behind the scenes: DIY Lowel Lights

  I've mentioned my new artificial lighting a couple times now with the promise to share a little more about it soon. So here I am, sharing a little more about it. To recap: my original inspiration to make these lights came from this post and I used this tutorial for my lights. Full disclosure: this is NOT a full tutorial for making or shooting with these lights. There are tons of tutorials available if you're interested in making your own. I hope to share more in-depth insight in the future about shooting with these lights, but I can really only offer some preliminary thoughts and example shots this point.

In these first few photos, you get a close up look at the lights themselves. I decided to make two lights because I've always worked with two lights in my lightbox, and I love the way that you can create soft shadows a lot more easily with two lights than one light.

I added some removable white cotton to diffuse the light. It's awesome to have lights that are so much more powerful than my lightbox lights (400W total as opposed to 120W total), but I don't want the lighting to be harsh. The cotton attaches with Velcro so it's really easy to put it on and take it off as needed.

I have a new set up for these lights, but it's also really easy to move them around the house and shoot in other locations, as I did here in my kitchen.

Here are just a few examples of shots with the new lights. As I said before, it's still way too early to talk too much about shooting with these lights, but I plan to revisit the topic in the future.

I have three new backdrops: large ceramic tiles, faux chalkboard, and faux wood. Ceramic tiles of all sizes, colors, and finishes are readily available at any home improvement store at very affordable prices. You can read more about the other two backdrops over here.

This is a sneak peek of the first finished sample for my second ebook. I'll be posting more about that in the coming months, too.

Have you bought or made any new photography equipment lately? What photography skills are you working on right now?

Share your thoughts with a review!

To those of you who have purchased and promoted Jewelry and Other Small Item Tabletop Product Photography over the past month, thank you! It means the world to me that so many people have been so supportive of my first ebook.

If you've ever bought something online, most likely you read some reviews first or at least checked the item or shop's star rating. I can say good things about my book all day, but it isn't the same as having a customer share detailed insights about the benefits of the book.

This is where I need your help. If you've already written a review on Etsy or Amazon, thanks! If you haven't written a review, it's never too late. Taking just a couple minutes to leave a star rating and share your opinion goes a long way toward driving more sales.

I'm offering a $10 coupon code* to anyone who reviews my ebook that is good for my jewelry shop or my photography shop. (*You must spend a minimum of $11 to redeem the code. This is Etsy's policy, not mine.) Simply send me a link to the published review, and I'll send you the coupon code.

Please note: You can only write an Etsy review if you've purchased the book on Etsy. You can write an Amazon review whether or not you've bought the book through the site.

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/221686201/pdf-ebook-jewelry-and-other-small-item

If you use the above Amazon link as opposed to any other Amazon link to purchase the book, I make a few more cents off the purchase because it's linked to my Amazon Affiliate account.

Thanks in advance for your reviews!

It's here!

I'm so proud to announce that my first ebook, Jewelry and Other Small Item Tabletop Product Photography: Tips, Tricks, and Advice to Help You Take Stellar Product Photos, is now
 for sale. In 33 pages, I explain everything that you need to know about small item product photography from buying a camera to selecting backdrops to editing photos. With more than 50 product photo examples, you have tons of visuals to help you take your own photos to the next level.

You can buy it on Amazon and Etsy.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jewelry-Other-Tabletop-Product-Photography-ebook/dp/B00THB4XU6

Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/221686201/pdf-ebook-jewelry-and-other-small-item

Please note that you don't need a Kindle to buy the Amazon Kindle version. If you don't own one, simply download the free Kindle app on any Android or Apple device.

After you buy the book, please take a couple extra seconds to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+. This little gesture goes a long way toward supporting my efforts. Thank you!

Sign up for my new book mailing list!

I'm so excited to announce that I'm releasing my first ebook - Jewelry and Other Small Item Tabletop Product Photography: Tips, Tricks, and Advice to Help You Take Stellar Product Photos - later this winter. Many of you know that this has been a long time coming, and the start of the new year was the push that I needed to finally make it happen.

You can read more about the upcoming release, including a breakdown of the topics in the book, and sign up for my brand new book mailing list right here. I'll be sending out periodic updates about the book, including the official release date so that you can make sure to get your hands on a copy as soon as possible. Sign up today so that you don't miss out on any of the news about the release.

first shots with the 100mm lens

I recently got an unexpected opportunity to borrow a 100mm macro lens for free for an unspecified period of time. Some of you know that a 100mm is one of my wish list lens. For those who are curious, I'm borrowing the older (and less expensive) version. While there are so many neat possibilities for a macro lens, the biggest reason that I want one at this point is because I'm not satisfied with what either of my current lens can do in terms of product photography. The question is whether or not the 100mm is a better solution and if so, whether or not I can justify the price.

It will take a lot more than a couple days to answer that question, but I wanted to share some of my first shots with the lens. I'll continue to share input on this topic over the next couple months.

I recently got a wholesale order of earring wire that should hold me for the next couple years.

Of course I also had to cut some new earring cards to go with said earring wire and all of the new earrings that I have in the works.

I have been restocking celestial designs the past month. Right now you can purchase bracelets and earrings in four color palettes: blue, purple, purple / pink, and black / silver.

This lovely piece will finally be in the shop very shortly.

 I will take the 100mm on excursions this summer to do more extensive outdoor shooting, but I did a little outdoor shooting with it in my yard over the weekend.

 

Of course I had to try out the new lens with my kitties. These next two shots are of Apollo who is the only one of the three who will sit still long enough for me to focus manually on his face.

While I was taking the outdoor shots, the next door neighbor white kitty was watching me.

If you have a macro lens, please feel free to share your input on it in the comments!

life lately

 

 

What's been going on your way lately?

product photography ebook: terminology...I need some more input!

Thank you to everyone who has given me feedback thus far about my product photography ebook either on this blog or elsewhere! It means a lot to me that so many people have provided detailed input. With your continued help, I'll be able to keep pushing forward with this idea.

In my first post about the book, I threw out the suggestion of including a glossary / terminology section near the beginning. To recap, it's very easy for me to forget that a few years ago, I was unfamiliar with most basic photography terms such as white balance and aperture. I want my book to be accessible to new and veteran photographers alike. Many of you agreed that including a glossary would be beneficial.

As this book has a specific photography focus, I don't think that it's necessary to create a comprehensive glossary with every common photography term out there. Instead I want to detail terms that are relevant to product photography and provide product photo examples.

This is what I've come up with so far. (In no particular order. Bear with me.)

• ISO. What it is, how to adjust it on your camera, ideal settings for product photography. Photo examples: different ISO levels.
• White balance. Daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc. What these settings mean, how to select the right one. Photo examples: different white balance settings. I'll also discuss how if you're shooting in RAW with a DSLR, you don't have to select a white balance in camera because you can select one post process (aka editing in Lightroom / Photoshop), which gives you a lot more control.
• Macro. What it is, how to find the macro setting on point and shoot cameras, why you should use it for product photography.
• Depth of field. As depth of field is closely related to macro and aperture, I'm not sure if I need to include separate photo examples for all three terms. Thoughts?
• Rule of thirds. There are a number of common composition rules, such as leading lines, that I don't think need a lot of discussion in a product photography book. However, I think that rule of thirds is important for certain types of product shots. Additionally, getting used to thinking about the rule of thirds will improve your photography in general, which in turn, will improve your product shots. I'll include photo examples of how I use the rule of thirds for my product shots.
• Bokeh. What it is, how you can use it when shooting with a shallow depth of field / using the macro setting. Photo examples of bokeh in product photography.
• Noise. What it is, why you want to avoid it, how to avoid it with examples of clear versus noisy shots.
• Negative space. Negative space doesn't necessarily have the same definition for product photos that it does for many other types of photography such as landscape and portraiture. However, it can be a big issue with product photos, and it's one of the easier problems to fix. Photo examples of unnecessary negative space.
• Symmetry. Or lack thereof. I'll talk about the importance of centering a product or purposely making it off center (think: rule of thirds) with photo examples.
• Aperture. Whether or not you're shooting with a DSLR and adjusting aperture settings, it's important to be aware of the concept and learn how to control your depth of field. I will include examples of different aperture settings and explain how they relate to depth of field (i.e. X aperture produces a shallow depth of field). You can see set of aperture examples at Playful Cooking to get an idea of what type of examples I'll provide for aperture.
• Shutter speed. What it is, how to find the best shutter speed for your product photography if you're shooting with a DSLR with photo examples of different settings.
• Exposure triangle. There are other names for this concept, but it involves the relationship of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. As I was putting this post together, I found a great diagram about the exposure triangle on Flickr. Learning this relationship is key to having complete control over your photos.

Finally, there are lots of editing terms. As I'm going to have a lot of explanation and advice about editing, I think that I can explain them as I come to them in the book. However, if there are editing terms that you think that I should include in the glossary, let me know.

Please leave your feedback!

What do you think of these terms? What else do I need to include? Is there anything that I need to tweak?

product photography...I need your input for my ebook!

I have mentioned a couple times now that one of my strategies for building passive income in 2014 is going to be writing and publishing a ebook. This notion still scares me a lot because it's brand new territory, and it may not go anywhere, but I need to make the plunge. I'm getting my initial outline together in a readable format that I can now develop. Before I go much further, I want to get some input.

The book is going to be about product photography, specifically SMALL items. It won't necessarily be jewelry specific even though that's what I know best because that's too narrow. But it will not cover photographing items like clothing and paintings because I have no experience with that whatsoever. So the first question is what keywords / phrases should I include in the title for a small item product photography ebook?

The very first section of the book will be a what this book is / what this book is not thing. These are my thoughts thus far.

What this book is

• simple advice that is accessible for both new and veteran product photographers
  
• advice and personal recommendations for purchasing both point and shoot and DSLR cameras
  
• basic information about shooting product photos including lighting, styling, multiple angles, and highlighting different features
  
• specific examples for props and backgrounds / backdrops
  
• easy to follow tutorials for basic editing programs, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements
  
• tips for Etsy and similar websites include the photo format and thumbnails

What this book is not

• pushy advice about buying an DSLR and expensive software and other photography products (i.e. props, lights)
  
• advanced tutorials intended solely for DSLR users who have Lightroom and/or Photoshop / Photoshop Elements
  

As someone who shoots product photo, does this make sense? Is there anything that you would or would not want to see in either of these sections?

I'm also considering including a terminology section early in the book. It's extremely easy for me to forget that I had no idea what common photography terms like ISO or RAW meant a few years ago. If this book is going to be accessible for new photographers, I think that terminology would be beneficial. Thoughts?

From there, I've roughly outlined the following sections. I'm keeping it pretty bare bones here, not because I don't want to give anything away but because I don't want to limit the suggestions. I think that it will be easier for people to brainstorm their own ideas without my own initial thoughts getting in the way.

• Why good product photos are important, even if you don't sell online
• My recommendations / advice for purchasing point and shoot and DSLR cameras
• Getting started (learning the settings, experimenting)
• Lighting basics
• Shooting multiple angles / highlighting different features
• Props / backgrounds / backdrops / styling
• Creating a permanent shooting spot which may or may not include a lightbox with tips about building or buying a lightbox
• Cropping / editing basics
• Etsy-specific tips
• Should I upgrade to a DSLR?
• Tips for shooting with a DSLR
• Editing in RAW

I would appreciate advice about any and all of these sections and anything else that you think that I should include.

Thank you in advance!

Saturday Link List

Welcome to this week's edition of my link list.  Enjoy!

How to Use Google Alerts for Niche Marketing by Jeffrey Neal

I don't even remember how I came across this hub, but it's a really neat idea.  I'm really not familiar with Google Alerts.  Even if I were, I never would have thought to use it like this before.  It's a great way to follow the latest information about specific products that you make on Etsy, topics for hubs/blogs/etc. that you write about, and so many other things.

Tutorial: Make a Long Stem Felt Rose

How could I resist posting this one, right?  The materials are inexpensive, and the process is pretty straight forward.  This would be a wonderful gift for a mom or pretty much any female in your family.  You can get adventurous and make a whole bouquet.  They would be wonderful for a wedding, too.

Taking Pictures of Your Ceramic Pottery from Handmadeology

I know that there are not a lot of readers here that make pottery, but there are a lot of great photo tips here that anyone using product photography will be able to carry over for their own work.  Among other things, this post considers backgrounds, angles, and lighting.  I really want one of those tabletop tripods now!

White Bean and Chicken Chili from ScarboroughSeashells

Tara has lots of great tutorials on her blog, including a number of recipes.  I've been trying to post a lot of summer time recipes, but I'm switching it up this week with her chili.  Lately I've been using white kidney beans instead of garbanzos for my homemade hummus, which has been amazing.  When I saw that this recipe included white kidney beans, I had to keep reading.  With the addition of chicken, garlic, and onions, what more to do you need?

Getting the Word Out from Duni's Studio

Those of us who have been following Duni's blog the last few years are really excited that she finally opened up an Etsy shop late 2010.  You can see it here.  Duni shares some great promotional tips in this post, including a couple web sites that I had not visited before.  I know that we can all use some inspiration when it comes to promoting.  Thanks Duni!