VIDEO, SOUND, & MUSIC PRODUCTION
A CENTRAL MONTCO TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
SECTION LECTURES
PART ONE - EQUIPMENT BASICS - HOW TO'S
Click on the above image to go to the Youtube playlist page for the camera tutorials. Once you watch the tutorials, go to Schoology and look in the "Product Photography" project folder where you will find a sub folder called "Camera Tutorial Quizzes". There you will find a quiz that goes with each of the 10 tutorial videos. You need to watch each video and take the corresponding quiz and pass each quiz with an 80% or better in order to use the equipment for the project.
PART TWO - PRINCIPLES OF EXPOSURE
PRODUCT PHOTO BASICS
WHAT IS FOCAL LENGTH?
MASTERING THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE IN 3 MIN
WHAT IS APERTURE?
WHAT IS SHUTTER SPEED?
WHAT IS ISO?
Click on the above image to go to the Youtube for these tutorials. Once you watch the tutorials, go to Schoology and look in the "Principles of Exposure" project folder where you will find a sub folder called "Principles of Exposure Quizzes". There you will find a quiz that goes with each of the tutorial videos. You need to watch each video and take the corresponding quiz and pass each quiz with an 80% or better in order to use the equipment for the project.
PART THREE - TYPES OF PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
Product photography has advanced significantly over recent years. And as e-commerce continues to grow, your product images are increasingly important. Below, we’ll look at the definition of product photography, as well as best practices and examples to inspire your own. Product photography is an image of a good for sale. Also known as commercial photography, these images are meant to entice shoppers to purchase the photographed products. They feature product details and features, supplemental to written copy and product descriptions. The idea is to give potential buyers a full impression of the product.
WHITE BACKGROUND
White background photos are the ones you see on ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay. Also noted as individual product photos (though sometimes white background shots feature multiple images). This is arguably the most common product photo type you’ll see. In fact, when we analyzed the product photos from the top fashion brands, we found that 95% of them had white background shots.
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“Superfood self-care” and wellness brand Golde uses white background for their product collection pages. The continuity and lack of background distractions make it easy for shoppers to differentiate between products.
CONTEXTUAL
Contextual shots feature products in use. These types of photos are ideal because they show shoppers how to use the products in their own lives, and it also gives them a sense of scale. People can imagine themselves using the product when they have these types of photos.
The furniture pictured shows context, giving shoppers an idea of what they could look like in their own home.
LIFESTYLE​
There’s a lot of crossover between contextual and lifestyle product photography. There is one key difference, though: lifestyle photography includes and is often focused on actual people. Some contextual shots lack humans.
SCALE SHOTS​
Scale shots are product photos that give a frame of reference so people can envision how big the products are. While product specs and dimensions are descriptive, sometimes shoppers need an image to see how big or small it is in comparison to common objects.
This image shows a teacup and accompanying dish, along with someone holding it to give you a sense of just how tiny this item is.
DETAIL SHOTS​
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Detailed product shots show small elements that aren’t necessarily visible in a standard product photo. You’ll often see this with apparel, footwear, and accessories — especially as you get into the luxury categories.
GROUP SHOTS​
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Group product shots feature multiple items. Typically, these products are related in some way. You might bundle them together as a promotion, or feature the same item in different products
PACKAGING​
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Packaging product photos are the images that go on the box, bag, label, or whatever packaging holds your merchandise. These photos are important because they appeal to in-person shoppers. It’s especially important to consider this if the packaging hides the product, which you commonly see with food and beauty items.
FLAT LAY​
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Flat lay product photos hit their stride on social media, Instagram in particular. Flat lay photos are taken from a bird’s eye view. The layout lends itself to creative ways to arrange your products, so it’s a good way to have fun and add diversity to your site’s imagery. Plus, these images play particularly well on social media.
Product Advertisement Photography
Product photography is a branch of commercial photography which is about accurately but attractively representing a product. Product photography is generally used for advertisements in magazines, brochures, or online sales.
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Essential Tips for Product Photography​
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Use Proper Lighting - Let’s start with product photography lighting. Without proper light, neither your product nor your background is going to appear how it does to you in person.
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Take Inspiration from Brands you Love - It is always helpful to look to others for inspiration. You likely already have some brands in mind that you love. Take a look at their product photography and ask yourself how a similar shot or technique could work for your products.
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Get to know the Rule of Thirds - The rule of thirds was designed to help artists create a well-balanced composition in each piece. It’s also useful to determine where to place the focus of your piece – your product. Your goal is to have your product positioned along the lines, optimally at the point where two lines intersect.
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Use Simple Props - When it comes to product photography props, do not get overly ambitious! Remember, the main focus of each product photograph should be the product. With that said, props can be welcome and help brighten the photograph for your viewers.
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Take Multiple Shots from Varying Angles - Taking multiple shots from a variety of angles will show your customers exactly what your product looks like. Plus, it will help give you options when it is time to edit, and you won’t be left thinking, “Should we re-do this one completely?”
PART FOUR - PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY MANUAL
Here Are Some Essential Tips You Should Consider When Designing A Poster
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It should be readable from a distance - Posters are visible from a fair distance because of their large sizes. But the information they convey should also be readable from a reasonable distance. People do not care to come too close to a poster to read it.
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Create Some Contrast - People do not have the time these days to pay close attention to the things around them. Their attention time is shorter today than ever before.
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Explore Typography - Typography is another key element that can make your poster look outstanding. But make sure that the use of typography is unique. One of the characteristics of typefaces is that they add some personality to designs especially when you create custom logos.
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Make Good Use Of Space - Space is a key element in graphic designs. In posters, the use of space is even more important because people look at it from a greater distance.
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Consider The Location - One of the things that need to be considered while creating a poster design is the location. Know where the poster will be located.
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Stand Out - Your poster will be published online or displayed on a bulletin board. Many other posters are already there in these places. Your poster will, therefore, be competing hard to grab the attention of people. To compete for the audience’s attention, your poster must stand out.
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Use a Big Image - One of the essential tricks to catch the eye is to incorporate one big image that they can see from a reasonable distance. You can choose an illustration or text, a photo or a big image. You should consider a close-up of faces or design elements, illustrations, scenes, and even novelty typography. But you should select a visual carefully.
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Pay Attention To Call-To-Action - Call to action is the reason for making people read your poster. In the end, you would like them to visit an event, buy your products or services, be part of a campaign, registration deadlines, buying tickets, discounts, and so on. You need to give them a call to take the action you want. Therefore, a call to action slogan or line at the end or middle of a poster is necessary to design.
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Make it Scalable - Most poster designs are meant for print projects, which require you to create mini-posters as well. Remember that your client will be using the poster in various places to extract maximum advantages from both the online and offline platforms