The Common Internet Auction Shot
For this lesson, we decided to demonstrate how to shoot a digital SLR camera for web auction. For comparison purposes, we first took a shot of the SLR with a simple point-and-shoot camera set to Auto with the built-in flash activated, which is the way most people go about taking a picture of an item like this (figure 1).

The result is all too familiar. Captured at a wide-angle lens setting, the features of the SLR look somewhat distorted. Also, notice how the lighting from the built-in flash creates a very unnatural look. Not exactly a professional-level photo!

Slapping Together a Simple Shooting Surface
To improve the shot, we decided to create a makeshift shooting table for the camera in a small section of a basement. We set up two sawhorses and placed a sheet of white foam core on top to serve as the shooting surface (figure 2).

Watch That Background...
Next, we set up a digital SLR on a tripod, zoomed all the way in on the lens to prevent optical distortion and took a shot with the pop-up flash activated. As you can see, we were not that much better off with this second result.

Although we were able to minimize the optical distortion with the zoom lens adjustment, we also saw that there were a number of other issues with the shot. The most obvious was that our white background did not extend all the way back, making it a very distracting visual element (figure 3).

The Makeshift Sweep
We opted for the simplest way to keep the background white. We simply cut another piece of foam core so that it extended the width of the first piece, but was only about 10 inches high. We then used a spring clamp to place it vertically in the background (figure 4).

Once this added foam core was in place, we took another shot (figure 5).

The result shows that the background was not perfect, as it now revealed two tones of light gray, but we knew that our lighting adjustment plans would most likely take care of the problem altogether.


Insufficient Depth of Field
Aside from the overall lighting issues, we had developed a new problem: insufficient depth of field. Notice how the body of the camera is in sharp focus, but that the front of the lens is soft, or out of focus? This is due to the fact that we were shooting with a wide aperture and at the telephoto end of the zoom lens.

Unfortunately, there was not much we could do about resolving the depth of field since we were using a pop-up flash with limited light output. Remember, when shooting with a flash, your shutter speed is all but ineffective. You use your flash and your aperture setting to determine exposure. However, if your flash is at full capacity and your result is too dark, as it was here, you need to widen your aperture to render a decent exposure.

There are some instances where if you change your point of focus, you can resolve the problem of limited depth of field. To see how limited we were here, we decided to refocus near the near the front of the lens and take another shot ((figure 6).

The amount of falloff in the result indicated that focal positioning would not resolve the issue.

Instead, we decided to disable the built-in flash and use the First Studio Portrait Kit to illuminate the camera. And because this kit is comprised of continuous light sources, we realized we wouldn't be limited to a wide aperture setting since we'd be able to utilize the shutter speed setting to determine the best exposure.

The Continuous Hard Light
To start off, we attached up the First Studio light head to its LiteStand, positioned it off to the left of the set, plugged it in and turned it on. We didn't want to attach the umbrella to the head just yet, since we wanted to take a shot with just the bare head in order to demonstrate its light quality (figure 7).

With the White Balance set to Tungsten (3200K), the aperture set to a much narrower opening, and the shutter set to a much slower speed, we took another shot (figure 8).

The result shows a significant improvement with both the depth of field and with the lighting. By using a smaller aperture and a slow shutter speed, we were able to increase our depth of field, thereby rendering sharp focus in every area of the SLR. And the lighting, although fairly high in contrast, was much better in revealing the shape and depth of the camera.

Softening Hard Light with an Umbrella
Next, we decided to attach the umbrella to the First Studio light head in order to soften its quality of light. After the umbrella was attached and the light positioned where we wanted it, we adjusted for exposure and took another shot (figures 9, 10 and 11).

As you can see from the result, the reflected light from the umbrella made a tremendous difference with respect to the quality of the lighting. Here, the lighting looks more natural and soft, whereas before it looked harsh and too high in contrast.

Also notice how the left side of the foreground and background are illuminated as pure white. Our background solution was working just as we'd hoped it would (figure 11).

Blowing Out The Background
Next, we set up the other First Studio light with the umbrella attached and positioned it to the right side of the set. The nice thing about continuous lights like these is that you can see the effects of the lights as you move them, which can save considerable time when you're building a shot (figure 12).

Once this light was in place, we took another shot (figure 13).

Our result is excellent. The camera is well illuminated and the background and foreground are both perfectly white, save for a couple of areas in front where the camera body and lens cast small, subtle shadows.

In our opinion, however, these shadows actually help make the camera look as though it's resting on a white surface in a completely white room, and not just floating in white space as it would otherwise look.


A Splash of Light: The Finishing Touches
We could have left the shot where it was and had a great image to post on a small business or auction site, but we decided instead to take the shot a little further by using the extra First Studio head as a top rim light. Often times, products that are shot on a white background often look best when they're lit from behind, as though there is a huge bank of light in the background illuminating the scene. We hoped that this light would add that element to the shot.

We attached the extra First Studio head to a LiteStand, positioned it toward the back of the set, and plugged it in. We then raised it up about 7 feet (about the height of the ceiling), angled it down to hit the top of the camera, and once everything was in position, we took our final shot (figures 14, 15 & 16).

Comparisons
To give you a sense of how far we'd come with the lighting, compare our first shot with the built-in flash against this most recent one (figures 17 & 18).

Now which shot would you rather have posted to auction? Remember, high quality photos of products you want to sell will bring you a much greater return than photos of poor quality will. Looking at these two vastly different result shots, it's easy to see how an inexpensive lighting kit like this is actually a shrewd financial investment.

Keep in mind that the lighting configuration illustrated here is just one of many you can create with this easy-to-use lighting kit. Remember to experiment with your lighting set-ups and product shots, and above all, have fun!