Photography

Product and Still Life Class

April 23, 2010 I recently finished Product and Still Life Class. I was looking forward to this course and feel that I am a better photographer as a result. The course started out with lighting a white box and how light placement affects the final image. We reviewed and learned how to handle various pieces of equipment, including the Profoto studio light kit, light boom, soft boxes, and fill cards. My classmates and I were looking forward to shooting and by the second class we were provided with our first opportunity to set up our own tabletop shoots. Most of us used various types of food, but soon brought in metals, glass, jewelery, and other household items. We were all excited when our instructor demonstrated a technique with white and/or black Plexiglas. After his demonstration, we found ourselves utilizing this technique during each session. Here are my final deliverables for the class. First, I decided to shoot my metal object. In this shot, I used two scrims on the left and right; and one light with a small soft-box on the back right. For my first opportunity to use the white Plexiglas, I had this in mind. I used a 22 oz beer bottle to glue together bottle caps from various craft breweries. The result was exactly what I envisioned and luckily I was able to get some shots since the object fell apart 10 minutes into the shoot. Two lights were used during this setup. One was directly behind the white Plexiglas and the other was to the left with a soft-box. I really wanted to explore food photography during this course. I baked my famous chocolate chip cookies and dug out an old Hood milk bottle. One light was used parallel to the object and one fill card was utilized to highlight the cookies. White Plexiglas was used again for this shoot. I placed a single light below the Plexiglas and used a white backdrop. To bring in some color, I brought in this yellow background and decorative German beer stein. Two lights and one fill card were used. Lastly, I wanted to try food again. Luckily the school in Georgetown is located across the street from an amazing bakery, so I grabbed something other than a cupcake, and hoped for the best.