Product photos, looking for ideas

[Sinistard]

I took these pictures for my mothers business and am looking for some input on what you all think looks best, what I could change or other ideas for shots. I did not know I was going to be taking these shots so I did not have my tripod with me I was mostly playing with composition to see what looks best then I can get some higher quality shots later.

Thanks for any ideas

 

[Misled]

Now don't take this personally, but I don't like any of the pics. I don't know if they're for ads or print or what, but the only one I can see what they all are is number four, and it seems too busy and symmetrical. There's nothing to draw the eye anywhere. The other pics do that better, but need a better DOF.

 

[BeanAnimal]

IMHO a filter or post processing to soften and darken the items out of the depth of field would help. The area that is out of focus is too bright and takes up far to much of the subject area for as bright as it is. The flowers (in my opinion) should be within the depth of field, helping to draw attention to the focussed product. I like the second photo much better than the first.

My issue with the last photo is that the lids do not seal flat and therefore the lines formed by the different jars resting on each other (and their lids) are somewhat random and distracting and I there is no central focus. That said, I like the last photo better than the first but not as much as the second. The third photo (like the first) is somewhat distracting due to the harsh depth of field and again maybe a filter or post processing would help bring out more of the subject than just DOF has alone.

 

[iceemn360]

Id say try something more high key/ or brightly exposed. Nice products.

 

[IPT]

LOL - lot of opinions . Personally I like the third one of the lot. I agree the last is too symmetrical and boring. The 1st one is too busy and though I like the 2nd, the third does the same thing but better, IMO. The 2nd has one product in view, and sharp, but shows there are others. My problem is it is way to unbalanced. The 3rd, IMO, brings attention to the product, but shows there are other ones too. I actually like it better when I crop the top 3rd off but you don't want to cut your product in half.

Jesse might be right that you should try some other ideas. I think it's a good start, and you could use any of them in a pinch, but there might be a better overall combination too. Oh, the background sort of blurs together too. Nice to set off the product, but, well, maybe it works. Sure makes me glad I am not into taking stock images. It's harder than one might think. Personally I would take a real close look at other product images and see how the pros so it. You might get some ideas or inspiration. Not saying to directly copy, but get a feel of ideas and what you like or don't and why.

Just a suggestion, and my thoughts. Good luck.

 

[Brett9917]

Personally, I like #2 and #3, but in both I would increase the dof and the exposure. Definitely use a tripod next time. I find that when shooting products, the brighter the shot the better, if you have any off camera lighting mess around with that too.

 

[Hookup]

I also like the 3rd pic of the group.

I find the background a bit distracting.... but i am distracted by many things easily...

 

[Recty]

Some easy advice is follow the rule of thirds. None of those pictures above do.

Like some of the others, I like #3 the most and I think I would like it even better if the in focus pot was 1/3 of the way from the left, and the whole picture was maybe cropped a little tighter.

 

[Sinistard]

Now don't take this personally, but I don't like any of the pics. I don't know if they're for ads or print or what, but the only one I can see what they all are is number four, and it seems too busy and symmetrical. There's nothing to draw the eye anywhere. The other pics do that better, but need a better DOF.

Not taken personally at all, I asked for input and appreciate every bit I get. This was my first attempt at taking photographs like this so I was not expecting to much ha ha so any critiques are welcome. Basically these will be used to send to retailers along with a sample of the product. She wants to send 1 sample then have nice photos of the other options.

The "props" I used were hastily thrown together, basically a white work surface with some white foam wrap as a background. I did have an external flash mounted to the camera and could play around with having it remote to get some better lighting. I should probably figure out something a little less harsh.

I do like the 3rd one, the idea with is would be to rotate each item to the front to show them all off in a series of prints. I guess that was kind of the idea with all the ones I took with the very shallow DOF. It was hard to get them all in focus without making it look very boring. I probably took 60 or so photos and this was the cream of the crop.

As far as post production I don't really have a great program or knowlege of how to do most of it. I have lightroom to do the basic stuff and have used GIMP in the past but never really got to in depth into it. All of these photos were basically auto adjusted and a few were cropped. I guess I should start to learn if I want to get the best results.

I will have to do some browsing of professional print ads to get some ideas.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and opinions I have some learning and practice to do....

Here is a slightly different crop of 3 and on other shot that came out ok I did not post before.

 

[Mandragen]

I like that second one there

 

[maglofster]

I think the background should be without shadows or reflections, use a soft box or something to bounce the light/flash.

I like picture number three best. Maybe if you think some more about the rule of thirds / composition and a little more DOF it can be really good. But take away the flowers and show us some salt! perhaps a small amount in a nice pyramid beside/in front of the packaging.