Above is an example of our 360 degree product photography. Go on… have a go! Click and drag to rotate the item a full 360 degrees. You can also double click to zoom and click on the 'hotspots' to reveal more information about specific areas of the product. (more…)
Alive & Dirty clothing, based in the new Liverpool 1 shopping area, came to Studiowide with a brief for fashion product photography images to go on their new website. The sports and casual wear retailer wanted potential customers who were visiting their eCommerce site, to be able to see professional images of their products in detail before making a purchase. (more…)
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Our studio has been put to the test over the last 2 weeks on a recent product photography project for our client, Taps & Showers Direct Ltd. The company is updating their website and urgently required product photography shots to be taken, of over 120 different taps & shower units, including a variety of scenery and stylised images.
Our first challenge was to overcome a small issue with REFLECTIONS. The surface on each of these products was highly polished chrome, and it wasn’t until we looked at the variety of shapes and sizes that we realised just how tricky this project was going to be. We were effectively photographing items that each had its own unique shape and consequently unique reflective areas.
The main concern when working with reflective surfaces is catching unwanted reflections in the final image. The issue was probably more difficult to overcome than the actual taking of the photograph – we were essentially photographing a six sided mirror. Lighting the taps was also a little tricky as direct light on highly reflective objects tends to create hotspots (sections of the photograph which are over-exposed due to the amount of light in one specific area).
To overcome any hotspots we positioned the overhead lights directly above the products and then diffused the light to give a nice mellow fall off. We also placed some additional lighting next to the taps and then bounced the light off a defused surface, providing a reduced harshness to the light.
Once we had the lights set up, our next problem was to figure out how we were going to keep each item free of fingerprints. This is where the office marigolds had a chance to steal the show. These actually proved to be the perfect solution for keeping everything gleaming. As you can image, even the smallest fingerprint or piece of dirt on a highly polished surface would show up in the photographs. Of course, it’s possible to remove these in post-production; however, it saves a whole lot of time and messing about if you can get it right in the first place.
To assist with the shoot we used our remote timer on each photograph, this allowed us to step out of the area when the photograph was taken. Also, we wanted the image to be as clear as possible – we were shooting at the lowest ISO we could, with an aperture of around f/11 (this ensured that the entire tap was in focus). Combining these two settings in this way required a slow shutter speed to let in the correct amount of light, in order to expose the photograph. By putting the camera on a tripod and using the remote timer to take the photograph, meant that there was no chance of the camera moving, or the tripod getting knocked when the shutter button was pressed. All of this attention to detail resulted in a clear and correctly exposed photograph.
Overall, we created a mixture of scenography and standard plain shots on this product photography project. For the scenography images we used a variety of tiled and wallpaper backgrounds, along with a number of sink units and props, such as aftershave, soap dishes, dispensers etc. To bring some of the stylised shots to life even further, we also applied running water to some of the images in post-production.
Once all the photographs were taken we then moved into the post production phase to tweak the white balance and a few other settings (since we shoot everything RAW) before importing it into Photoshop. As soon as we were happy with the final image we then added a clipping mask. This was applied to the standard plain product shots so that the tap or shower could be placed in a variety of coloured backgrounds.
The product photography project went extremely well. Our client is very happy with the overall result. Plus, we learnt a few more new tricks and techniques to help us get around the issue of highly reflective surfaces on future shoots. A great win win result!
TESTIMONIAL
"We were looking for a product photography company to shoot our range of Kitchen and Bathroom stainless steel brassware, to then be published on our website, brochures and other marketing materials.
It was of the upmost importance that the quality was of the highest degree. The project was far from straight forward: the guys would have to assemble all the products and also set the various different background props in situ for the taps, showers, wash basins, etc, and then finally edit all in Photoshop.
After receiving 7 quotes from companies across the UK, some afar afield as London, we decided to go with Studiowide for three reasons; 1st) The cost compared to quality was the most competitive. 2nd) The location was fantastic for us and the guys also allowed us to call in and tweak the studio shots. 3rd) We had confidence in the guys after talking to them and also looking through their portfolio.
All in all we were very pleased with the final work. As a result, I would highly recommend Studiowide. We will be using their services again in the future. Thanks guys!" Damien Golden, Director. OPTIMA Bathroom Solutions Ltd.
We recently finished designing and developing a micro website for our client, to launch their brand new product: Walking Stick Mate.
A micro website is a perfect solution to focus on a specific product or service and can be deployed in only a few days. On this project we opted to keep the content minimal, keeping the focus on the actual product itself and designed everything to be displayed above the fold of the web page. The main product information is contained within a motion graphics video.
Overall, this micro website contains 3 product information pages – which is really all you need to focus on one product or a specific campaign – we also integrated a pop-up payment page and 3 additional pages for legal stuff, plus a contact form.
Those Businesses who are looking to quickly promote a product or launch a new service, can use 5 to 6 page micro websites to create a straight forward and cost effective solution. The simple approach makes these types of sites ideal for start-up websites or single product or service promotion.
Our client also required a payment system integrated into their website so users could purchase the Walking Stick Mate on-line. In this instance we recommended PayPal Pro, due to the ease and speed in which it takes to set the account up and begin trading.
PayPal also happens to be the most widely used online payment system in the world, considered by many to be the most reliable for money transfers. However, It’s a bit like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. We actually love it! But, as they say, it’s ‘horses for courses’.
We designed and built this micro website using the very popular WordPress open source platform. WordPress runs unbelievably smoothly as a Content Management System (CMS), but what makes it great is how much control you have. We can code any part of WordPress to function the way our clients want.
Our client has now taken ownership of the website and has full access and control in order to adjust content and Meta data very quickly and easily – making updates a breeze – the WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor provides complete control over content.
All of the websites that we offer now come with Content Management Systems. This type of system removes the need for any additional 'web content' update costs, as it’s all handled in-house by the client, through the Content Management System.
On a final note; not only did Studiowide produce the micro website on this project, we were also responsible for the complete product development and marketing strategy of this product launch. We utilised the following services overall on this project: Graphic Design, 360 Product Photography, Motion Graphics and Strategic Marketing.
On the back of what seems to be a 'roll' for us regarding interesting products coming into Studiowide; we have just completed more professional photography for another new client. This time the images are destined for use on websites and packaging. The project was for a local, and pretty cool, company called BEEcycle, based in Liverpool. These guys are extremely innovative when it comes to creating and providing solutions to solving the problem of waste.
BEEcycle required our services for professional photography of their Beanstalk Pods. The Beanstalk Pod grows without the need for soil or watering. Almost zero effort is required to magically grow a beanstalk containing a bean with a special message of your choice.
There are a total of 4 different coloured beads that you can use; blue, green, yellow and red. We had to photograph each set of coloured beads in the pod and a varying amount of beads and seeds scattered next to it. Overall, we took a series of 8 photographs for the client.
This shoot was a little tricky compared to our usual professional photography projects, as the Beanstalk Pod is made of transparent plastic. This meant that once we applied the necessary studio lights to create the required lighting, we had to diffuse with constant lighting in order to keep the light reflections to a minimum, whilst still keeping the item sufficiently lit.
As with all projects of this type; when you shine studio lights directly onto a transparent and 'very' shiny item, you naturally get copious amounts of glare and reflections – our role as professional photographers is to overcome problems like this. In this instance we achieved the right outcome by reflecting from whiteboards, back onto the far side of the plastic dome, whilst also using the white backdrop as a diffuser. This process made it much easier to photograph the Beanstalk Pod correctly and achieve the desired result.
If you get a chance then we recommend taking a look at the Beanstalk Pod website, it'll make a great gift. More importantly though, if you’re interested in finding out how our professional photography service can help you, then don’t hesitate to get in touch!
By Danny Piercy
Check out this sample picture above…
Oh, wait, what!? It spins!? What the heck is going on… that’s right, it’s interactive, awwwwhh yeah!
We’ve just completed some more 360 photography. This time round it’s for our client Bobby Barton Inventions Ltd and a product called ‘Walking Stick Mate’.
This device has been 100% designed, manufactured and marketed by yours truly Studiowide (more information to follow ref this great product – including case study).
The Walking Stick Mate is to aid people with a walking stick, allowing them to use their hands when needed and prevents the walking stick from being dropped. This nifty little device keeps the stick at your side, ready for use. It simply clips to a belt/pocket, attaches to the walking stick and then you’re good to go. The tensioned wire makes sure that your stick will constantly be by your side when you need it, but doesn’t hinder your movement when using it.
360 photography is a great way to show your product off to your customers. No longer do they have to be in the store or be physically holding the product to take a good look at it. We take a series of 32 photographs and then seamlessly stitch them together to create a full interactive 360 degree image viewer.
Take a look at some more of our 360 photography
If you’re interested in seeing how our product photography could help you, don’t hesitate to get in touch, or pop in for a cuppa!
Background
The Grim Reaper Food company are specialist chilli manufacturers based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, headed up by well-known Chef, Russell Williams.
The premium, artisan producer are winners of the ‘Fiery Foods Festival’, 2010 and 2011 and are quickly making a name for themselves in the chilli world. They are now seeking to expand their lines for chilli products, with the introduction of a chilli based rapeseed oil.
The Challenge
The Grim Reaper had introduced a chocolate bar range (of which, Studiowide also created the concept and designed the packaging) and has now developed 3 rapeseed cooking oils.
Our client provided us with the brief based around the design and production of the 3 labels for an assortment of oils, which consisted of the following flavours:
Our objective was to come up with the packaging design concept and to create the labels to be used on the bottles. The design had to remain consistent with the previous packaging.
The whole Grim Reaper Foods collection is chilli orientated and targets only the daring chilli lover.
The company is currently working on introducing even more product lines; therefore our challenge was to create a brand identity that would be easily recognisable and transposable throughout the range.
The final concept also had to communicate what fiery delights Grim Reaper Foods were offering. Thus the company required a clear, modern and creative approach for the brand.
The Solution
After research and brainstorming we concluded, the best way to achieve the required strong brand identity for Grim Reaper, and to help differentiate the products from its competitors, was to utilise colours and icons to identify the 3 alternative flavours; Vengeance, Tempest and Incinerator.
Colours instantly provoke emotions – used in many representations. This is also a great technique when used in food categorisation, e.g. in crisps, pink more often than not represents prawn cocktail flavour.
Hence, using the colour yellow to identify the ‘oils’ assists the consumer with the instant recognition of the product.
By simply placing a subtle band of colour on the top of each design we created a slight detail, balanced with the right amount of emphasis required to evoke the desired impact.
Alongside the introduction of colours we included additional graphical assets to specifically represent the Grim Reaper rapeseed oil line; we designed an assortment of icons to highlight the exact flavour of oil on offer. A vector, illustrated Grim Reaper character is present in all Grim Reaper food packaging, clutching his chilli formed scythe.
In the design of the rapeseed oil labelling the Grim Reaper is also seen holding the icon in his grasp, almost as if he is presenting the product to the consumer himself. This was replicated through all 3 oil designs with the character ‘owning’ a different oil icon for each flavour.
The Results
The Grim Reaper Foods oil collection differs from its competition in the sense that at present, the visual aesthetics of the packaging ensures the brand will stand out from any other chilli oil in the market.
The use of a character, alongside a creative narrative surrounding the brand, provides an authentic vibe. Early signs are the new packaging design engages and generates excitement from consumers.
“For a company to understand a client’s idea and bring it to life, for me, is amazing. Excellent to deal with, fast efficient service, from concept to final design – within timescales, and informed at each stage."
Russell Williams – Managing Director, Grim Reaper Foods Ltd
CLICK AND DRAG ON IMAGE TO ROTATE
Hey, this is cool, don't you agree? Being able to show your customers your product without them having them come to you, or you having to send them your product. Think about how awesome is it to be able to send them a link to your site where they can look at your product and rotate it freely and view all 360 degrees of it? Very cool and professional…
…and, as a customer, I love checking out the product in store before I buy it; I want to make sure it’s exactly what I want before I go throwing my hard earned money at the cashier. However, this isn’t always possible when shopping on the internet as… well; you’re sat at a computer and not in the store. Duh.
Using 360 Degree product photography you can show off your products in all their exciting, rotating, interactive & stylised glory. Oh yes, back of the net. By bringing your product(s) to us here at Studiowide, we can turn it into a fully interactive 360 degree image. we take a series of 32 images in our photography studio, stitch them together to create an interactive image and then format the file ready for you to embed in your web page; allowing visitors to click and drag to rotate your product a full 360 degrees!
We've recently just finished compiling a 360 degree photography project for a client who has developed and Patented a simple, low cost and easy-to-use solar LED Ophthalmoscopes (Say What!) You can read about the product here at arclightscope.com.
Our client wanted to enable visitors to their site to be able to freely rotate the unit and look at it in it's entirety to get a better idea of the features it has and it's compact size.
If you want to find out more, or get in touch with us about taking some 360 degree photography for your website, visit our ‘Product Photography’ page or contact us on 0151 708 5678.
Thomas Knowles is a local Liverpool based artist that creates simplistic, earthly and fragile narratives with an ambiguous content. Working with real issues, scenarios and contexts, and process them within a playful and fictitious method, applying flares of fantasy, melancholy and myth.
We were approached by Tom who told us that he wanted photographs of his art to use on his website and to send to galleries to raise general awareness of his work and establish himself as an artist. Tom’s work is something that has to be seen to fully appreciate it, the works are painted onto objects and so having a single image to showcase the work wouldn’t do them justice. The works stretch around the object a whole 360 degrees, so a series of photographs were needed to try and show the full extent of the work.
Tom is looking to display his work in galleries. The photographs are something that would be featured on his website and then viewed by galleries. Tom wanted the pictures to try and show off his art as much as possible without having the person look at the piece directly in person. Due to the size of some of the pieces, this would be almost impossible to be sending out or carrying around.
Tom was looking for the pictures to raise awareness of the art that he produces. The pictures need to show the attention to detail that Tom undertakes when painting each of his pieces.To solve this problem, we proposed a series of each photographs for each piece. Three main ‘establishing’ shots that show the piece as a whole from different angles and then a further three macro shots that will show the detail in each of the paintings.
At some point in the future Tom has stated that he would be using our 360 degree photography facilities so that people are able to rotate his pieces virtually and experience them almost as if they were viewing them in a gallery.
In total we took 39 photographs of Tom's art work, all ready to be put in his website. Tom is hoping the photographs will raise more awareness for the art that he produces. The photographs are also helping Tom sell his £2,000 artwork pieces.
Testimonial;
“I recently worked with Studiowide to complete a portfolio of product photography, capturing my artwork. I found working with Studiowide a real pleasure. On a personal level they showed genuine interest in both myself and my work, and went above and beyond to provide me with an excellent service, practical guidance and technical help. With regards to the photography work; I approached them with a difficult task as my artwork is very challenging to photograph due to its 3-Dimensional shape, its size and lacquered finish. These factors did not cause a problem for the Studiowide team who expertly, professionally and innovatively tackled the brief. As an artist it was fantastic to work with a creative team who understood art and my product, and how to show it at its best. I could not recommend Studiowide enough to any artists wanting to develop a portfolio, or anyone with a product that needs to be shown to its full potential.” Thomas Knowles, Artist.
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Over the past few weeks we’ve been busy snapping pictures to help promote ‘Beautiful Brows’;
‘Beautiful Brows is a specialist Cosmetics Company based in the UK. We manufacture and supply a unique brow makeover product, to retail and trade outlets across the UK. Beautiful Brows is a revolutionary system that creates perfectly shaped and coloured eyebrows in just minutes!
Our unique eyebrow powder is made in the UK, ensuring the highest quality – the product has fast become a UK top seller. Proven to quickly transform thin, short and pale eyebrows into the perfect shape, every time!’
We were asked to take a series of product shots that would be used both online and in a shiny magazine that would be available in Dubai. The product shots were all taken here at our Studio in Liverpool; using professional studio lights and a white backdrop we were able to create a stylish looking product shot for each of the products in the line-up. Once the picture had been taken and we were happy with the positioning of the light and the composition; it was time to take it to the next level! Well, into Photoshop. This is where we do all our post-production work to make an image come alive. Once the image has been touched up and enhanced, it’s ready to save for the web. This is where we will save the image at a specific resolution and file size so that it is easily viewable for everybody on the web, regardless of internet speed or monitor size.
Not only are we able to take photographic images in the confines of our own studio, but also out and about in the real World, aaawwwwhhh yeah! You heard correct. We’ll come to you and provide a location based shoot. This is something that was also required as part of the Beautiful Brows brief. We were given media passes to the ‘Professional Beauty North 2011’ show in Manchester. Armed with our go-anywhere-and-photograph-anything badges we made our way over to the Beautiful Brows stand and started snapping as customers continuously queued up to try the new products out! Making sure we showed the beauty of the product and the sheer excitement of the customers trying it out.
Overall, our client was very happy with the photographs we produced and has them proudly displayed on their website. Success.
If you’re interested in any of our photography services then don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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