The Method I am Now Using To Do Pack Shots

[Dallas]

How I make full use of technology to do my packshot photography.

 

So on the shooting table I have my Panasonic Lumix G9 attached to the table using clamps and poles. This is connected to an old 2012 MacBook Pro via a TetherTools cable and running the Lumix Capture tethering software. To preview what I am shooting via the laptop I am using a Samsung 24" monitor attached to a monitor arm that is also clamped to the table.

 

Lumix Capture is set to drop its images onto a folder on my desktop Mac Mini via my local network. Once the shot appears in that folder Lightroom moves it to another folder specific to the shoot I am doing.

 

I got tired of getting up and down all the time between the two computers, so using MacOS' screen sharing feature I connected to the MacBook Pro's screen so that I can control Lumix Tether form the desktop. I then moved that screen onto my 11" iPad Pro using the Sidecar feature.

 

For lighting on the pictured setup I am using a pair of Godox ES45 LED panels, which I can control from my iPhone using the Godox Light app. I have mounted one of the panels to a Samson MBA38 microphone arm via an adapter. I need to get another one of these as my main key light is too static currently.

 

This all works like a bomb! (once you get it set up)

 

 

 

 

The only edits to this shot in Lightroom are a 15 bump to shadows and -37 to blacks. I moved the whites to 100% but it wasn't necessary for the background, only the plexiglass bottom. 

[atpaula]

Hi Dallas,

I did not like the result so much.

It's not my thing to take pictures of products like this and I don't know how to do it.

I admire the way Ken Rockwell does it and would like to know his technique.

[Dallas]

This setup was actually for bottles of lip gloss for a client, but I thought I would quickly put something else in for this demo BTS. You can see the lip gloss in the screen on the second shot.