Simple geometric designs or repeating patterns are easy to do with just a few extra sheets. Complementary shapes can be an interesting compositional tool. I used this with the Sekonda watch pictured here as it resembled the shape of the dial. If you roll them at an angle you get an interesting shape to the opening. You don’t have to stick to flat sheets of paper either. So, it is well worth taking a bit of extra care to keep things still because having everything move about when you accidentally nudge something is rather frustrating! A ladies Sekonda watch with paper scrolls. These types of shots are carefully composed with precise placement. You may even want to keep your subject in place with wax or something similar (I find cheap dental wax often works well enough). You could equally use weights or put a corkboard underneath and pin things down. I tend to use masking tape as it generally comes off card fairly well without ripping it. It is a good idea to fix your paper down somehow to avoid it sliding around and ruining your composition. Or, if you have a highlight warning mode, ensure that nothing is flashing with a clipping warning. Don’t forget to check your histogram on your camera to make sure nothing is clipping out on the right (in the highlights section). Some papers have an interesting texture that you might like to keep in the image, so then it is even more important to expose for that to come out well. When using white paper or card, you have to watch the exposure carefully if you want to avoid large areas burning out, leaving little or no detail. You then just need a way of mounting the roll or holding the paper up. Clearly this is easiest for small items, but you can also work with larger rolls of paper for bigger subjects for things like portraits if you want. Larger sheets can make a basic infinity cove effect to give a seamless background. You can use it for flat-lay images and to build a little depth or create patterns by stacking layers. For example, it is good for simple geometric compositions and for blocks of color or texture. Paper works well in a variety of contexts. You can get good results that can contribute to your portfolio with next to no outlay. Cheap materials don’t have to mean a cheap-looking final image either.
Most of us will probably have some paper and card stock laying around the house somewhere and if not, it is one of the cheapest set-building props you can get. In this article, I’d like to spend some time focusing on another possible money-saving tip for still life and product photography: we’re going to have a look at using paper and card stock to create backgrounds and sets. I then split-toned the result slightly to bring in some yellow. We’ve got a tomato for red, the peas for green, and blue paper. The photo below takes the simple idea of RGB as the basis for the image. They act as blocks of vivid color, too, which is good for playing with composition ideas using color theory. I also used to bring in fruit and vegetables from the garden to practice lighting a range of matt to glossy subjects.
Basic jewelry and watches can become affordable subjects when you aren’t buying them new. It also meant that I could build up a pretty solid portfolio without spending a fortune. When I then came to work with brand-new items it made everything feel easier. But it was a cheap way to practice my lighting and editing skills.
That sometimes made it more of a challenge to get great images, especially if there were any scratches on the subject. When I started out in product photography, I used to buy used items from charity shops to practice with. I basically make my own mini v-flats! Charity Shop Challenge You can use black card as a negative fill or stick some aluminum foil to the card for a strong, harder reflection. The whiter and more glossy the card, the more light is reflected. I work in a very small studio most of the time so I often use cardboard or foam-core sheets instead of setting up an additional light.
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