow only + midtone sharpen)
Saturation (general + yellow)
overall sharpening

Hi Charles,

Lovely, photos of machinery for a change. Want to make it look sexy? Have it reclining on a bed of velvet, treasure it, treat it more than jewellery, it is the guy's creation, worship at its feet. Its not easy making it look sexy on its own, you need two to tango, etc. You could half dress it in 'fishnet stockings' (well the stretchy plastic mesh used to protect polished components), use some make-up, whatever. Set it by a steaming pool of cutting fluid, or in some background setting that is unusual - gravel, grass, fur, whatever.

So, do the straightforward product shot, but then let your minimalist tendencies get hold. (I'm not sure if he wants the machining marks removed, depends on the destination.)

Best wishes,

Ray

Hi, Nicolas,

Nicolas Claris said:

I gave a try to the 1st pic to see what sexy could mean…

Click to expand...

That is a really nice rework (although I mean no disrespect to the original, which is lovely).