It’s a little difficult to start a blog. I have unclear plans for this one. So for now I will start with a fairly simple biography and project statement.

I’m a freelance web developer by profession, and a half-way, freelance, semi-pro photographer on the side. I am one of those techie guys who picked up a camera 20 years ago and has found uses for it ever since, not least as a way to contribute socially.  Like lots of us I’ve done a few little jobs: the usual gig work, events, theatre work, some portraits, a little bit of promo work for people. 

Along the way I’ve helped a few people out with product photography.

Assuming some basic kit, simple e-commerce product photography is not all that difficult. Get a nice big bit of white mountboard, bend it into a curve, put up a couple of studio lights into softboxes, set up a tripod, maybe use a macro lens, and then shoot away. But it’s a busy and competitive market at the low end. 

A shoot some years back with another photographer to explore whether we had the combined skills to take on some higher-end jewellery photography suggested that there was promise, but there was also kit I didn’t own, skills I would need to progress, and too much uncertainty around process, estimates and time.

Life intervened, but some years on I am revisiting this, with more pointed questions for myself:

  • What is it I don’t know that I should know?
  • What do photographers use for those photos that are really on another level?
  • What is the cheapest viable kit to learn with?

I will be using this blog to explore that process.

For example, after a decade fiddling with Elinchrom flash in a home studio, I am learning a bit about modern LED continuous lighting. I hope I’ll be learning more about controllable, repeatable product photography lighting. I’ll be talking about kit I am using and what I’ve learned.

But first I am going to delve in a little on the camera side, looking at closeup and near-macro work, and particularly the use of tilt/shift for small product work. I’ve learned a bit about this in the last six months through reading, research and experimentation, and I’ll be sharing what I am learning, and describing the development of a low-cost bellows setup that I think will be interesting to others.

A web developer’s aside: it’s been many years since I have run a blog for myself! So there’s that. There are always things to learn, and if a testbed project has personal meaning, so much the better.