Project Summary
Client
Global electrical manufacturing company (name used with permission)
Assignment
360° product photography production for an interactive product catalog
Scope
100+ industrial products photographed
Output
24 images per product (15° rotational increments)
Primary Challenges
Stabilizing products that could not stand upright
Controlling reflections on polished metal surfaces
Maintaining consistent lighting across large and small products
Managing thousands of images with strict naming standards
Handling products weighing up to 600 pounds safely
Overview
When customers evaluate industrial equipment online, static product photos often fail to communicate the full design and build quality of a product. Interactive product rotations solve this problem by allowing viewers to examine an object from every angle.
For this project, a global electrical manufacturing company required a large portion of their catalog photographed as 360-degree interactive product spins, with each product captured in 24 precisely aligned frames at 15-degree increments. These images were assembled into seamless interactive rotations used across product pages and digital catalogs.
The scale of the assignment extended far beyond a typical product shoot. More than 100 individual products needed to be photographed, ranging from small hardware components to large electrical switch panels weighing several hundred pounds. Producing consistent results across such a wide range of products required careful planning, custom support solutions, and a controlled studio environment designed specifically for reflective industrial materials.
Pre-Production Planning
Before the first product was photographed, the studio workflow was designed to support the entire catalog. Planning focused on defining the rotation interval, building a lighting setup that could accommodate different product sizes and finishes, and standardizing camera position to maintain consistency across multiple shooting sessions.
Many of the products included polished metal surfaces that easily reflect surrounding equipment. To control these reflections, the studio was converted into a large light enclosure. This environment allowed reflective surfaces to display soft gradients while keeping the studio itself invisible in the final images.
Stabilizing Products That Would Not Stand Upright
Some of the electrical panels photographed for this catalog were tall, narrow, and unable to stand upright on a rotating platform without support. To safely capture the full 360-degree rotation, a temporary brace was used to stabilize the product during photography.
The brace held the panel securely in position while the turntable rotated through each capture increment, ensuring the product remained perfectly aligned across all frames. Because the support point was positioned behind the product, it could be easily removed in post-production while preserving a clean final image.
Suspended Capture for Seamless Rotations
For products that could not be supported from behind, a custom suspension rig was built to hold the product from above. A lightweight support table was positioned over the turntable, allowing fishing line and thin wire to secure the product while remaining nearly invisible to the camera.
This suspension method allowed the product to rotate freely while maintaining precise alignment across all 24 capture positions, producing clean and consistent 360-degree product rotations.
Challenge: Managing Thousands of Images
With over 100 products photographed and 24 frames per product, the project generated thousands of individual image files.
The client required every image to follow a strict naming structure tied to their internal cataloging system.
An automated renaming workflow was implemented to apply the required naming convention immediately after capture. This ensured that each product set remained organized throughout editing and final delivery.
Final Result
The completed project delivered a full set of interactive product rotations across the client’s catalog.
Customers can now rotate each product online to examine construction details from every angle, improving the clarity and usefulness of the product listings.
By designing a repeatable studio workflow, the production maintained consistent lighting, orientation, and presentation across every item in the catalog — even when photographed across multiple production sessions.
Insert: final frame sequence from completed product rotation