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Recursos Adicionales
Shooting Basics
TETHERING, CAMERA SETTINGS, AND LIGHTING

SHOOTING TETHERED
Tethering, simply put, is the ability to connect your camera to a computer or laptop to
display and save the images that you are capturing as you're photographing them.

Why tether? As product photographers, we're always paying attention to details, right? Our
task is to tell a photographic story about the products we are shooting. This requires us to
be intentional with how we want that story to be told through composition, lighting, place-
ment, posing, and more. Not only will you be able to see your images on a larger screen to
better catch details, but you'll also be able to reduce the amount of time you spend taking
extra shots to get to the final one.

Being able to review your images right away is also really great when you're working with
clients and/or various creative partners. Seeing the work straight out of camera will help
them feel confident in what you're producing and gives them a chance to share necessary
feedback.

Another great reason to tether is that it just honestly makes your workflow easier. You'll
spend less time transferring photos from your memory card because they'll already be
saved onto your hard drive and named correctly.

There are several tethering programs but the most common are Capture One (our favorite)
and Lightroom. We especially love the live-view feature in Capture One because it allows
us to see everything in real time without having to adjust inbetween shots.

USING A TRIPOD
While a tripod isn’t completely necessary, it is an important tool within the product photog-
raphy space because it allows you to stabilize your camera, reduce hand shake, and
capture sharper images. Having your camera set up in the position you plan to photograph
your scene also gives you the freedom to make styling changes between shots as you
perfect your composition. This will become especially useful if you decide that you want to
shoot tethered.

SHOOTING IN MANUAL MODE

In order to create high-quality work, you’ll need to understand the importance of shooting
in manual mode. Whether you’re photographing outdoors or in a studio, working in manual
mode allows you to have complete control of how you capture your images. When you
shoot using automatic mode, you are essentially allowing your camera to decide what it
thinks are the best camera settings for the conditions in which you are photographing.
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While it may be convenient to shoot in automatic mode, there is a high chance that you
won’t get your desired results. You might find that the wrong part of your image is in focus,
the exposure is incorrect, or the temperature of the image is off. Avoid any of these situa-
tions by shooting in manual mode and you’ll quickly learn how powerful it can be for creat-
ing quality work. By doing so, you’ll better understand your camera settings and avoid any
unnecessary retouching.

IMAGE FORMAT (SHOOTING RAW)

The image format is the file format that your camera stores in your memory card or your
computer if you are tethering. In order to produce high-quality work, you will need to shoot
in RAW format if available. If not, just select the largest JPEG file format.

APERTURE
Aperture controls how much light your camera receives through your lens. It also defines
the depth of field of an image. The depth of field is the part of your image that is in focus.
The aperture setting is determined by an F-stop system that typically ranges from
F/1.0 to F/22.

A large aperture (such as F/1.0) allows more light to pass through and therefore creates a
shallower depth of field. This means that only a small part of your image will be in focus
while the rest is blurred.

A small aperture (such as F/22) allows less light to pass through and therefore creates a
wider depth of field. For product photography, you’ll typically want to select a higher aper-
ture to make sure you are capturing enough detail. We recommend starting around f/11 or
f/13 and adjusting from there.

SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed is the speed at which your camera’s shutter opens and closes. A fast shutter
speed (such as 1/2000) will allow less light into your camera and freeze your subject. A
slow shutter speed (such as 1/25) will allow more light in and produce a softer image.

When shooting with strobes, you will want to select your shutter speed based on the sync
speed of your camera. The sync speed for most cameras will likely be anywhere around
1/125 or 1/200. Take a test shot to be sure that you aren’t getting any black banding that can
occur from selecting too high of a shutter speed.

ISO
ISO is the sensitivity of light that your camera’s sensor has. A low ISO (such as 100) will
allow less light in and won’t produce any noise/grain. A high ISO (such as 1250) will allow
more light and will produce more noise/grain. Keeping your ISO as low as possible when
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working with strobes is essential. Because your strobes are already producing a large
amount of light, having a low ISO (100 or 125) will help you avoid blowing out your images
and producing grain.

WHITE BALANCE (USING GRAY CARDS)

Selecting your white balance is easy when the conditions of your shoot remain the same
throughout. While your camera most likely has a “flash” setting, this may not always
produce the most accurate results.

For this reason, we really recommend shooting in RAW format, setting your white balance
to “auto,” and using a photography gray card to color correct with ease later in the
post-production phase. This gray card is a small painted board that you can use to color
correct in post. You’ll want to make sure you photograph a test shot for every scene as you
move along through your shoot.

FOCUS (MANUAL VS AUTO)

Depending on your equipment, you may want to shoot with either manual or auto focus. If
you’re shooting handheld and not tethering to your laptop, auto-focus will be the best
option to ensure that your images stay sharp. If you are tethering, you can choose from
either focus option and adjust the focus using your tethering program or simply adjust the
focus manually by hand.

SOFT LIGHT VS. HARD LIGHT

There are many ways to light a set but the most common are hard lighting (strobes or direct
sunlight) and soft lighting (softbox or open shade). Depending on your concepts, you will
decide what type of lighting will best communicate your visual goal. Hard lighting creates
hard-edged shadows which can show contrast and evoke a sense of edge or drama. Soft
lighting is well, soft, and can give a very natural and diffused look to your images. The
source of light from soft lighting is larger which spreads light more evenly while hard light-
ing comes from a smaller source of light.

WHITE CARDS/REFLECTORS
One of the easiest ways to enhance your images is by using a white card (a piece of foam
core board) to help bounce and reflect light back into your scene. This tool is one of our
personal favorites and helps us brighten up some of the shadows that are being cast by
using a strobe that produces hard light.