I'm on the menu

Photographers that sell their pics on microstock sites know that their pics are being used. Most of the time, we do not know how and where though. At iStock, they have the so-called designer spotlight. Designers can show how they used pictures they bought from iStock. I think designer spotlights are pretty cool. Not only do they tell the photographer how the pic was used, they also tell you in a more general way how stock photos are used and give a clue of what designers want.



One of my pictures recently made it into the Design Spotlight. Designer Ruth Cepero from Publicus Integrated Marketing used my bell pepper slices in a menu for Flamers Charbroiled. Click on the picture to see the Menu. The bell pepper slices only play a minor role in the rich decoration of the border, but that's fine with me. It's always nice to know how my pics are being used.

Photography tips: white backgrounds

Product photographers often photograph their objects against a white background. This makes the product stand out more and it allows a graphic designer to make isolations for use in other pictures. Photographing against a white background is done in four easy steps.

Use white
I know it sounds silly, but believe me, some people use off-white backgrounds to photograph an object “on white”. It is not impossible, but using an actual white background makes it much easier to have your object stand out from the background. I prefer paper backgrounds, but textiles or plastics work as well.


Overexpose
The light meter in your camera will notice a large white surface and think that the picture is very bright. Left to itself, your camera will underexpose the picture with the white background. So you need to tell your camera to compensate exposure, probably between one and two stops. Determine the exact amount of compensation by trial-and-error, without overexposing your actual subject.


Soft lighting
Using direct lighting is probably one of the most common mistakes made by photographers. Direct lighting causes reflections and harsh shadows. We don’t want those in general and we certainly don’t want those when shooting an object on white. So you need soft lighting. Diffusing and/or bouncing the light create soft lighting. Professional product photographers use light tents or light boxes for diffusing the lights. Light tents are simple frames, covered with a thin layer of white material that diffuses light. The light inside a light tent is softer and bounces around the inside of the tent, helping to reduce shadows. Below are two links to build one yourself. I have built a similar one and it works just fine, as you can see from the pics in this blog.

Post process
The final step is done behind your computer. You should not rely on post processing alone. Of course, if you are very patient, you can isolate any object in Photoshop, but that’s not our purpose here. We are merely fine-tuning the white of the background. As light falls of with distance, your corners may have gone grey. You can use a gradient mask on a levels or curves-layer in Photoshop to correct for grey corners in a natural looking way without overexposing your actual subject.

I did not mention what type of lights to use, did I? That’s because it is not important. You may use sunlight, daylight bulbs, flash light or even a simple bulb. As long as you stick to the above and correct for white balance deviations, you’ll do fine.

More resources:
Build a do it yourself light box
Different way to build a light box
Tutorial for post processing
Tutorial on how to use isolated items in a picture