Lighting Composition Question (photo jong)

[krp8128]

I pretty much suck at taking good composed photos.

Camera: Sony Cyber shot 10.1 mpixel P&S


I have some skis that I need really good pictures of. These images will be used for marketing purposes, website etc. Any tips on how to get the best images possible?

Mainly I am wondering about lighting/backdrop and setting up a shot. I'm assuming I want a clean backdrop that I can remove via photoshop, but how do I eliminate shadows and glare?

[Tippster]

Dude - this is like asking "I have a pair of Park Skis. Tell me how best to charge a BC line."

[Hong Jong Fuey]

As a fellow jong photog, your best bet is to post some pictures here and get some advice on post processing.

[krp8128]

Dude - this is like asking "I have a pair of Park Skis. Tell me how best to charge a BC line."

thought I was kinda screwed...

[dumpy]

Are you just looking for a shot to show the topsheets or do you need something more artistic to use as a graphical element on the website/brochures?

If just topsheets, your composition doesn't need to be anything fancy here, you just need a shot of the skis to show the skis, not some artistic shot (at least for the main wide shot). Frame so you get the skis whole taking up as close to the full frame as possible. Find a background that is a different color than the skis, shoot around f8, low ISO and with a tripod (to get the sharpest image). this is the easy part.

Lighting on the hand is going to be trickier. I get the impression you are a DIY type, so go to Strobist, read around and learn.

Since you have a P&S camera, I'm assuming you don't have a hot shoe or sync port, so you'll need to use continuous lighting. Maybe some halogen worklights heavily diffused, a ghetto softbox. That would be the cheap option, just make sure to limit other light sources and white balance for the halogen lights.

Your at RIT right? Dude that place is crawling with photo students, find one that will work cheaply, it's probably going to be your best bet.

[krp8128]

Your at RIT right? Dude that place is crawling with photo students, find one that will work cheaply, it's probably going to be your best bet.

Yes, but I finished up in February and have been out of touch with the artsy types since my New Media roomate graduated 2 years ago. I tried contacting a few people, but they were either neck deep in projects or are leaving for the summer.

[dumpy]

Yes, but I finished up in February and have been out of touch with the artsy types since my New Media roomate graduated 2 years ago. I tried contacting a few people, but they were either neck deep in projects or are leaving for the summer.

Check your PMs, I just noticed yours, replied.