Commercial Product Photography at The Clock Workshop, Abbotsbury, Dorset
I was asked by The Clock Workshop in Abbotsbury, Dorset, to photograph 20 clocks they have for sale. Images were to be used for all online and print promotions. My initial thoughts were to shoot them in my studio, as it is a controlled environment and a lot easier to control the ambient lighting. But after discussing this with Simon, we decided it would be best this time to shoot them at his workshop, as transportation of that many clocks could take a lot of time, and we didn’t want to move them more than necessary.
There was a wide variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from mantel clocks to wall clocks to large longcase (grandfather) clocks, which were seven feet high. As The Clock Workshop was in Abbotsbury, it was a short journey for me to go down to recce it. I always do some kind of recce if possible, as you never know what obstacles you could face, such as steep stairs, no power supplies, etc. I needed to ensure we had enough space to shoot, that we could black out the ambient light, and that we had room for my studio lighting.
Another reason for the recce was to see what materials and finishes the clocks were made from. This would help me decide on the type and quality of lighting that I would need.
Clean Cut-Out Product Photography for Online and Print Use
We wanted to make them look as beautiful as possible and to showcase the quality of the craftsmanship and attention to detail that go into them. I always like to see products before I shoot them, if at all possible.
From this recce, I worked out that some very different materials were involved. From dark teak casings to special glass-domed skeleton clocks!!
One of my main aims was to make sure the lighting I brought would be appropriate for both extremes.
I knew I needed large light sources with soft reflectors so that I could get really nice highlights around the glass dome and simultaneously have long enough reflectors to create beautiful highlights along long-case clocks.
I knew from the recce that by blacking out the windows in The Clock Workshop with fabric, I could create a nice studio space. This meticulous observation enabled me to envision the utilisation of the workshop's layout and features to create an optimal environment for creative endeavours. By strategically blacking out windows with fabric, I recognised the opportunity to control natural light, enhancing the space's versatility and adaptability for various artistic pursuits.
HOW I APPROACHED PHOTOGRAPHING CLOCKS AT THE CLOCK WORKSHOP
My approach to product photography for selling is to make the product look great, show it in its best light, and choose the best angles.
They wanted the pictures to be ‘cut-out’ onto white so that the images would look clean and also to fit in with existing imagery.
Planning the Shoot and Photographing Clocks on Location
I knew I would need a high-key background light, so I used a big Lastolite 6-by-7-foot Hi Lite, lit with two Elinchrom BRX 500 Flash heads.
For the foreground light, I used a 100 ELC Elinchrom Flash head with a Quadra light diffuser to give me a large, soft, diffused light.
Lighting, Materials, and Showcasing Craftsmanship
I then used a combination of large and small Lastolite reflectors to create different types of highlights around the clocks. So if it were a glass-domed clock, I would need to ‘cover’ the dome with soft, diffused light and make sure the reflections were pleasing to the eye and that no background reflections came into play.
I decided to shoot tethered straight to a Mac laptop. This way, the client could see the images as we shot and approve them.
I shot with my Canon 5Dmk4 and used a variety of lenses, from 50mm to 100mm Canon Macro.
To create the final ‘cut-outs’, we created clipping paths in Photoshop. These are paths (or vector lines) that can be used in many graphics programs by designers on different backgrounds and in various templates without having to re-mask the images.
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