Tabletop Product Photography with Don Giannatti

This course was my introduction to Don Giannatti and his style of teaching. I have re-watched this class several times over the past few years and continue to pickup a tip or technique I missed before (or forgot.) If you are interested in learning how to photograph products, this courses is The place to start. (Much of the info here is also great for Still Life photography.)

Courses are useful, but so slow...could be sum up 2 days in 45 min....

The business course alone was worth its weight in gold. Excellent masterclass on tabletop product photography!

I took this class for help with photographing my jewelry for my website and I can't even tell you how much I learned. Even his business tips were very helpful! The information in this class is a must for anyone doing product photography of any kind. I love his teaching style, and all the details, details, details! Thanks so much!

Don Giannatti effectively communicates a wealth of real-world knowledge about the technical, artistic, and business aspects of tabletop product photography. He's better than anyone else doing this. I literally used principles learned in this course for a paying commercial shoot before even reaching the end of the class! Don is amazing.

This course offers a ton of information that can, obviously, apply to table top photography, but also to other types of photography. For me, the last two segments about building your business were worth the price of admission alone. Don't be mistaken though, as I can see how I could amend and apply the marketing information for other types of commercial photography. Considering that this course is now 6 years old, it would be nice to see an updated amendment to it, as I'm sure some aspects have changed.

Wow! I watched every minute. Don was an engaging instructor who helped me to see the details. Thank you Don: great class that I can actually put to use!

I learned more from Don in this program than I have in any other photography class I have taken over the past 20 years. He has taught me to see light differently and creatively manipulate that light. He not only is extremely knowledgeable, but he is an interesting and patient instructor sharing his vast experience with others. I highly recommend this course.

Don gives a wealth of information in this course. He also shows very useful ways of making your own light modifiers from simple items that can save a lot of money,

I feel like I walked away with a college degree on this subject. This guy does not miss anything.

I'm amazed at how inexpensive this course is. Don is fantastic! The amount of information covered is worth 10 times what they charge (more even). Thank you Don! Thank you CreativeLive!

Really enjoyed this class. Don not only is a topnotch instructor but he is a very entertaining guy.

I am a jeweler and wanted to learn more about photography for my products. I have really enjoyed this class and Don's easy going style of teaching. Simple things have made a big difference in what I'm able to produce and I'm thrilled with this course!

Excellent Course..... I love Don's easy going style. I learned so much! Can't wait to put all the lessons to work!

Pretty good but a bit too basic for my needs and at a little out of date. Don is a very good instructor.

Don's teaching is top-notch. Great, great class.

I watched part of this as a rebroadcast (maybe for a couple of hours). Totally loved what was being presented and bought the course. It was the first Creative Live course I have ever bought. Everything about this was top notch. I would highly recommend this to anyone mildly interested in this type of photography. Thanks Creative Live and Don Giannatti.

Very good course in part about photography (even though personally i prefer more art style in photo) and great in business part. Don is a master. Thank you a lot.

YEees!

THere are some courses in CL i think of as not covering a to z but covering -z to z. THis is one of those courses. The value proposition is over the top. The instricutor: Don Giannatti is so experienced he's a relaxed in his knowledge and practiced in cutting to the chase to provide answers to really good questions about set ups for product photos (vs. art/ still-life). The topics: complete workflow from first principles in order to understand what we're trying to achieve with table top work, Don Giannatti makes it clear that we're using light deliberately to give shape to an object. Example insight: using a white card (or black) reflector is not the same as using a silver/gold reflector. The latter create a new light source; the former shape the light that's there. Can imagine the arguments but the demo brings the points home. Or how about NOT using umbrellas for product shots. Or for "drop and pop" product shots, how to do that without umbrellas and tents "that's 50 dollars a shot right there" says Giannatti. Example tool demo: one of the joys of this course is that such an expert does most of the class using readily makable tools like scrims from shower curtains and baking paper. The specialist tools like a modifier on a flash is well within the range of an aspiring commerial table top photographer. And Meaningful Demos LIGHTING/composition what are some of the most challenging and compelling things to shoot when building a portfolio/photographic experience? Can you shoot shiny stuff - like bottles and jewlery. PHOTOSHOP making photoshop unpretencious and accessible, Giannatti presents examples of how to fix bits of a shot, as well as - and this one is worth the price of admission - how to put together a composite of a guitar product shot if you only have one limited sized light to light the whole thing. We also see where highlights can be added - and how. Some basic knowledge of Photoshop layering, masking and brushes would be good to have, but one can work back from seeing it applied into those basic skills. BUSINESS We start with light giving shape to objects as a demonstrable principle, move into how to use light structurally for bringing out something fantastic about that product - that as Giannatti points out - puts bread on someone's table, so respect. From these demos we go from light and camera to post to produce the finished image. Now what? or how have a product that needs shooting? That's the business of product photography. In these excellent sections on Business, Giannatti details the heuristics of hard graft to get gigs: where to look for contacts, frequency of approach, engaging with social media (you don't have to, he says, but effectively, it's gonna cost ya). "Doing just these few things you're already way ahead of your competition." I can believe it: they are many of them tedious, but can also well believe they are what pay off. COURSE BONUSES JUST FOR SIGNING UP - for those who subscribed to a live broadcast, all the slides were provided in advance (you can see this offer on class materials) Now that's classy. What other CL courses have done that: given something to participants who just show an interest to sign up? (It's that gift thing kevin kubota talks about in his workshop on photography business - makes one want to work with that person: pay them for the value they create, eh?) TRUST/VALUE Instructor Personality Throughout each part what's delightful is just the EXPERIENCE of this instructor. He's put together a thoughtful course from light to lighting to parts to gear to post to business. There's immediate trust: plainly this man has made a living from what he's talking about, and has addressed almost any immaginable scenario. There's a great demo towards the end of the course of working with students to take shots. The value to folks watching is to see how he helps us all think about how to problem solve (the mantra for the course) to find the shot - to use light card after lightcard to wrap the light to bring out the countours of the material. Even when he says "that's just not working" - there's not a sense of the people shooting having failed - but an opportunity to think about what's been learned - to keep working the problem. There's a whole lot of HOW in that interaction that is highly valuable. Thanks to the participants in the workshop to be so willing too to do that work. This is the kind of course you leave feeling like ok, i can do this - or at least i have the tools and some knowhow now about them to start to work these problems, to start to create value in these kinds of shots. I am already just from being here a better photographer now. Related CL Course: This course feels like a terrific complement to Andrew Scrivani's Food Photography. And no wonder: both take place in small areas and use light in similar ways. A contrast is that in editorial food photography - scrivani's domain - there's a focus on skills to work with what's there; in table top/product, one can enhane - knowing how to do that effectively/believably is where the skills - learning to see that - come in for this kind of work in partiular . If tabletop/product photography is a space you wish to explore, or you just want to be able to practice working with light in the small, and see how to bring you will be delighted with this -z to z deep dive introduction.

Don knows his stuff. This class has REALLY helped out my product photography. He clearly shows how to make a lot of the tools you will need for product photography. I have so far made 2 of the diffusors and they work great!

What ever I would say about Don is not enough, this the most amazing course that I have ever taken. Super professional work, well described and you always have the excitement factor while seeing the course, thank you Don really thank you. Ashraf Jandali

I discovered CreativeLive and Don Giannatti's course after my cousin, a graphic designer, asked if I would photograph a collection of beer bottles whose labels she had designed and wanted to submit to a design competition. I am a serious amateur photographer, but product photography was uncharted territory for me, and I quickly learned that five shiny bottles with reflective labels make stubborn subjects. So I bought this course and, within a day, found myself in the aisles of a home improvement store and an arts and crafts store, loading my cart with yards of nylon, PVC pipe, foam core, velcro and other inexpensive goodies. With Don's help, I built a small set of lighting tools that helped me take control of those beer bottles. Not only that, I gained a fairly nuanced understanding of product photography -- and an appreciation. Don is an organized, articulate, and passionate instructor. While the emphasis is certainly on how to get started in product photography, you should not be a total beginner as a photographer (i.e., you should be comfortable shooting in manual). But demonstrations definitely lean toward one- and two-light setups that can be achieved with speedlights and foam core, not necessarily thousands of dollars in elaborate studio lighting. This course is a full, four-day workshop, chock full of advice on technique, gear, and the business end of product photography. In my opinion, it's a bargain. A few days after I finished watching, I attended a photography workshop in Chicago that cost me twice as much. It lasted six hours.

By chance I stumbled accross Don Giannattis’s Website and his creativeLIVE selection of videos. I was impressed by the material presented and decided to purchase the course for adopting some of his methods and concepts of light control in table top photography. The course covers a wide field, from building your own lighting tools to guidelines for getting in the product photography business. Emphasis is put on understanding light control related to the specifics of the object, discussing the how and why of the creative process. Insistence and patience were demonstrated to be prerequisites for achieving the desired quality of the pictures. I liked to follow the course, because Don Giannattis’s makes an excellent instructor. He has a clear concept, a wonderful sense of humor, and he is very flexible when listening and responding to questions of participants. I really liked this course and recommend it to all beginners in table top photography. William

I'm really enjoying the recorded class. The ending of each module seems abrupt where I don't know if there should be more. I feel as if there is another Ah Ha moment after the tape runs out that I'm missing out. In this case, Don is dynamic instructor and it's the comments after the setup that makes you think about your own style and approach. His insight on lighting is on the mark. Great instructional and theory program! Diana