Finding Backdrops for Product Photography | Nicolett Electra | Skillshare

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Finding Backdrops for Product Photography

teacher avatar Nicolett Electra, Photographer and Makeup Artist

Watch this class and thousands more

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Finding Backdrops for Product Photography

      0:50

    • 2.

      What are you photographing and what's the vision?

      2:39

    • 3.

      Things to Consider When Finding Locations.

      5:32

    • 4.

      In the Field Finding Locations

      1:57

    • 5.

      Class Project

      0:50

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About This Class

In this class, you will learn about product photography, more specifically, what to look for when finding backgrounds for photography. Many times, we settle for places around our home. In this course Ill teach you what exactly to look for to create the most eye catching shots. 

Meet Your Teacher

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Nicolett Electra

Photographer and Makeup Artist

Teacher

Hello Everyone!

My name is Nicolett. Im a photographer basked in the Los Angeles with a passion for creating stunning imagery! Join me in my courses where I teach you everything you need to know to have a successful photoshoot. 

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Level: Intermediate

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Transcripts

1. Finding Backdrops for Product Photography: Hello there everybody. Welcome. If you clicked on this video, that means you are interested in photographing either your own personal products or client's products and you're trying to figure out what is the best background, then I can shoot this product on. I don't know what the best background is and I don't know how to find these backdrops. Well, if that's you and you're looking for places to shoot, then this video is for you in this class. We're going to be sitting now and we're gonna be talking about things to consider before you jump into the shoot, before you jump into photographing the product that you're photographing. And then from there, once you're out in the field, once you're out in the world and looking for different locations, what are those things that you have to look for? So again, if you're someone who's looking for backdrops, if you're somebody who is struggling to find them and you don't know why this course is for you. I look forward to seeing you in my class. 2. What are you photographing and what's the vision?: Hello there everybody and welcome into the course. You've made it this far. Congratulations. In this first section, we're going to talk about two different things. We're gonna talk about your product and we're going to talk about your mood. Are you an entrepreneur and you are looking to photograph products of your own stuff. Great. It's gonna be a good video class for you. Are you possibly a photographer who is photographing for other clients? And you were again trying to find backdrops. Then again, this class is going to be for you. So let's jump in. Let's talk about what is the product that you're photographing. First and foremost, let's figure that out. Or you photographing something that is kind of small, maybe like jewelry. Are you shooting something that is maybe a little bit larger, kinda sits upright like a water bottle. These are things to consider before you even jump into the photoshoot. Once you determine what the product is that you are photographing, you can start to envision two types of images that you want to get. For instance, something like jewelry typically will require photos to be photographed from a overhead sort of perspective. You can't really put a piece of jewelry up in the air, floating, so to speak. You usually have to lay flat on something and shooting either at an upward angle or a slightly angled sort of perspective. So that is something to consider if you're shooting something like a water bottle, for instance, not only can you shoot a water bottle from a overhead perspective, similarly to the jewelry, but you can also shoot it from a side angle and get a little bit more of the landscape. So again, first step is going to be looking at your product and determining the types of shots then you can get with your product. The next thing that you have to consider is the mood of what is the mood that you want to go for. Typically, the mood is something that is determined by the client or the entrepreneur, depending on who is watching this video. And usually I like to get mood boards for my clients to determine the vibe that they want, movie, the color schemes. But again, you're going to have to figure out what the mood is. And from there, as you're out in the world looking for backdrops, you'll be able to teach your eye to gravitate towards those things. Per say, the client wants something that's a bit more on the creamy, neutral sort of tone, then you know, for something that's neutral, you might be looking for like a wooden surface. You might be looking for concrete surfaces. If a client wants something a bit more rugged, you might be looking for rusty pieces, something that has a bit more grit and sand to it. So again, you're going to want to determine not only what the product is, but of course, what is the vibe of what you were trying to capture? And that's going to help you once you're out in the world looking for locations. 3. Things to Consider When Finding Locations.: So now you've already determined, you know, what your product is, you know what the vibe and the aesthetic is. Now we're out in the world. So the first thing that I'd like to look for is color. As we discussed before, you've got your mood board, you've got your vibe already set. So based off of that, you'll be able to kind of pinpoint things that you want directly. Are you looking for something that's maybe a bit more natural greenery? Then you're going to want to go to a park of some sort. And then from there kind of go around and look for the succulents, look for the patch of green grass and look for the pretty flowers. Are you looking for something that's a bit more neutral then again, your guy is going to naturally gravitate towards the neutral tones. Okay, that building is a little bit white. This one, this concrete looks like it could work. Oh, yeah. Look that over there. Yes, you're neutral. So on and so forth. Color is going to be that first thing that you're going to be looking for as you are Scott locating. And it will help you finding that first location that you're gonna be wanting to find books in any way. Color is the first thing that I like to look for. Now, the second part that I like to consider is texture. Texture is pretty important. Texture is the second part that I'd like to look for a texture or something that it can be tricky sometimes, especially depending on where you're at and what kind of resources you might have in a specific area. But once you've found, okay, I wanted, let's say something that's a bit more neutral. And you found per se a few different areas. Now you can say, Okay, I found this would this would has a nice little, little look to it. Some little bit more worn down. I'm gonna shoot here. Or you might say, I don't like the worn down, but I like the wood that's over there that's a bit more smooth and paved and has made me different color things into it, but texture, something that I do like to look for and it can make or break an image. Why you shouldn't be considering textures in the first place. Well, think about your product. If you're shooting something that is perhaps something like a concrete sort of products similar to the ashtrays that I was photographing. Well then it's a smooth surface and you might not want to shoot it on everything that's smooth. You might want to shoot it on something that honestly has a bit more grid, maybe has a little bit of sand. You might want to throw it in some rocks then make it look a bit more like enticing and it's popping because it's, it's contrasting with the backdrop. So texture again, it's something that you're going to want to look for when you are finding or locations. The next note that I like to consider as patterns. Patterns is also something that can really make an image extremely interesting. And my personal opinion, there is one image that always comes to mind that I just stumbled across on a walk and I said, You know what, This is amazing. And it was a it was a watch that I photographed and it was a like a like a flooring that had circles in it and it was very general. I mean, people were walking all up on it, like it was nothing but I looked at the holes and through the holes you can see the floor that was maybe ten feet down below it. And it was just super interesting to me. And from there I stuck with the watch in one of the hole. So it wasn't that big of a hole. Got the mosaic that was behind it. And again, the simplicity, the sleekness of the watch, contrast it with the ruggedness and the pattern of this background that I found that I stumbled across. So again, it's something to think about, something to consider when you are looking for your locations is what kind of cool mosaics can I find? What kinda cool patterns can I find? Sometimes it's even as simple as shadow cast. Shadow casts can make really cool patterns on the floor as well. So pattern is another thing that I'd like to look for whenever I am Scott locating, especially once you say Okay, I found the color that I like, I like the texture of this. Is there a pattern that I can find are finding me inspired by? That's the next part that I like to look at. My last note when it comes to finding locations is lighting. As we all know, the sun goes up during the day and it goes down at night. That's just how it works. So per se, you're out Scout locating. You didn't bring the product with you and you are just out there looking, trying to find locations to bring a future product, right? Take note of the time of day that you are looking at, the spaces that you're looking at. Take a note of what do the clouds look like? If the clouds, if there's no clouds in the sky or if it's overcast, the lighting that's going to come is going to fluctuate and it's going to be different. So that is something to think about whenever you're out, shooting is lighting, especially if you go in the morning and let's say you go in the evening, the shadow casts are going to be different. If you decide to go midday, this is probably not recommend it. You can still get some cool shots if you go midday, but something to consider as well as if you are shooting a product that requires you to be overhead. Guess what the sun is right above you. And if you go overhead, boom, you're gonna be in every single shot there your shadow is going to cast. Now of course, if it's overcast and might be different, but if it's a sunny day, something to consider. So again, lighting, take note of the time of day, especially if your scalp locating without the product. And you'll have a better time when you come back for the actual shoot of saying, okay, it's still a sunny day today, just like it was before. It's the same time that I went last time. The lighting is going to look the same. So again, something to consider. 4. In the Field Finding Locations: Now that we've gotten this all out of the way, we know what products were shooting, we know the mood that we want to go for it. We've looked for different colors, we looked for different textures, we're looking for different patterns and even considering lighting. Now it's time for us to go out into the world and do some shooting. So in this next section, you're going to see me photographing and ashtray photographing a vase and finding different locations on the fly. It can be tricky, but overall, we're able to find some cool locks. We just have to keep our eyes open, our minds open, and we will find something. For this project. I decided to take out some ashtrays along with a vase that my friend creates, made out of concrete. And go around the city and try to find at different places to photograph these pieces. I found a few different areas that had cool patterns and cool textures. Even found some wood that honestly worked pretty decently, along with some pretty greenery. The greenery was really nice and did allow for a pop of color and the cactus fuel that everybody has at the moment. But honestly, the place that one the best was this park. I found this park in downtown LA and I thought, hm, There's a lot of places to shoot here. One of the places was this little red area that had a concrete feel. And then there were some really nice bamboo and the back and some pretty cast shadows that were on the concrete. But the issue came into play that I decided to go out to photograph midday. And as you can see, photographing midday does cast a lot of shadows. But nonetheless, we were able to find a few different places. And these are some of the shots that we were able to capture. The key is to go slow. The key is to just keep your eyes open and as you walk around the city or the different areas that you choose to go and scout, locate, you will find something patients is key. 5. Class Project: So now that you guys know everything that you have to look for and you've guys have seen me go out into the field trying my best to find different locations for both the vase and the ashtray that I was photographing. Now it's your turn. For your class project. I want you guys to grab a product in your home, whether it's your own personal product from your own personal brand, or it's a client's product, or it's something that you have in your house. You just bought a new lipstick and you wanna go photographic. Go do it. Find a product in your home, and go outside and find different locations to photograph and let me know why you chose the locations that you chose. Was it the colors that you gravitated towards that fit your moodboard and aesthetic. Was it perhaps a texture, wasn't perhaps a pattern that you felt looked really great with this product. Let me know. I look forward to seeing all of your projects down below.