Want a really easy way to do a product shot like the image of the T3i I posted yesterday? This is how I set it up….on a stove! Having traveled so much over the last 3 years, I have come to really, really HATE lugging around any extra gear, and it has forced me to be a little creative when shooting products. The main reason I like shooting this way is because it can be done ANYWHERE.

While I am a big fan of Alien Bee strobe lights (and also makes it really easy when shooting indoors) there are a number of ways to get around this as well- it just takes a little longer for example, shooting in front of large window light at mid-day & using longer shutter speeds will work as long as you have a tripod. 2 Second way is bouncing 2 580 EX IIs at another large surface area white board. It’s critical that you use large surface area light sources to get soft shadows. I will add- if I know I have an important product shoot, I use an Alien Bee as much as possible and typically have at least one on long road trips.

The White boards can be purchased at most craft Stores or Walmart for $3-4 each. If I am traveling, and need to do a shoot, I just go buy 4 of them, one for the base and 3 walls to trap the light around the object. Stoves work great because they are at waist height, flat and usually open (just do not turn it on!)

I have shot nearly every Canon Camera DVD I have made in this manner.