February 17th, 2012 | 
Tabletop Product Photography in examples
“Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.”
~ Albert Einstein
Author: Alex Koloskov
This ebook is based on Alex Koloskov’s product photography masterclass we held in August 2011 in Atlanta.
During this 5 hour class Alex photographed seven different subjects and demonstrated how to effectively use various light modifiers (Most of them were DIY) for completely different product types.
We used a watch, jewelry ring, 3 bottles of liqueur, (clear, dark glossy and matte), saxophone and perfume.
Alex is a big fan of DIY stuff, mostly because it gives me ability to have custom built lighting gear which usually works much better than the standard off-shell solution.
It also saves money, opening doors to budget-friendly experiments with the lighting techniques and allows me find new ways to get things done in photography.
In this book Alex will show you how to get the desired results not only the fastest but also the most efficient way. Remember, this book is based on a 5 hours master class, and each subject was photographed in a very short period without any detailed preparation and testing.
It was sort of an express shoot-out, where I was concentrating only on the lighting.
You will find a short description of the shot, the lighting setup (shot of the actual setup and the diagram) and the images. Alex will explain how the shot was done, why I did it that way as well.
Furthermore, Alex will show you the troubleshooting steps. You will see how each lighting setup was built, including all the failures and intermediate results which is something which you will not see by simply looking at final setup.
Now with one hour video of post-production in Adobe Photoshop and reduced size PSD source files with all the original layers included!
Below are these seven products we have photographed during the masterclass. Learn How to Take Photos Like These:
Who will benefit from this e-book:
- Professionals and semi-pro who is working on small tabletop photography field.
- Small business owners who are looking for inexpensive DIY solution to shoot their products.
- Students and their teachers who are looking for fresh ideas and solutions on tough to photograph subjects.
Experience level:
- Intermediate to advanced
What is required:
- Understanding of camera controls, camera shooting modes and relationship between aperture and shutter speed.
- At least some experience with studio lighting and light modifiers.
- Adobe Acrobat PDF reader version “X” or later.
What you will receive:
- Chance to learn the lighting for technically challenging tabletop photography.
- Find out how to efficiently use DIY light modifiers.
- 60 pages e-book in PDF format (instant download).
- 30 day no question asked money back guarantee.
- UPDATE: Now with one hour of post production video and source PSD files included!
This is what masterclass participant said:
Great e-book.
I am a graphic artist just starting to learn product photography and I have found your book and your whole site an inspiration.
I particularly like the direct, clear setup diagrams and photos, it gives a solid understanding of controlling reflections and what needs to be considered to achieve great images.
Many thanks for sharing your expertise, that is priceless, and like a great teacher your work inspires me to learn, practice and improve!
I shot a pen yesterday (using your tabletop photography e-book) and retouched today using focus stacking and some cleanup. This was my first ever small product photo and I am very encouraged by the results – it would have been a lot harder without your guidance.
Many thanks
Andy McLaughlin
Alex, thank you for a wonderful product photography shoot. I was amazed at your talent and things you shared with the group. I learned many things and I look forward to many more of your classes.
Anna Rumiantseva
Exceptional. Alex did a terrific job. He was very knowledgeable and engaging.
G.d. Brown
Alex, wanted to say thank you again for the great class. There was a lot of time and attention spent and given to each of us as we all had different knowledge, skill levels, and questions. I think the part I loved most was watching how you dissected the technical aspects of each product into a piece by piece section experimenting with various modifiers. For those who are out of state, I highly recommend one of Alex’s classes, I flew in from Texas just for this class to watch, learn, and hopefully walk away with some better understanding of what product/ still photography was all about. Not only did I get that understanding but a deeper appreciation for those who do it full time.
Brad
Price: $95 USD.
Get e-videobook now for only $95. Instant Download after the purchase
Like it? Want to learn how to create photos like these? Take a look at what I have for you:
Attention!
Only Adobe Acrobat Reader X or later will work with embed videos, so you need to make sure the program you have PDF opened in is Acrobat Reader. This especially apples to Mac users, where PDF by default opens by “PDF Preview”. You have to use Adobe Acrobat Reader instead.
Affiliate program is available
P.S many thanks to Ian Barber who helped me with e-book. Without him It would take me one more year to finish it:-)
About The Author: Alex Koloskov
The lighting magician, owner of AKELstudio, Inc.
My company is moving into a new building, which will be nice because my currently product photography studio is very cramped! My boss has asked what size room I need for a product photography studio. I’ve been working in such a tight space for so long, and know that lighting space and ceiling height has been a real problem. What would you recommend for room size? W x L x H
Thanks!
April,
It is all depends from what products you’ll be working with. Sor small stuff you do not need much, but bigger room will be easier to operate in. 40x20x15 feet is what I consider ato be enough to shoot comfortably.
Hi Alex
I have purchased the ebook now and downloaded.
I have tried to download the original source files but they will not download. I get a message saying
your PDF file attachment settings do not allow this type of file to be opened.
Can you help please
Regards Phil
Hi Alex
Am I right in assuming that post production as now been added to this ebook? Thanks
Kind Regards
Jim,
Yes, now it is included.
Alex
Hi Alex,
Great e-book.
I am a graphic artist just starting to learn product photography and I have found your book and your whole site an inspiration.
I particularly like the direct, clear setup diagrams and photos, it gives a solid understanding of controlling reflections and what needs to be considered to achieve great images.
Many thanks for sharing your expertise, that is priceless, and like a great teacher your work inspires me to learn, practice and improve!
I shot a pen yesterday (using your tabletop photography e-book) and retouched today using focus stacking and some cleanup. This was my first ever small product photo and I am very encouraged by the results – it would have been a lot harder without your guidance.
Many thanks
Andy McLaughlin
@Andy McLaughlin,
Thank you Andy! Glad it helped with your work. I’ll add your testimonial to a book page, if you do not mind.
Alex
I emailed this enquirey but have had no response.
I am looking to purchase the tabletop e-book, may I ask what is the minimum number of flash heads required to use your set ups in this book
Thanks
@Phil, I was using 4 lights for most products of this photoshoot, several subjects were done by 3 lights. I consider 4 lights to be working minimum for product photographer, as they will cover majority of situations. In general,: one light for a background, 2 lights on a side, one in front.
However, keep in mind that it is quite possible to substitute some of the lights with mirrors and other reflectors.
Hope this will answer your question.
Alex
Do u have the E book in printed as books for sale?
i do not have a nice printer & sending for printing & mounting into a book is costly & not durable..
please advice..thanks
Kind REgards,
Paul
I do not know if the author knew the watch still life but I have understood that an international convention provides that in still life must always bear the same time: 10:12 am.
@Umberto, Yes, author and e-book readers know it:-)
Hi Alex,
I just purchased the tabletop product photography book but cannot find the videos associated with it? It says I need Acrobat Reader X which I have but I cannot find the “embed videos”
Thanks,
Brian
Brian,
Video is on a page 51, with bracelet image on it. I see what you are saying: it is not recognizable as video unless you mouse over it and it will say “Click to activate”.
I’ve updated the book, added large caption to the video. Thank you for the note! Hope now you’ll be able to find it. If file is opened in Acrobat reader X, it will play:-)
Alex
Thank you for all your insights Alex, I have enjoyed all the free stuff on your blog and I will be more than happy to pay for this product photography e/book when I am able all being well next month. Can you tell me if I will need to download it after purchase or will it be shipped on cd? Thank you again for all your efforts in sharing your knowledge may I encourage you to keep it up so that my learning may continue to grow. At 63 it is never to late to learn.
Kind Regards Jim.
Jim,
This is direct download, no CD at this time. PDF file is about 180 Mb, and it should be an easy download.
Thank you!
@Alex Koloskov,
Cheers Alex,
I will get it very soon. I very much like the idea that it is more about visual rather than to much reading as I have had my fair share of that in the past
You might want to put a link to this book on your “Our E-books” page. I watched the video from the front page of the blog (where the details don’t show up), then went to that page for more information.
Very nice work with some difficult subjects, BTW. Now I just have to convince my company to buy the book.
Thank you Doug. Just added e-book to our eBooks page. It suppose to be done Yesterday;-)
Hi Alex That seems so interesting. great work.
Hi Alex that looks so interesting great work
@Anas, Thank you!
Alex,
This looks very promising and I plan on purchasing this in the not too distant future. I only have one question though, will this go over any of the post production at all? Lighting is very important to be sure, but post production is what gives the image its polish.
Ruben,
For most of the products we had only cleaning as a post-production, were using simple clone or healing brush. There is nothing really to show there, you know how it works, right?
For more serious stuff, like post-production for jewelry, is a large topic and it will be covered on another tutorial related to jewelry.
This book was about the lighting, we did not try to make a finished product shots.
Thank you!
I would love to buy this, but I dont have the Camera nor the equipment(Lights) that will take shots like this. One day
@Evako,
I think you’ll find that one of the points that Alex is contanstly reiterating is that the camera is not important. He did took some incredible shots with a point and shoot.
Lighting is where most of the importance lies and even then Alex has provided a hell of a lot of information about how to source alternatives to expensive flash units.
@Lenoir, thanks for the comment.
Do you have a link for me to that info for the inexpensive flash?
Thanks
Yes, here it is: http://www.pixiq.com/article/studio-equipment-buying-guide-for-beginners