[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0uEq2Uumsg]

I love working with busy entrepreneurs, seeing where they work and capturing their story. This includes environmental portraits of owners and their teams, action shots of them providing a service or making a product and those details shots that make a brand unique. During this time of “shelter in place” setting up an at home studio to capture product photography has been a great creative outlet for me. I miss the personal interaction with business owners, but being able to provide a service to them during this unique time in history has been mutually beneficial. Another bonus is that my first grader can witness all that goes into a photoshoot including gear set-up, preparation time, shooting and editing of the images. The instagram feed highlights below show many images captured throughout the process and one of my favorites is my son trying out the DSLR and setting up his own product shot.

The Assignment

A local entrepreneur was in need of product photography for two specific product lines, Beard Octane and Beef Octane. I organized the shoot into three overall sections and shot the products he needed quickly first. He had an upcoming feature and requested the hats he recently made available as a swag product, be captured first to accompany the story. The other two sections were the men’s lifestyle products and recently released line of premium jerky.

To further organize the shoot I created a checklist of all the products and images I needed to capture. Click on the link above to get your free download of this sheet template. While organizing the shoot I was also researching the website and social media platforms for the brand to get a feel for the business. It was quite evident that I would be using a one light set up and creating product shots with a dark, moodier background.

The Gear

As seen in the flatly image below I choose a one light set up for this specific product photography shoot. What you are not seeing are various backgrounds, reflectors and apple boxes. For the specific needs of this product photography shoot I knew my Canon 100 mm lens would be ideal for the close up detail images needed of the premium jerky products. A unique feature of the jerky is all the spices and hand cut meats used, so detail was the most important aspect for those images. My second lens choice was the Canon 35mm for all the lifestyle images. I knew I would be shooting up on a tabletop and needed the range to capture all the elements and props in the shots. Both lenses worked well.

Other important details with my gear shown below are, first it’s a mobile kit since I love being on-location with brands shooting in their unique spaces. Second, I’m using the wireless Flashpoint lighting system and a 3′ Glow soft box for all my lighting for this assignment. I love that it’s wireless and I can set this light up anywhere. Third, shooting tethered. This was a must, especially for product photography. On occasion I do shoot tethered on-location if there is an art director present that needs to view the images throughout the day. If you are interested in learning more about tethering, I have a video at the end of the post that walks you through the process.

Step by Step Guide to Tethering

Have your images populate Lightroom Classic instantly once you take a photo. Tethering allows the camera to communicate with the laptop. Learn how to set up tethering with this video:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2XCGB33LWs]

What’s Next?

If you are interested in seeing more images from this product photography shoot check out my website gallery here: Octane  Have questions or need your product photographed? Feel free to email me at Nicole@nbphotog.com or find me @nbedardphotog on Instagram @nicolebedardphotography on Facebook and my website at www.nbphotog.com

Any purchase helps me enjoy another cup of coffee!
Gear Used:
Canon 5D Mark IV: https://amzn.to/2Zf7J33
Canon 35 mm: https://amzn.to/327uAPY
Canon 100: https://amzn.to/2Og0YaQ
Blue Tether Cord: https://amzn.to/2Dwh6TH
Blue Bongo Ties: https://amzn.to/3fh12TS
Seagate Drive
Flashpoint Xplor600Pro (with transmitter) https://amzn.to/3022xyV
Flashpoint Glow 3foot Modifier
Avenger Lightstand W/ Boom