bellflory

These aren't actually ready to photograph, they aren't pressed and stuffed etc. but it's an example of the types I make. They vary from small passport sized to airplane carry-on size. The colors and textures of the leather and fabrics vary a lot too. I can see that my lighting is really poor. The backdrop is just my dining room wall. Thanks for taking the time to help me!

boydcrochet

Camera isn't as important as light, second is lens, camera is third.

Small sensors have large depth of fields. A point & shoot with 1" sensor. Panasonic Lumix is an excellent choice. But so is a used Nikon D300 with Nikon 105mm. I don't like the suggestion of shorter than a 60mm. The longer the focal length the easier it is to limit glare. You'll need a CPL too, cuts glare.

But I encourage you to learn some photography. You are selling art, correct? To translate that to a picture deserves more than an accurate representation. It's not easy to find a photographer that will add value to your work, but they are out there and worth the price.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

From your examples I would suggest you explore 'Product Photography' and lighting options. (Especially utilizing diffused natural (Early morning/evening) light from a window, rather than a light bulb source)
Explore the different hues of 'light': The gray's and blues of early morning and the redder warmth of early evening. different materials will benefit from one or the other.

Backgrounds : You can spend a lot of time using a computer program to change an image OR you can create a 'stage' that implies a certain lifestyle. This could be wallpaper or material. Being multi purpose a Stage could save you a lot of time.

Some cameras can be linked to a laptop..(Tethered). This allows you to 'see' the image and also 'see' the effect that different poses, lighting,spritzing water, thrown confetti etc could add to the general 'effect'.

Hope this inspires rather than discourages. But what you want to achieve 'Is more than a camera'.

Have fun and good luck..

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

You products are nicely crafted. There are leathers, fabrics and metals to deal with

I don't know what kind of setup you would be prepared to construct and if you have any photo equipment to start with.

Ideally, for handbags and the other items that you mentioned, I would suggest a soft box, that is a light source that produces soft even lighting. The box acts as a difusser for the lighting unit which could be flash or continuous lighting. I would recommend LED continuous lighting gear. You could purchase a boom stand or rig something up to suspend the unit over the product. This will give you dimension and will negate the distraction reflection in the leather and metals. Fill in light can be provided by reflectors made of white Foam-Cor boards and aluminum foil. There are smaller rolls of seamless background paper in various shades and colors.

Preparing the product, as you know, is important. Stuffing handbags and arranging the shoulder straps or handles and in an attractive manner and shooting form an angle that show the thickness are all elements of good products shots. Sometimes I use clear monofilament fishing line to suspend straps over the bags.

Let me know if you are interested in setting up a fixed table-top rig and I can put together a few diagrams for a simple but effective system. If you tell me your geographic location, I can recommend a dealer where you can find some of the gear you will need or you can order it from one of the major suppliers.

You can also continue to use you living room as a background with a few refinements but the lighting is essential for good rendition of you products.

I will attach a few images of the kind of lighting gear I am suggesting.

bellflory

Yes, I think the table-top rig sounds like a good place for me to start if you have suggestions. I have no equipment except a strong LED light source that I use to sew with. I live in central Illinois, Decatur to be exact. In your opinion, should my items be photographed with staging materials? For instance, a passport wallet shot partially open with a much-stamped passport inside, or a carry-on bag shot with high-end sunglasses slipped over the pocket? When I think of taking pictures, this is where my brain goes. I know it's much more important to take a perfectly lighted and focused picture, but I know nothing about that at this point. Thank you again.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

If you look at similar articles in a magazine, a lot of thought goes into the background of the product ie 'The lifestyle' of intended purchasers. Gucci and Yachts or Barbour and shooting...Some props could simply be a 'Poster' for a high end Opera House, a laid table setting with linen, champagne and flowers or a train ticket wallet for The Orient Express.

Who is your 'ideal' customer?

Don't forget that some people like dividers and purses in their bags so showing a bag on its side with 'very nice' contents spilling out can tell two stories at once.

have fun

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

You can do a lot with a little. Check out the $10 photo studio at David Hobby's Strobist website:

https://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

One speed light (or LED maybe in your case) and some materials you may already have and start experimenting.

The specialty sections of UHH can be the mist valuable resources:

Commercial and Industrial Photography is run by an experienced commercial photographer, E.L. Shapiro. He is extremely knowledgeable and generous in sharing what he knows.

The images you posted have blur from camera motion, by the way. That can be overcome with a tripod or a fast shutter speed.

Looking at the craftsmanship that has gone into your products I think they deserve high quality photographic representation.

The True Macro-Photography and the Close Up Photography sections are full of ideas for lighting and photographing small subjects.

The strobist site that I mentioned above is an excellent and easy to understand resource for all things involving flash photography.

https://strobist.blogspot.com/

Welcome to UHH!

Mike

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I think that is a great solution...not blasphemy.

alby Loc: very eastern pa.

i have an old iphone 5s and build fishing poles and like to show the fancy but wraps and eyelet wrapping. my phone does a very fine job for what i need. if you have a newer phone it should work fine, just experiment with different lighting.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

OK! I'll put together a plan for a basic table top setup. It migh take me a day or so to sketch out a diagram or two.

Once you have a basic setup that is easy to use, you can decide on props and different backgrounds. To start off with, good, clean, sharp detailed images of the product is the best approach. When you have a product in place you can shoot a straightforward "bread and butter" image and then add othere elements to tell a story. To differentiate a passport case from an ordinary wallet, you may include a passport. Your approach also depends on how you are going to advertise. If you are going to online sales you need very clear simple shots to bring out details in the product- especially in a thumbnail image. In full screen images or brochures you can include props to create more of an illustration. If you have something in a very smooth leather, placing it on rough background ,such as barnwood, emphasizes the smoothness. As others have mentioned, meanwhile, look at catalogs and ads for similar goods and pick up some ideas.



I'll get back to you shortly.

Bill_de Loc: US

I have a Lumix LX-10. It has a 1" type 20MP sensor, 24-72mm (equivalent) lens, and a flip screen. One feature you may be interested in is in camera focus stacking. It use 4k to accomplish it. It doesn't have an optical viewfinder, but that hasn't been an issue.

https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-Megapixel-24-72mm-F1-4-2-8-DMC-LX10K/dp/B01LZHIX13

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bellflory

Yow! I just spent the last few hours sponging up the commercial and industrial photog section. I'm beginning to grasp the very edge of the scope of what I don't know!

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

For what you are doing, and with your budget, I would suggest you start with your phone, seriously. Your budget just won't get you much better than what a cell phone can do. And, posting is quite easy from a cell phone. Just sayin.
You could try the Sony HX99V, (fits your budget) but you need to shoot at it's lowest settings for posting on the internet. I just took a photo with mine at a distance showing 6 inches by 6 inches and it worked and focused fine. So again, the Sony HX99V could work for what you want to do. And outside, it has an automatic fill flash if you should need it. It also has a pop up viewfinder that would be very helpful outside.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1437917-REG/sony_dsc_hx99_b_cyber_shot_dsc_hx99_digital_camera.html?sts=pi

NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

Check out product photography on YouTube it can be a wealth of info ,watch videos from multiple people they all have the same basic info but explain it in differnt ways, I know myself I have watch hours of tutorials on bird photography from dozens of different presenters and have come away with a little bit of new knowledge every time, even if it was just one sentance in an hour video.

Make yourself a soft box and invest in a little lighting and backgrounds (bed sheets and old wool blankets come to mind as things I have laying around home already) .

You may find if you have a newer phone that that may do the trick for you. Yes there may be more expensive setups but YouTube and a cell phone and tripod could be a great place to start