Picture Instruments develops professional hard- and software solutions in order to automate the photography process as much as possible and that without any loss in picture quality. The modular system can be adjusted to the individual customer requirements for almost every industry. A Picture Instruments solution normally requires less space than a comparable regular product photography working space. Besides the customizability and scalability of the hardware, you can also automate all post-processing operations. The pictures can also be directly integrated into existing systems through an API.

On this page we inform about:

• The advantages of our product photography systems
• Individual solutions for different product categories
• Customized lighting concepts
• Potential time saving in the product photography workflow
• Our experience in the product and mass photography
• Already realized projects

Advantages for the user

✓ Reproducibility of the picture results
The Picture Instruments systems offer the combination of high-quality product pictures and a reproducible and economical photography process. The standardized process makes it possible to adhere to continually decreasing time to market cycles and to save money. This can be, for example, achieved through saving different light settings for different product categories. These presets can be loaded at any time, so every employee can always create excellent picture results. The individual trainings and workshops, where you can, for example, work out product-specific light settings, are an integral part of the Picture Instruments philosophy. Trained employees can then quickly and reliably generate the best, reproducible picture results.

✓ Automatic background removal of the product pictures
The Picture Instruments photography solutions offer the option to already remove the background while you take the picture. To do that the photographer activates the camera through the software and the system takes over the rest of the steps. A couple of seconds later the photographer can already see the object without the background. The background of many product types can be automatically removed while the picture is taken, through the modular construction of the glass table and the backlight module.

✓ Automatic post-processing of the pictures
Our modular software concept allows tailored solutions for the various needs of different online shops and online market places. Everything comes together in the control center Serial Shot. The software is made for the high volume and controls the rotary platform and the light, triggers the camera, transfers the pictures, interacts with other software solutions like Mask Integrator (for background removal) and 360 Webspin (to create interactive spinning objects for websites). Lastly the pictures will be named and sorted according to the project and product number. The pictures can be automatically post-processed afterwards via the software Crop and Resize , while the system is ready for the next product, to automatically adjust them to the needs of the existing online shops, while the system is ready for the next shot, to automatically adjust them to diffrent needs. An automatic multi-processing is also possible, if the same pictures are supposed to be made available for different sales channels in different formats. If the pictures are supposed to be automatically fed into an existing infrastructure, then that can be individually achieved, through communication over an API or by FTP transfer.

✓ 360° photography for the interactive presentation on the Internet
The 360° Player we developed, allows the interactive presentation on the Internet. The 360 ° web player can be embedded as a JavaScript plugin in almost any environment and is compatible with all desktop and mobile browsers. The integration of the player plug-in also allows the immediate display of 360 ° objects, which were uploaded by our software Serial Shot.

✓ Service and Support
Picture Instruments supports you with the optimization of the whole workflow for the creation of high-quality product pictures, from analyzing the situation and the requirements to creating a customized concept. That includes not only an intensive consultation during the planning and implementation of the system, but also individual trainings and workshops for employees. In these training sessions, users learn how to professionally stage their products. Not only experienced photographers will quickly find their way around with a Picture Instruments system, but technically versed employees also quickly and reliably create the best, reproducible picture results after a workshop.

Product photography systems for individual requirements

We offer product-specific solutions for almost every industry. The modular software and hardware can be easily adapted and customized. No matter for which product, whether with or without background removal, as 360° or single picture solution: The Picture Instruments product photography systems can be optimally adjusted to the individual requirements.

✓ Fashion
By using a ghost mannequin as torso, which is mounted on a special holder, you can photograph clothing all around and remove the background fully automated.

✓ Flat Fashion
The styling can be prepared on a glass plate. The background of the photographed products on the glass panel can already be removed, while you take the picture, thanks to a backlight panel. Optionally the system is also available with multiple, replaceable glass panels, so that multiple styles can be prepared at the same time.

✓ Shoes and Accessories
On our special construction for shoes you can’t just photography shoes in 360° without background. It’s also possible to take a picture without background from above and a picture of the shoe sole, without the need to reposition the shoe. In this way, new collections can be photographed quickly and consistently for almost every market place.

✓ Jewelry
Jewelry requires a very precise illumination. Instead of standard lighting, we offer product-specific lighting concepts, so the jewelry photography systems we developed, meet the highest illumination requirements. This way the jewelry always shines in the best light

✓ Glass and Semi-Transparent Objects
Semi-transparent objects are a special challenge when it comes to background removal. A clipping path doesn’t work anymore for such motives, because it looks unnatural, if the background or the background color doesn’t shine through the object. Thanks to the backlight concept of our constructions, the tonal value gradations of the mask for the background removal have to be compressed as little as possible, so that glass and transparent objects have soft transitions and no tonal breaks.

Product-specific light settings as factor of quality

A professional illumination of the products is essential for high-quality product pictures. The standard photo booths offer only one type of light, but the Picture Instruments product photography systems have been developed by photographers to achieve the best picture results. We use the open DMX standard to control the lamps, so it’s also possible to fulfill individual customer wishes and add additional light sources. Additionally it’s possible to save individual light presets for different categories. This way non-photographers can also achieve consistent, reproducible and excellent picture results.

Acceleration of the product photography workflow

There are other massive savings potentials in the product photography workflow, besides the transfer rates and processor speed of the camera and the computer and besides the rotation speed of a rotary platform. By automating different tasks that would otherwise have to be done manually, it’s possible to save a lot of time. Mistakes that take a lot of time to correct are also avoided. These savings potentials can be realized, by skillfully using our software.

Example Workflow

4 Steps - 95 Seconds

The timing for the different steps may vary depending on the workflow and used Hardware. 1. Preparing the shooting process

• Scan or enter the product ID
• Center product on turntable
• Start process

2. 360° process controlled by Software

• Camera trigger
• Image transfer
• Turntable control
• Lighting control
• Background removal
• Cleaning and preparing the next product

3. Additional detail shots

• e.g. top view or sole of a shoe
• Camera trigger
• Image transfer
• Automatic background removal

4. Export, post production & upload

• Finalize
• Images will be cropped and rezised according to your specifications in a background process
• Upload to your server
• Finished

What customers say about Picture Instruments Product Photography Systems

Our experience in the product and mass photography

By experimenting intensely with the Freemask technology from Hensel, we were able to collect valuable know how. This makes it possible for us today to create next-level solutions for the different product photography disciplines. 30 years of experience in machine engineering combined with a decade of high-quality software development and years of photography experience. This combination lead to unique devices that fulfill every wish.

Wine Shoot
Our Wine Shoot system for Deutsche Wein Marketing GmbH in Berlin, proves this successfully since 2016. 17,000 photographed wine bottles per year and always best image results indicate that our development, both mechanically and photographically at the highest level, proves its suitability for everyday use.

Schuh Spezial Aufbau
We developed a special solution for the 360° shoe photography for Marco Uphaus, founder of Drehpunkt GbR, and delivered it in the middle of 2019. The challenge was to avoid having to manually reposition the shoe for the pictures from above and below. That saves precious time and makes a uniform presentation of all products views possible. The high amount of pictures that are needed for the presentation of a shoe collection and the high requirements regarding the picture quality, like for example the color fastness or the material details, make the acceleration of the workflow, with picture results of the highest quality, a priority.

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Asking is free!

We certainly can’t answer every question on one single web page. We would be happy to talk with you in a personal conversation about the versatile possibilities of our modular 360° product photography solutions. We are happy about every call or message that you send us via the contact form: