Mark sets up jewelry at his office to be photographed with his new Nikon D3300 in Seminole Florida
I traveled to Seminole to meet Mark in his office where he runs a jewelry business. He wanted to learn how to make his own products shots, so this was a commercial photography lesson, different than the usual hobbyist/enthusiast photography lessons I teach. However, we began the same as most other lessons with me detailing my 5-step process for making a well exposed and sharp shot in any shooting conditions. In the past Mark did work with film cameras, but found things to be a bit different with digital cameras.
I also gave Mark some buying advice and clarity on the lenses and gear he could use to make the best product shots possible. He told me he had bought a 50mm macro lens to go with his Nikon D3300, which I was unaware of Nikon making. It turns out it was just the usual 50mm f/1.8G lens Nikon sells. He was told by the salesperson at Best Buy it was. Let that be a warning to everyone shopping for proper photography equipment at Best Buy, do not rely on the staff there to know about photography!
Still, using the photography equipment he had, we were able to practice a product shot on a very small pendant all the way through the digital editing process on his desktop. With that practice and experience during our 2-hour 1-on-1 commercial photography lesson, Mark can now better decide if and what he would like to invest in for making better product photographs.
