RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

As a retired advertising photographer I have found good use for photography to document work in boatbuilding/repair... and to sell items on the internet. I have found that quality images can really make a difference on sites like eBay when selling restored hand planes when asking significant prices for the labor to produce such items. I thought some of these photos might be of interest to this forum simply because of their effectiveness on eBay.

The following were images of different planes that I restored from old somewhat rusty originals along with several modifications to improve performance. I used a background and lighting to emphasize the features of the restorations and to aid in getting top prices for said items. The background was the blue fabric or from a roll of white paper. The lighting was on a bright cloudy day with some fill cards and photoshop made them more impactful. I don't know if anyone is interested in product photography but these are some of my most recent shots and I thought I'd share.

The final photo was using a wide angle (11-16 ) to document the finished non-skid on the deck of a sailboat for my website.

RodB

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Bill_de Loc: US

Commercial and Industrial Photography is one of the sections on this site. They might be interested in having you as a member. If you go the the all section list, they are near the bottom.

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RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

I didn't see that on the create new topics list... thanks... I'll remember that. Can I change this category?

BrentHarder Loc: Southern California

Beautiful product shots! Your profession really shows in a nice way.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Rod I certainly appreciate the virtuosity of your stellar "product" work... Speaks volumes about the Nikon D300 series camera you deployed here... and the venerable AF 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens... This piece of kit is a solid contender at over a decade old... yes it's been that long since its release... Little wonder it was (and still is widely cherished).

I for one use this kit for half a decade albeit my "product" as a Fashion; Beauty and Bridal makeup artistry thus I worked primarily with feminine faces... and my illumination was nearly always with a beauty dish... You have done extremely well with "Mother Nature's" softbox a.k.a. bright cloudy day... Only challenge for Beauty imagery is heavy shadowing of the eye area thus fill flash is SOP for Beauty Genre in bright cloudy conditions...

btw, your last image was actually with the 18-200mm @ 18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm) f/14.0 @ 1/125 second; ISO 400.

Thank you for sharing...
I wish you well on your journey Rod

Bill_de Loc: US

You can't change the category as far as I know.

You do need to go to the section and click on subscribe. Then it will be listed when you click 'create new topic'

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Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Rod here is the exact same kit (Nikon D300 with the 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 lense) at 170.0mm (35mm equivalent: 255mm); F/14; 1/200 second; ISO 200...

Bridal Makeup Trial Session.... Illumination was with a Beauty Dish and two strip softbox kickers...
Yep, I booked the client... Lovely event... Beautiful bride...

That decade old piece of kit is totally awesome! As you are well aware...

Again thank you for sharing your "Product" artistry...
You are indeed a master of your craft Rod...

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twiceeagles

Both of you, Rod and Thomas, do beautiful work. This is some quality work. This shows that you don't have to have a gazillion mega pixels and a $6,000 camera to do awesome work.

RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

Thanks for the comments. I use photoshop on most images... It makes a difference.

RodB

RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

Thomas, thanks for the complements. BTW, these images were shot hi quality jpg, not raw. This shows the type of work people can do with a decent camera and good lenses.

I like your work too. Nice bridal shot. Remember, the lenses make the difference. I will upgrade in the future but I still haven't seen the camera I would change up to from my D300S. The D7500 would take about as good of photos as the FX cameras but I like the pro cameras with the external controls and the D500 left out some features and costs too much.
Later

RB

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Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

Lance Pearson Loc: Viriginia

nice images...

Lance Pearson Loc: Viriginia

I enjoy the photos you have. I looked at the exif data on the wooden block shot and noticed you had cranked in a strong negative -1.3 of e.v. Is that something you often do? I tend to shoot my nikon d4 at -0.3 and on strong colors like a single color flower -1.0 e.v.

what's your philosophy on using that much - e.v. or is it a function of how your sensor on that camera works best? Trying to learn from someone who has great images.

Thanks again for posting and answering.

Lance Pearson

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Rod the last image of your second set is totally at the next level... Lighting polished metal is truly a bear and you have skillfully achieved excellence here... Would love to see a lighting diagram of this image in as it has a marvelous degree of "specularity fade" to achieve an iconic look of a three-dimensional rendering... At an exposure duration of 1/10 second I'm assuming you are using continuous illumination here...

And the insert is such a touch of finesse to this lovely art work...

Looking forward to more of your stellar creativity here on UHH...

Again thank you for sharing...
I wish you well on your journey Rod...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, quality images make a difference. A friend tried to sell her car on ebay with blurry photos she took with her iPad. Not much interest in her car. : (