Cruick

[Black Pearl]

I became involved in a trial last year for an upcoming Kickstarter launch by trialling a hand-made leather hand-strap for a month and giving feedback for product development. The lad who is making these took the info from myself and a couple of other mates and tweaked his designs, created a shoulder strap and his range is about to go live.

I spent yesterday afternoon in the studio shooting some product shots and lifestyle shots for Kickstarter and social media - these are just from the iPhone as we were experimenting with styles and backgrounds but give a fair idea of the product...

[bje07]

Really nice pictures with vintage style.
As Mike gives us the habits of how he takes pictures, is it possible to know more about your set up, as it seems very professional too

[Saorsa]

I really like how the strap reflects and tints the light on the prism housing of the Fujica. The setup looks like one diffused light high left and a fill light low right. The brass rivets are just a bit too bright for me.

[Mike Buckley]

Though I don't know anything about style, I sure do like the sweep of the strap in the three images that display it. I also like the display of color choices but wonder why you included the stamps. In the three photos that display the entire camera, the first thing I see with regard to branding is the cameras' branding, not the strap's branding.

[Werner]

Nice product shots. The straps look interesting too.

[Wavelength]

Very nice set of product photography

[Kaye Leggett]

They look good - a link to the website to buy perhaps ?? If you're doing some more product shots, perhaps show with a camera of today, rather than a vintage looking one - just to show how versatile the straps are. On the fujica, the strap isn't attached to the camera - if you're buying it is important to see how it will work, so I think needs to be attached.

[Mike Buckley]

perhaps show with a camera of today, rather than a vintage looking one - just to show how versatile the straps are.

I agree. I don't know much about equipment, so I assumed at least some of the cameras are modern.

[Black Pearl]

Really nice pictures with vintage style.
As Mike gives us the habits of how he takes pictures, is it possible to know more about your set up, as it seems very professional too

We used a continuous light in a soft box for general illumination and my LED macro lights for fill-in. There were also a couple of shots with natural daylight and simple reflectors.

[Black Pearl]

I really like how the strap reflects and tints the light on the prism housing of the Fujica. The setup looks like one diffused light high left and a fill light low right. The brass rivets are just a bit too bright for me.

These were shot with my iPhone and simply bunged through Snapseed and Instagram as fun way of sharing what I was up to. The main files that will end up being used for the launch were shot using my Fuji X-T1 and a Sony a7 somethingorother all of which will be fully finished in Lightroom and Photoshop.

[Black Pearl]

Though I don't know anything about style, I sure do like the sweep of the strap in the three images that display it. I also like the display of color choices but wonder why you included the stamps. In the three photos that display the entire camera, the first thing I see with regard to branding is the cameras' branding, not the strap's branding.

We took a wide range of shots - the ones with the stamps also had leather working tools, hardware and bit-n-bobs in them. I believe they will end up being used on an 'About Me' page once the website etc is fully up and running. Camera branding wise we had a dozen different cameras of various types and makes. This seems to be a trend for these types of products though we did also take some detailed shots of the straps on their own.

[Manfred M]

Nice shots, Robin. I think the use of the vintage camera works quite well as leather camera straps are very much a vintage product. Somehow, they don't quite look as if the manufacturer is targeting "serious" shooters as the colours and design have more of a fashion look to them.

Regardless, you have a set of nicely conceived and set up shots here. Well done!

[Black Pearl]

They look good - a link to the website to buy perhaps ?? If you're doing some more product shots, perhaps show with a camera of today, rather than a vintage looking one - just to show how versatile the straps are. On the fujica, the strap isn't attached to the camera - if you're buying it is important to see how it will work, so I think needs to be attached.

These will launch via a Kickstarter campaign in a few weeks so as yet you can't buy them and there are no external links to post. We did use more modern cameras including a Sony, a Canon and a Nikon. That said the sort of people who will typically buy an expensive hand-made strap are more likely to have a premium camera or a retro-styled camera than a run of the mill DSLR.

[Mike Buckley]

I just want to mention that making the brand of the straps stand out is a lot more difficult than one would think simply by viewing these images. That, in my mind, is almost always an indication of a successful image.

[Black Pearl]

Nice shots, Robin. I think the use of the vintage camera works quite well as leather camera straps are very much a vintage product. Somehow, they don't quite look as if the manufacturer is targeting "serious" shooters as the colours and design have more of a fashion look to them.

Regardless, you have a set of nicely conceived and set up shots here. Well done!

Bang on the mark Manfred. It'll be Leica, Fuji X, Nikon DF and similar systems where these straps will end up. You're not going to get someone with a £300 Nikon spending a quarter of that on a strap for it and someone with a 1Dx won't want a leather strap - or any strap for that matter as they're more likely to have a system in place for their heavier bodies and lenses.

These are 'lifestyle' products for people who fancy something a little more personal or fun than the basic nylon strap that comes in the box with your camera.

[Black Pearl]

Thanks for the comments and the feedback, I will take any and all back to the client as it all helps.

I had a lot of fun shooting these along with some proper temper tantrums when the leather wouldn't stay where I wanted it to. The most remarkable thing is just how good the iPhone is at outputting a usable image and how useful it is for snapping and then tweaking set-ups as you go along with the shoot.

[Mike Buckley]

proper temper tantrums when the leather wouldn't stay where I wanted it to

When imagining the issues I would expect to occur when making the three images of the long straps, that problem was the first thought that came to me. I also imagined that the temper tantrums were a big help, and especially so if they were accompanied by an adequate amount of cussing.

[Kaye Leggett]

These are 'lifestyle' products for people who fancy something a little more personal or fun than the basic nylon strap that comes in the box with your camera.

And are also ideal for the enthusiasts with £1,000 ➕ of camera and friends who never know what to get them for Christmas ��

[Black Pearl]

Mike the air went well beyond being blue

[Black Pearl]

This is the sort of lifestyle shot I was aiming for to appeal to the likely buyers of a leather camera strap.

Fuji X-T1 + 35mm f1.4 shot at f2
The grain has been added as has the slight toning.