Photography Question
 

For you photo experts out there:

A couple of times a year I will need to take photos of wine bottles. Typically I need a pure white background. 80% of the usage is for a website, the balance for print literature that will be color laser printed (not high quality offset).

So I can hire a commercial photographer - figure $200 to $500 depending on the number of shots, but the quality is probably overkill for what I need.

Or I can buy a roll of seamless background paper and pick up something like this (on sale for $35) for shadow-free lighting:

http://www.handhelditems.com/images/xpro/xprol2000.jpg

Is that all I need / Is that all there is to this? Or do I need two of those? I think the portable white box is too small (when we do a three bottle shot with a box).

Or should I leave it to the pros?

Thanks,

Don

There are some very talented amateur photogs on this board who are native to CA. I only call them amateur because they are not getting paid for it. But they certainly could if they wanted.

I think twisting their arms to take a run into wine country and shoot your stuff in exchange for "product samples" would be cake.

Alternative, do it yourself. Little practice and you'll definitely get the result you need.

PM sent
Steve

Thanks to both - It was this article I found that encouraged me to think about doing it myself.

This is definitely trade-out material Don ;)

Unfortunately I'm buried or I'd offer. That being said product shots aren't really my specialty. It is an art, and my art is different...

I hate working with white backgrounds - can you use light gray? I find that easier to deal with.

http://i518.photobucket.com/albums/u..._and_glass.jpg

Don't be afraid to try some outdoor shots... your best results will be when the sun is low in the sky... work your depth of field so the background is out of focus.

I agree:

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...49162_3944.jpg

That's a morning shot in front of Clos Vougeot in Burgundy. Kind of like a garden gnome.

But for product shots for literature I need white backgrounds...

You can build a simple and cheap light box to get a very professional look.

Here is a front lit version...http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

You can also use white fabric side panels and project/diffuse the light through them for a more even and softer light.

Trust me, with a little practice you can easily do this yourself.