Using Your Camera in Product Development

“You carry one with you, so you might as well get the most out of your camera, especially when it comes to product development.”

These are my go-to product development tools: 

• For sketching and conceptualization: plain paper and a ball-point pen 

• For measurements: digital calipers

• For digital models: engineering software (e.g., Excel, Matlab, Solidworks)

• For physical models: 3D printer

• For inspiration and information: the internet

• …and a camera

I use these tools every day. Take any one of them away and I have to rethink my workflow.

The unsung hero of that list is the humble camera – something we all have access to, but don’t use quite as well as we could. This article describes why the camera is so important to design, and invites you as our readers to share tips about how to get more out of your camera during product development. 

A compelling example from a long time ago

We know the Wright brothers made first heavier-than-air flying machine [1], but we rarely pause to acknowledge the camera as the machine that made the Wright brothers. The truth is, the Wright brothers were methodical about their development work, and the camera was a deliberate part of that. They photographed virtually every significant thing they did in the development of the airplane. It is said to be the first major invention whose development was captured on film [2].

Some of the many photos taken with the Wright’s camera [3].

Before I wrote this article, I thought the Wright brother’s photographs were serendipitous – that one of the two Wrights was a photography enthusiast, and brought his camera along for the journey. In fact, it was not that way. The Wright brothers viewed the camera as a scientific instrument, purchasing their first one not long before the trek from Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina [4]. Their camera was the Korona-V, made by the Gundlach Optical Company. It was the top of the line camera at the time. They paid $85, which is approximately equivalent to $2600 in 2020.

The Wrights and their Korona-V camera.

The Library of Congress Wright brothers’ photo archive says [4]:

“It is no accident that there is a photographic account of the Wrights' work, for the brothers' use of a camera to record their experimentation was consistent with their deliberate scientific methods. Wilbur and Orville were aware of photography's importance to their work, both scientifically and historically. They purchased their first camera about the same time that they began their kite and gliding experiments, in order to build a visual record of their failures and successes.”

At the turn of the 20th century, there was a worldwide race to be the first to fly, and the Wright brothers had many competitors [5]. Others also used cameras, but some didn’t. It’s worth thinking about those who didn’t use cameras and the many good ideas that were left unshared and unsubstantiated.

What we can learn from the Wright brothers

Perhaps the greatest takeaway for me from the Wright brother’s story is that my camera can be a deliberate part of my work, even a scientific or product development instrument. Unlike the Wrights, I carry my camera everywhere I go, so I might as well get the most out of it. 

As demonstrated by the Wright brothers, cameras are useful:

1.     For archiving ideas and creations

2.     For archiving the development process, successes and failures

3.     To facilitate the development process

4.     As an instrument for experimentation

Below are a few examples of how these 4 uses have played out in my own product development pursuits. 

The first of these is obvious, and likely the thing we think of first, when we consider using our cameras during product development.

Archival photos I took of product I worked on, right at the end of the product development process.

The second is also somewhat obvious, but it’s worth saying that if you take good photos along your product development journey, you’ll be in an excellent position to describe that journey to a boss, an investor, or trainees with the aid of photos[6]. 

Sketches, photos, and renders of a Brunton lantern design I worked on. These were created at different times in the product development process, and as a whole they capture progress of the design.

The third way – to facilitate the development process – is less obvious. Here are two examples:

Photo of hand-sketch imported into CAD, then used to create CAD geometry based on the imported sketch.

Photos taken so I could use them as reference when sketching a generic no-name drill.

The fourth, as an instrument for experimentation, the camera is invaluable. Consider the Hydro Flask bottle below. The camera is a great tool for measuring the radii of the neck-down portion of the bottle. Once the photo is imported into PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, or a number of other programs, the screen pixels can be measured for a known dimension (such as the bottle diameter (90.90 mm)), then all other pixel measurement can be converted to actual sizes as shown.  

Using carefully taken photos to extract dimensions that are difficult to measure physically.

Wrap up

As we have transitioned from tri-pod-mounted wooden-body cameras that use glass-plate negatives, to the digital cameras inconspicuously connected to our phones, we may have lost sight of the significance of the camera as a powerful product development tool. Just as the Wrights did with their camera, we can do at least the following to support our design efforts: Archive our work, document our process, facilitate design, and to make measurements. 

Send us your camera tips and tricks and we’ll share them in another article.

References

[1] A. Parkinson, “The Wright Brothers and the Airplane - Five Attributes of Great Engineering Design”, The BYU Design Review, 2019. https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/the-wright-brothers-and-the-airplane-five-attributes-of-great-engineering-design, accessed 30 Oct 2020.

[2] R. Stimpson, “Wright Brothers liked to take Pictures,” https://wrightstories.com/wright-brothers-liked-to-take-pictures/, accessed 30 Oct 2020.

[3] www.wright-brothers.org, “Write Photos,” http://www.wright-brothers.org/Information_Desk/Help_with_Homework/Wright_Photos/Wright_Photos.htm, accessed 30 Oct 2020.

[4] Library of Congress, “Photography and the Wright Brothers,” from Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/collections/wilbur-and-orville-wright-papers/articles-and-essays/photography-and-the-wright-brothers/, accessed 30 Oct 2020.

[5] Aviation Oil Outlet, “Santos-Dumont vs The Wright Brothers: Who Really Invented the Airplane?” 2020, https://aviationoiloutlet.com/blog/who-really-invented-airplane/, accessed 30 Oct 2020.

[6] T. Crouch, “The Wright Brothers’ First Flight Photo, Annotated,” Air & Space Magazine, 2014, https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/wright-brothers-first-flight-photo-annotated-180949489/, accessed 30 Oct 2020.