Photographing skis

[JayPowHound]

I was just thinking about how every time I try to sell something in gear swap my photos end up looking shitty.

I know I've seen adveres and others do pro style product shots, and that's definitely something I'd like to play with if I ever decide to invest in lights..

but without a lot of extra gear or space does anyone have any ideas or tips for taking half decent pictures of skis?

[bushman]

Ditto, I was working a deal with my 138's, took a pic and they looked beat when they are not. Broke the deal. I don't remember what I was going to buy, but I bet it was shiny....What?

[bfree]

No flash and slightly off from dead-straight will help eliminate the glare that tends to show every tiny scuff and mark on the skis. That should be enough for "half decent", and you could set up a light box with bedsheets if you really want to.

[systemoverblow'd]

Those "product shots" were done with external lighting in a light tent to help diffuse it and not cause hot spots.

For skis, it would be hard outside a studio setting. What I would try is to actually go someplace with indirect lighting to avoid glare. Once there as long as you have a tripod you should be good to go. Some of those product shots were several seconds long to close the aperture down to keep everything in focus. And without external lighting you'll want a tripod and either a remote or set the timer. Without seeing your setup it is hard to say. But with flat lighting and a tripod you should be good to go.

[dipstik]

...

[Crass3000]

I just usually take a shot of the skis (whole length) from the front and back. The I take about five shots of the bases and five shots of the topsheets. If they can't get it after that assuming you point out any bad spots they are retarded. The more pics you add the more people trust what they are getting and the more comfortable the buyer and hence the whole transaction is.

Edit: Take a few shot of all the shots you take and make sure there is no glare so people can see what they are getting. You don't need to be a photag. Jus make sure your you gives lots of pics, That how you get the highest prices on Ebay (I used to sell a lot of vinyl records in college). Around here obviously you wanna hook people up but they still want to see what they are getting.

[Vandeezy]

Thanks dipstick that is some great insight.

I think keeping it simple works really well. I was looking at your photos from http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...Pow?highlight=

and it is obvious the lighting and the cell-phone are what needs to be worked on. The dark room with a handheld cell-phone made the photos blurry, which could easily be fixed with making sure your lighting is good with stuff laying around your house.

Simple things:
- Clean backgrounds, ie white wall with nothing, or go out and buy 2 yards of black cloth from a fabric store for $6 and hang it on the wall

- If you don't have a good set-up just try to make sure the lighting is as even as possible on the skis. Depending on the room that may mean closing or opening all natural light sources, turning-up all indoor lights, re-position lamps. Even in a pinch a large flashlight can be used to add lights.

- easy lighting can be done with just a few lamps pointed at the skis, or if you have a halogen work-light you can shine that through a white bedsheet or something or reflect it off of a ceiling or a white wall.

- Use a simple photo-editing program to fix some of the brightness, contrast, etc.

I have done a bunch of product photos using lights around the house and some sheets long before I purchased any fancy speedlights. Nothing is amazing but it worked in selling stuff.

[Supermoon]

I've made a bunch of these, in varying sizes for lots of different projects. I haven't built one big enough for a pair of skis, but the same principles apply no matter the scale.

It's basically the same as what everyone here has said, but I think the tutorial and its photos are pretty good. I usually use a couple of work lights with clamps you can get from Home Depot for about $6 a piece. They have a fully adjustable head and can clip on anything.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07...to-studio.html

ETA: dipstick, thanks for the info. Good to hear how they're doing it in the pros.