How to shoot 360°

This is a quick overview of how to shoot a smooth 360° product animation. It's one of those instances where I had an idea of how to approach the assignment but there was also a bit of ingenuity required to pull it off.

It's easier to move a small product as opposed to the camera and a rotating cake stand makes for a great turntable. With a bit of research I came to the conclusion that 24 frames would be enough to give the animation a smooth feel. 360° divided by 24 frames equals 15° of rotation per shot so I put together a diagram in Adobe Illustrator.

To help track the amount of rotation between shots and make sure it is an even and smooth animation, the diagram was printed and placed directly under the cake stand. I then clipped a small binder clip to the bottom edge of the cake stand and dangled a stretched out paper clip down from it to the first marking. I highly recommend shooting tethered with software like Capture One Pro whenever possible so that you have a large image of each shot to review and can trigger the camera remotely so it does not move accidentally.

The lighting was kept simple with one large octabox directly above the product and a second light for the white background. When lighting a white background, be sure to keep enough distance between the product and the background to prevent halo from peeking over the edges of the object—unless that's what you're stylistically going for, of course. The white board that was placed over the cake stand provided some fill as well as a second white reflector below the camera lens. 

The final result after a bit of Photoshop work to add in the flat blue background and extend the white surface.

Portrait

I recently collaborated with model, Aneesah Hanan and makeup artist, Tony Stylez for a high fashion themed shoot. As you can see, they both did a great job and with their help, we got a great image. The photos straight out of the camera looked great but I wanted to practice my retouching skills and make this image shine.

In the video below, you can see my progress as I just about edited every pixel of this photo. From adding extra eyelashes, dodging and burning to bring out and enhance features to removing an ear-piercing hole, this photo is polished. Don’t get me wrong, Aneesah looked amazing with no editing whatsoever but this shoot was an exercise in attaining the super-clean and expertly polished beauty shot. While many companies are shying away from retouching, there is still a very strong desire for this level of perfection. Plus you still see Aneesah’s natural beauty and features – we’re not talking about changing nose shape or manufacturing cheekbones here. 

Quick overview of the retouching process.

It's a Dog's Life

This past weekend was a busy one as Launchpad worked on two different photo shoots. We first shot a workout series that we’ll be posting more about at a later date and then quickly regrouped to get ready for some really hairy models.

That’s right, a dog photo shoot. But I’m not talking about capturing dogs running through the lawn or chasing after a ball. This was an all out portrait session. I don’t think I have ever heard the words sit or stay so many times in my life.

A big thanks to the dogs and their owners who came out to the shoot. We got some great shots like the one of Lou, a bulldog, pictured above. If you go to my portfolio and click on nature, you can see the rest but what you can’t see is all the blobs of slobber I had to Photoshop out of Lou’s picture!

To capture this look I set up a solid blue paper backdrop with a large octobox as key light, two long lightboxes, called strip boxes, to add highlights and a reflector.

The dogs were very well behaved, especially after we plied them with plenty of toys and treats. For Yoshi, the Shiba Inu, we had to break out the big guns and scrounge up a piece of cheese before he would agree to the shoot. Models, what can I say?

All in all, the dogs look great and we have some very happy owners. Not many pet owners can say they have a professional portrait of their dog!

Creating the Launchpad Logo

Along with the website launch, Launchpad Photo recently debuted its logo and I wanted to share a little background on the process. After a lot of brainstorming and research, I envisioned a simple and elegant look that had a retro feel while still being contemporary.

That kind of unique look and specificity meant only one thing – custom typography. The great thing about a logo with custom lettering is that you won’t find the font pre-loaded on a computer. It’s completely original and the name itself becomes the visual symbol of the business.

Typography is an art that requires meticulous attention to detail. While my background is in design and advertising, hand lettering is not my forte so I turned to a fellow designer and friend, Jennifer Howard. We talked about the name Launchpad and what I had in mind for the logo. I gave her a few directions to explore and in what seemed like no time at all, she created the backbone for what would serve as Launchpad’s logo.

With a rough draft in hand, I needed a typography expert to perfect the design and make sure that the curve, height, thickness, width, etc. of every letter was not only precise, but flowed together in harmony. Joseph Calvo was the force that poured over every detail of the logo. After hand drawing the word Launchpad, he traced it in Adobe Illustrator to create a digital and completely polished final rendition.

We see logos every day but don’t often get to hear about the process and how they’re made. I personally love custom type and admire those that have the talent and patience to create custom lettering. I couldn’t be happier with Launchpad’s logo.

The Start of a Journey

It’s not every day that you get to announce a lifelong dream and for me, the start of Launchpad Photo is the beginning of that journey. From the second I picked up a Nikon DSLR I was hooked. While already on my way to a successful advertising career, I spent most of my free time learning photography. Family and pets sat for countless portraits and my camera never left my side. Weekends became an opportunity for new photo adventures.

As my skills progressed I was able to incorporate photography into my advertising work. I set up client photo shoots instead of sifting through thousands of generic stock images and soon was asked to do photo work for bigger names like NAPA Auto Parts and The Home Depot. I was also accepted as a Getty Images contributing photographer.

I have an almost obsessive attention to detail that makes for a clean and unique style my clients love. I fully understand the business of advertising, marketing, and public relations; I’m able to deliver photos that are not only visually appealing but that can also carry out an underlying strategy or message.

I couldn’t be that person who looks back on life with regrets or always wondered if he could have made it. This is my dream, this is what I’m meant to do in life, and all the hard work is transforming into a rewarding opportunity.

Thanks for checking out Launchpad Photo and the new blog. I hope you’ll stick around as we post our photo shoots, behind the scenes peeks, and other exciting developments. You’ll also hear from my wife and business partner, Elizabeth. She’s a public relations veteran and handles the business end of Launchpad. She works with clients to make sure everything runs smoothly so we can focus on getting great shots.

We look forward to sharing our adventures with you!

- Felipe