Product Photography: Workflow & Techniques

Toronto based product and commercial photographer, Vincent Lions, shows us how he achieves perfect sharpness from end-to-end on his product photography shots. Vincent takes us step-by-step through every aspect of his product photo shoot, from sketching the concept to the final results. Download the e-book where Vincent shares his workflow from concept to capture.

Concept to Capture: A guide to product photography workflow & technique

“I won’t lie to you: I shot multiple images of the watch in water before I got the result I was looking for. And if you add elements such as liquid, smoke, or basically anything organic or in motion; you have to accept you’re working with some factors that you can’t always fully control.”

Sketches for the photo shoot

“I very often start my projects with a sketch. It doesn’t have to be 100% accurate, but it helps me to share ideas with my client. That way, I can also explore different options before going on set and figure out what material I will need to create the images.”

Working with Capture One

“I can’t imagine working in a studio and not shooting tethered. I started working with Capture One Pro since version 5 (now on version 10), and haven’t stopped using it since. Every new version comes with new features that improve my workflow dramatically. Capture One is not only part of the creative process, to me it is as essential as the lens on the camera.”

The rule of watch photography

When combining water and watches, the “rule of watch photography” is a tricky one:

“Time on the dial should always be 10:10. Hands are placed that way to balance the dial and frame the logo. That rule means that the watch can’t be running when it’s photographed, so the crown must be pulled out to stop the watch running.

Consequently, the watch cannot be exposed to water as crown out means water can get in. So, to create the visual I wanted for the Laguna, two series of photos were needed: one in a dry environment with hands at 10:10 (crown pulled out), one in the water (crown pushed in, time running). I would then have to combine them together into one single image in post-production.”

Product photography tips e-book

If you want to know more about Vincent’s product photography tips, look no further. We have collected them all in this e-book where you’ll learn about: