EYE FOCUS | FEATURE
These rules will make life easier:
• Avoid direct light as much as possible - glare on
frames and lenses can totally ruin a photo;
• Use the same colour temperature of light sources -
sunlight has a temperature of about 5000k; mixing
sunlight with artificial light will cause discoloration
in the photo which is hard to correct;
• Always diffuse light if you can - sunlight beaming in
via a window is good; sunlight being diffused via a
white sheer curtain is better;
5.
• Manage glare - direct light on lenses will produce vis-
ible glare in the photo, so try different angles for your
lighting and camera to manage it.
Tools to Level Up Your Photos
You can take great photos with a window, a tripod, and a
smartphone. If you want to take things to the next level
(without using a DSLR), try:
• Using a product photo booth - generally found for
under $100 on Amazon;
6.
• Using a ring light for even lighting - once you’ve
popped the lenses out, a ring light is an awesome light
source that provides uniform lighting;
3. People: Nothing helps people visualize themselves
wearing something better than seeing people wearing or
interacting with the something they are looking at. • Use Photoshop to correct minor faults - adjust colour
balance, remove specks of dust, and enhance contrast
to really upgrade a photo;
Photo 5 is easy to reproduce: find a place outside with a
nice colour, grab a book and take a photo. Try a variation
of the poses to mix things up. • Use the pro mode on your camera to dial in lighting
and focus - while you can’t get that incredible bokeh
shown above using a smartphone, you can get an effect
very similar by manually focusing your smartphone.
The focus in photo 6 is clearly the frames, as the model
has both a neutral expression and her hand positioned
in such a way so as to not dominate the scene. This one is
another one that is easy to replicate: hop outside (notice
how the light is coming from the right side), get close to
your subject, and snap away.
4. Lighting: Lighting is tricky, especially for items
with reflective surfaces (protip: take lenses out of frames
when shooting them) and it’s hard to provide universal
advice on the best way to do it as a result.
Now What?
It’s easy to read about how easy product photography
can be and something else entirely to execute on it. The
key here is patience and practice: snap a lot of photos
and experiment. Following the above tips, you’ll be
surprised at how quickly it all comes together.
Cameron Martel is an experienced digital marketer, managing SEO and content campaigns since 2005.
He currently works with dozens of eye care practices through his work with Marketing4ECPs.
Cameron can be reached at www.marketing4ecps.com or [email protected].
EYE FOCUS | February Digital 2020 21