Deke’s Techniques 269: Cleaning Up a Crummy Product Shot

269 Cleaning up a crummy product shot

In this week’s free Deke’s Techniques episode, Deke cleans up the flaws in a product shot so that it’s fit for say, selling his toys on eBay. Not that he would ever part with this particular set of products (his GoPro, the fancy rig he uses to attach it to his bicycle wheel, and the sporty sunglasses he reserves for looking cool whilst cycling into work.)

But the techniques he demonstrates in the video might come in handy for your own projects, like taking documenting photographs for insurance purposes, or say, selling your partner’s toys on eBay. Check out the results:

A product shot of the GoPro before and after cleaning up.

The process starts with making some tonal adjustments and applying Noise Reduction in ACR. Then, to make the pristine grey background, this is one of those rare times when a Photoshop Wizard of Deke’s stature will actually condone the use of the magic wand. Magic Wand, yes, I said Magic Wand. Set to the default. It’s like the justifiably often-maligned tool was made for this purpose.

Finally, Deke sharpens the image so your audience can appreciate the detail of Grandma’s treasured cat statue collection.

If you need further refinement, like fixing the composition of the collection in your product shot, Deke’s got an exclusive movie this week for members of lynda.com. If you’re not a member, you can get a free week’s trial at lynda.com/deke.

Next entry:Feedback Loop: Perspective Grid in Illustrator?

Previous entry:Deke’s Techniques 268: Creating Heavy Metal Type (in Photoshop CS6 and Later)

Be the first to drop some wisdom...