Good afternoon everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend, and maybe got a chance to get out and take a few more pictures before summer is gone for the year. It was actually too hot for a lot outdoor activity this weekend in Middle Earth. Not that it would have made any difference if it had been cooler. I did not get out of the studio until late on Sunday afternoon and didn’t get to take any pictures before it was dark.

One of the reasons I was unable to get away was that I was editing the “Lester’s Lightroom” video, featuring friend of the show, Lester Lefkowitz! The editing is complete and I have posted the video to YouTube for everyone to enjoy. Here is a link to the video - https://youtu.be/49dsRxNlIY4

It was a wonderful presentation by Lester and there is a great deal of wisdom and humor packed into the two hour Pzoom meeting. Thanks again to Lester for coming back to visit, and thanks also to my Patreon Supporters for kindly agreeing to the release of this recording, a Patreon Only Special Event.

Our “Action” competition ends tomorrow evening after Macro Talk, and the results will be shared in Macro Talk Too on Thursday at 2PM. I can’t wait to see your entries and dig into the judging process - here is your link to attend the livestream and be one of the first to hear the results. https://youtube.com/live/3dc1Q4PEBO4?feature=share.

On Tuesday we will be wrapping up the third and final episode of my coin imaging series. In this episode I will be going over many of the advanced techniques used by coin photographers, looking at some of the most exciting new technology that they are deploying. We will also discuss some of the applications these new workflows may have for those of us living in the non-numismatic macro universe. Here is your link to the livestream, which starts at 8PM on Tuesday. https://youtube.com/live/Obgsit90SN4?feature=share

On Saturday, at 10AM, we have the first of October’s AfterStack episodes. This week it is Bud’s turn to lead the discussion, and I am not completely sure what he is going to bring, but I know he will be most grateful if you could bring a couple of your own images for us to work with. Stay tuned and I will let you know as soon as I have a topic. Allan Walls is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Allan Walls' AfterStack

Time: Oct 4, 2025 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

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So, with the end of the September we also have the start of the next challenge, and this is going to be a really fun one. I have thought a lot over the years about this theme but have always stepped back from it, for one reason or another. I am going to give you a little bit of information here about this topic, and what the judges will be looking for. To do that I really need to tell you about this particular discipline. For starters, Product Photography is not macro photography, though it can overlap at times. And like macro photography, at least in the studio, it is extremely demanding. The reason it is so demanding is because the people paying for these commercial photographic services demand, and expect, a degree of technical and artistic excellence that is hard to achieve. Colors must be absolutely identical to those a customer will see on the actual product. Every critical feature should be included. Diffraction, noise, and lens aberrations must be nowhere in sight and focus must be perfect. But contracts (and competitions) are won and lost on lighting. Just like in every photographic discipline. Lighting is everything! Below is a series of pictures where light is selectively applied to individual photographs using tiny pieces of gold foil as reflectors.

And this is the resulting photograph, after all the light has been applied

The final image after manual application of light

For the sake of this discussion, I will mention some of the types of product photography, so that you will better understand the guidelines for our competition in October. These are my own categories, but they should make sense. The first kind of product shot is the Hero Image - these pictures are the ones that photographers like Carl Taylor will spend a day or two to get the details of the scene perfect. These jobs leave nothing to chance - the photographer controls every aspect of the process, the light, the camera, the setting, background, and props. The images are expected be perfect because of this.

fender telecaster with all lighting managed in the set up

The next type of product work involves the rapid acquisition of dozens, even hundreds, of images that will later appear in brochures and in online retail websites. These images are called pack shots, and while they too are expected to show an absolutely accurate depiction of the item, they cannot contain distracting background elements or props. The key to the packshot is establishing an absolutely reproducible setting in which to rapidly place and photograph a bunch of similar products. They are commonly set up on a well lit platform with a perfectly white (occasionally black) background and foreground. The images should be accurate and tastefully lit, with little or no variability for shot to shot. They are often shot with an infinity curved backdrops and reflective foam core panels to direct light where it is needed. Directional lighting, and shadows are avoided, symmetry is perfect, and labels, when present are fully legible. Shooting pack shots is demanding, it does not pay very well, and the set up can be tedious and frustrating.

The third category is the lifestyle image. These pictures show the product being used in a way that directly, and indirectly, depicts the product as something you want to own. Lovely setting, attractive models, and a sense of prestige are a few of the tactics the lifestyle photographer will attempt to capture. This kind of photography is a lot of fun to do, but very hard to do well.

The next style is somewhat arbitrary in how it is defined, but is still worth mentioning, and it is the photography of big stuff. I split this out because many of these item cannot be photographed in the average studio and usually require specialized equipment, like larger format cameras, tilt-shift optics, lighting gantries, and a host of other, often very expensive, custom built rigs. These items include airplanes, boats, cars, and anything else you might have trouble getting in the studio. What makes this kind of work so difficult is the expectation that the photographs will have all the same qualities and be at least as good as those shot in the tightly controlled studio setting.

Some products are really more like services than tangible objects, and the only way to depict such abstract, insubstantial products is using human proxies. It is a fun way to promote banking or investment products or healthcare services, but it is well outside the scope of this challenge. In fact, all but one of these disciplines within product photography are outside the scope of this competition which will require that you submit one or two “HERO IMAGES” of your chosen “Product”. From here on, I am talking about the rules and guidelines for this competition, so I will format this using bullet points, for clarity.

The theme for the October Competition is “PRODUCT”
All size and magnification restrictions are paused for this contest
You are encouraged, but not required, to select a relatively small “Product”. The product you choose may have a direct impact on your scoring, with more difficult products (small, reflective, color branded, highly detailed, etc.) earning higher technical scores for the same performance than would be the case with a less challenging subject.
You will be judged on performance in the following areas:

A) Composition,

B) Technical,

C) Accuracy and effectiveness (how skillfully is your product displayed and how attractive is your depiction of the object to prospective buyers). Emotional impact and storytelling would fall into this category,

D) Creativity and uniqueness

5. You may add text to your image, if you believe that doing so will add to the impact or effectiveness of your composition,

6. The naming of your image will be considered as a creative element of your submission and could be particularly helpful in the event you have chosen an unusual or ambiguous product,

7. Failure to comply with the naming convention, explained on the Competition page of my website, will result in the disqualification of that image, and

8. You may use any props , backgrounds, or other elements you wish - but it is crucial that the judges know what the product is.

Nothing too difficult or confusing, I hope?

The best way to think about this contest would be to imagine you are competing for a photographer post at an advertising agency and you are taking a few pictures to show the agency that you are perfect for the job. So you would probably want to select a product that would be relatively easy to shoot well, but one that is at the same time eye-catching and memorable in some way. You would assume that every potential applicant will submit a technically flawless picture, so that would be your highest priority, as a technically perfect picture is a necessary condition but, by itself, not a sufficient one. You need more to get the job and you will need more to win first place in this competition.

I have been asked to show some of my pictures when announcing the competition theme for the month. That is a reasonable ask. The pictures included in this discussion of the PRODUCT contest are all examples of my product photography

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The October Competition - Product Photography

Allan Walls Photography, LLC

205-515-3494

Fairhope, Alabama

contact@allanwallsphotography.com