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Small A&C Style Clock

Rennie Heuer

Rennie Heuer

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Location
Constantine, MI
Adding to my product line, filling in with some lower cost items.

No real joinery other than a few rabbets and the ebony pyramid plugs. Bottom is screwed and glued on, top is just glued. A 1/4" thick back access panel is held into rabbets with a couple of turn buttons. Mechanism is a one piece friction fit unit. Almost took as long to apply the finish as it did to build! I made three - one is finished a bit lighter than the others - some customers prefer a lighter finish.
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Rennie Heuer said:
Drama. Nothing more. I photoshop the background out and replace it with the black. Hoping it makes it look more luxurious. ;o)
Click to expand...

I'd recommend using an actual backdrop instead of Photoshopping it in. Even in the relatively low res forum pictures, the jaggedness of the edges shows. I've used a Flotone, but there are other options. You can even print one on poster-size paper at someplace like Fedex Office.

Gradient backdrops are very commonly used for product photos, but you can also get solids, as far as I know.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=23694&fct=fct_brand_name|flotone&N=3659994758
 
Rennie Heuer said:
Drama. Nothing more. I photoshop the background out and replace it with the black. Hoping it makes it look more luxurious. ;o)
Click to expand...

The clock is awesome - no digs on that at all.

The presentation just looks dark to me. I do notice the jagged edge also. I think more people like light rather than dark. Idunno - just my observation

There are some tutorials and helps on ETSY about presentation.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
I'd recommend using an actual backdrop instead of Photoshopping it in. Even in the relatively low res forum pictures, the jaggedness of the edges shows. I've used a Flotone, but there are other options. You can even print one on poster-size paper at someplace like Fedex Office.

Gradient backdrops are very commonly used for product photos, but you can also get solids, as far as I know.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=23694&fct=fct_brand_name|flotone&N=3659994758
Click to expand...

Leo Voisine said:
The clock is awesome - no digs on that at all.

The presentation just looks dark to me. I do notice the jagged edge also. I think more people like light rather than dark. Idunno - just my observation

There are some tutorials and helps on ETSY about presentation.
Click to expand...

Darren Wright said:
My lighting wasn't the greatest, but here are some photos I did with a black backdrop...https://photos.app.goo.gl/Nf9mLmAvC89YnwV43
Click to expand...

I use a number of different backdrops depending on the item. These were small enough to fit in my photo cube. I used a white backdrop cloth, but I rarely like how the cloth, and its creases, wrinkles and texture, show up in the photos. I can never seem to get it completely lint free either. So, I sometimes shoot with the intention of removing the backdrop in photoshop and substituting a single color. I have not experimented a lot with gradients, but it is worth a try.

I am no pro in photoshop, to be sure. I sometimes spend the time on a pixel by pixel level to clean up the jagged edges, but was in a bit of a hurry to get this item listed. The problem I ran into was the reflection on the top of the clock came pretty close to mimicking the backdrop. That and my using a longer focal length giving me a shallow depth of field. Those combined to give me a fuzzy line at the back of the clock. Probably time I read up on product photography in some of my books. Been too long.
 
Rennie Heuer said:
...I rarely like how the cloth, and its creases, wrinkles and texture, show up in the photos...
Click to expand...

Hence my recommendation for the Flotone backdrop. I fought and hated the wrinkles too, but the vinyl backdrop solved that issue. Mine has been used so much over the years that it's got some smudges and scratches on it now. In the past I've used the Healing Brush in Photoshop to get rid of those blemishes. When I get the shop back up and running, I'll likely invest in a new backdrop. I definitely got my money's worth out of the first one. :thumb:

Here's an old thread showing my setup:

https://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?4380-My-Photo-Setup
 
The article on ETSY that I was reading talked about all the same stuff. A white backdrop is not necessarily the best choice either.

By no means am I any sort of knowledgeable on the subject, but I used to sell a lot of stuff on EBAY years ago and I went through a bunch of different scenarios.

Now when I see backdrops, I just wonder why? Hence my original question.
 
My set up is similar to Vaughn's. Nice 30" pop up tent from here and a graduated vinyl backdrop from here. Both have been very durable. Eight years of fairly rough use and just a few dirt smudges that were easily cleaned up with soap and water. I haven't shopped lately, so there may be cheaper options, but I will get a bigger tent and back drop next time because 30" is not big enough for larger bowls and boxes.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
I'd recommend using an actual backdrop instead of Photoshopping it in. Even in the relatively low res forum pictures, the jaggedness of the edges shows. I've used a Flotone, but there are other options. You can even print one on poster-size paper at someplace like Fedex Office.

Gradient backdrops are very commonly used for product photos, but you can also get solids, as far as I know.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=23694&fct=fct_brand_name|flotone&N=3659994758
Click to expand...

Leo Voisine said:
The clock is awesome - no digs on that at all.

The presentation just looks dark to me. I do notice the jagged edge also. I think more people like light rather than dark. Idunno - just my observation

There are some tutorials and helps on ETSY about presentation.
Click to expand...

Vaughn McMillan said:
Hence my recommendation for the Flotone backdrop. I fought and hated the wrinkles too, but the vinyl backdrop solved that issue. Mine has been used so much over the years that it's got some smudges and scratches on it now. In the past I've used the Healing Brush in Photoshop to get rid of those blemishes. When I get the shop back up and running, I'll likely invest in a new backdrop. I definitely got my money's worth out of the first one. :thumb:

Here's an old thread showing my setup:

https://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?4380-My-Photo-Setup
Click to expand...

Leo Voisine said:
The article on ETSY that I was reading talked about all the same stuff. A white backdrop is not necessarily the best choice either.

By no means am I any sort of knowledgeable on the subject, but I used to sell a lot of stuff on EBAY years ago and I went through a bunch of different scenarios.

Now when I see backdrops, I just wonder why? Hence my original question.
Click to expand...

Ted Calver said:
My set up is similar to Vaughn's. Nice 30" pop up tent from here and a graduated vinyl backdrop from here. Both have been very durable. Eight years of fairly rough use and just a few dirt smudges that were easily cleaned up with soap and water. I haven't shopped lately, so there may be cheaper options, but I will get a bigger tent and back drop next time because 30" is not big enough for larger bowls and boxes.
Click to expand...

Actually, I had never heard of Flotone. I thought it might be a computer backdrop you can add in Photoshop. Now that I see it (thanks for the link) I can see why it would be a better choice. Definitely making its way to my Amazon wishlist!
 
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