Product Photography Liquid and Beauty Products

For the past 2 weeks I have been doing product photography shots in the studio. My first 2 products were an alcohol bottle and a beauty product. Its been challenging and fun. We were shown the produts ahead of time and so I brought lots of props and have had lots of ideas for the difffernt shoots. The nice thing is I have been able to incorporate some of the techniques of lighting and composition that I learned (and have been thinking about ) from portrait photography. Here are some of my favorite examples from both . 

Liquid Product Shots

The bottle that I got to shoot was Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur. My first thought was to get some oranges to put with the bottle. The bottle also has a several shades of red and a juicer in the bottom. I had a large piece of cranberry colored fabric that we used as a backdrop.  

Here is one of my examples using oranges and the cranberry colored backdrop. We flipped the fabric over for under the bottle itself . We placed tracing paper behind the bottle so that we could see the words. We had big lights on both sides to give some shape to the bottle and then a soft light low on the background to give it some character. I threw in  fake leaves to add extra interest. 

I pulled some of the light away from the background and loved the extra contrast. I also liked how you can see th orange reflected in the bottle. I zoomed in tight so you just get a hint of the oranges -- keeping the bottle as the main focus.

I tried a different angle with this one and love how it glows more from the bottom and you can really see the juicer . I like how th oranges make a triangle . I also like the how the strip of cranberry color is right behind the bottle . 

This was the second shoot with the bottle. I wanted a few shots with just the bottle. We decided to use the cranberry fabric as both a base and a backdrop for the bottle. In addition we put a light behind the background fabric which gave it a glow which looked like the colors fromt the bottle.

For this one I moved the light directly behind th bottle and just love how it makes everything glow...

Added a few simple props in this one. I would have liked to be able to cut an orange and use that but one of the students in class has a severe citrus allergy .... I also used a flameless candle underneath the juicer part to give it an addes glow...

I made this shot horizontal -- thinking that I could turn it into an actual ad. The text I was thinking of adding was Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur: Sip a glass of orange ( or something like that ) Again I loved the glow on the background ....

And for my last one, threw in a few more leaves, and put another orange on the left -- and loved how it is reflected in the bottle -- also backed up a little so there is more of a color gradient in the back....

BEAUTY PRODUCT SHOTS

The beauty product we got to shoot is a moisturizing cream that is hypoallergenic and a more affordable version of some expensive moisturizers. Since this cream is white, we didn't need to use anything to back the bottle, but we did use a piece of frosted glass to match the container and give some interesting reflections. We also used a simple white cloth in the background

One of the biggest challenges was getting the No 7 to show us. We brought in a bounce card really close to highlight it. I also like how the frosted glass gives a blue, misty tint 

This is my money shot. I had them turn off the background light so there is more contrast behind the bottle -- and wala -- loved it.

Just for Shiggles, I upped the vibrance a little which brought out the blue glass and addes a little more pink in the back --- not a bad change but I think I like the original better 

Since it is all natural we added a couple of leaves that looked like aloe and I had some pink silky fabric that I thought complimented the colors really well. Also flipped the glass and got the awesome reflection which is common in beauty product photography... 

And a wider shot -- I liked how I got the leaves to frame it and the pink just feels really soft and nice which was my goal ... 

Took off the leaves and added a silver bracelet that I had . I purposely angled this shot just to make it a little more interesting. One of the challenges was getting the bracelet to to stay on top of the bottle without getting finger prints or smudges on things. I also like the hint of blue on the edge that shooting at an angle gave me

The reflection in this one was really fun so I zoomed out and composed it vertically to show that . I even like the added texture that the pink cloth makes around it ..

We need to have 4 different shots for our final, so I mixed it up by taking the lid off and including the box. The only downside to this one is you can see the light meter that we used to prop up the bottle 

Shot this one from above because I really wanted to show the color and texture of the actual product. I really like how my fabric just seems to compliment everything ... 

This is the last shot I took -- I zoomed out a little so you can see the lid and also the leaves that we had underneath the glass. I also love the way the reflection of the box and the lid are faint in the glass. 

Over all I am very happy with the way my products are turning out -- I am enjoying it a lot more than I did in the spring. I have one more shoot with both of these products and have a few more ideas I want to try. I will share more photos if I get some I like that are different from these. Otherwise my next post will feature the next product -- a chrome watch ... thanks for sharing my photos with me...

Fall, fire and some other things

My last few blog posts have been all about my portrait photography. I am proud to say that I got an A- in the class. I have also been taking some other photos of fall foliage, campfires and just some other interesting things that I have seen while out and about that I would like to share.

I took this one on a Friday morning walking to work -- the moon was still visible and the sky was so blue and such great contrast against the red leaves. 

I loved that the leaves looked like a heart and the bright yellow against the green really caught my eye 

I loved all the different colors and textures in this one --- 

Caught this squirrel actually digging in the flower bed. When it turned to look at me I got this shot -- 

I loved the curve on the stone wall and the contrast of the purple and the yellow in this one

The red leaves in this one caught my eye -- so vibrant -- and then I saw all the lines and patterns and knew I had to take it. 

I see this everyday on my walk home but the color of the tree in the front against the blue shadows on the hill and then the lines in the brick  was what sold me on this shot. 

This is part of an overpass. I saw the fall colors through the gap and had to use it to frame my shot. I loved how it turned out . 

These are part of a bed of flowers that I see everyday.  Loved the contrast against the brick wall. 

This is a on the top of a church that is also on my walk home. This was taken between 5 and 6 in the evening. I loved the clouds and the blue sky and how the light is reflectted in the dome 

Saw this lone leaf on the pavement. The colors and the direction made me take the shot. 

A couple of weeks ago was sitting around a fire  with some friends and decided to take some close up shots. Love the little bit of flare on the right 

Another close up of the coals and the underneath of the fire. I love all the diffrent colors and textures. 

and another angle -- love the little flame strip on the left ...

My friend Sally's tree lined driveway. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to take a shot. 

More from my friend Sally's. Loved the contrast of the corn stalks against the  different colored trees on the hill 

Loved the little bridge, the nice reflection in the water and the bright yellow behind it ....

This one is all abour the light across the top of the water and the color and reflection of the trees 

This was taken at my sister's house on a Sunday morning when there was a lot of sun.  I loved the reflection of the house and shed in the pond ....

and a different angle with just the shed and the trampoline being reflected -- also love the way the leaves frame it all 

Another view of the pond -- don't remember if something was jumping or if leaves fell -- but love the ripple on the right ...

I love the variety of colors and the fact that there is green grass in the foreground and background ....

One of my favss that I took of my nieces and their cousin playing in the leaves -- don't think I could have gotten better expressions if I tried 

Loved the pattern of these leaves against the dark bark -- it looked like ivy and I saw it from across the yard and knew I wanted to take it ...

The color on these leaves is what drew me to them. It was a difficult shot to get -- I had to lean way in to show it the way I wanted, but it was worth it 

I loved how bright these trees were in the reflection and all the lines they made. the patterns and the colors is what made it interesting to me ...

This stone wall is on the side of the road. I really loved how th light and the leaves made different patterns and draw your eye along it

This one is all about how intense the blue is in the water and the lines of the trees. So pretty...

I have more fall flowers and other interesting photos that I have taken lately that I will try to share soon. Also I am studying product photography now and will share some photos when I have worked with a couple of the products. Thanks for sharing my photos with me.. 

Portraits Part 3

The last 2 assignments for my portrait class were pop-culture and beauty portraits. At first I had no idea what I was going to shoot for pop-culture but when I started looking at some photos on the web I started to get some really fun ideas. I did several shoots for this and we kinda just did whatever struck our fancy. I had some really great models that I want to thank (Amy, Angel, Sam, and Pem) and without whose help I would have not had the success that I did with these projects. 

At the end of this post is my final portfolio which I turned in for a grade. Not sure what my final grade is yet because we were allowed to redo some of the assignments, but my professor really liked my presentation. I hope you do too. 

Pop-culture: The basic idea for the pop-culture was to do something that was trendy and popular and could be fashiony. I took a lot of these photos outside, but also had a few great sessions in the studio.I really enjoyed taking the photos and had so much fun doing it. I got a lot of really great shots and it was hard to choose the finals 

 Amy and Angel : loved this one because it is like a manga or cartoon. It was a fun shot to take but it just didn't feel portraity enough to turn in for a grade. 

Amy: I Loved this one and it really did felt like a magazine cover -- and could have worked for either pop culture or beauty, but there is a tiny bit of motion blur that you can see when you blow it up really big. I will probably use it on my website but because my professor takes off  for that kind of stuff, I didn't turn it in 

Amy: loved this pose and the colors on this one, it feels really angsty to me. However once again its not quite as sharp as it could be. I learned to really pay attention to my focus after doing (and having to redo) some of the sessions for this assignment. 

Pem: this was taken in studio against a white wall. Loved the colors and the shadows and the attitude in  this one but I had a few that I thought were more interesting that ended up making the final cut. 

I love the pose and the lines and even the reflection in this one, and though it is a nice portrait, it just did not scream pup culture as much as some of the other ones that I had taken. 

Erica: these were done in studio. the background is a tapestry that looked like a grafittied wall which one of my classmates brought in for us to use. I especially loved how the colors reflected on the floor and personally like this shot a lot (it will probably go on my website) however when my professor looked at it, he told me that I needed to get closer to her and have her fill the frame more....

I love the way she is looking up in this one -- again so angsty (its all about the attitude) and I love the jacket and the purple. This one was really close to being in the final portfolio, but the one I chose has a more interesting pose / and is a bit tighter shot 

Sam: we had soooo much fun shooting these and he was a real trooper. I had the vision in mind and the hat, jacket and shirt are actually all mine. I loved the brown wall behind him ....

This is in front of one of the rock walls, we realized he had a chain that just complimented the outfit and the pose is a lot of fun, I do love this shot, but we also took some with him behind a fence/ gate that won out for the final presentation. 

Beauty: I had a few ideas of the things that I wanted to capture when I did my beauty shoots and I really am grateful to Amy S for being such an awesome model. She came with ideas as well and we kind of went with the flow. Some of these are again outside in natural light --though we did use a reflector to get the light right on her face (Thanks Sam for being a great assistant) -- and some are in studio... 

I really really loved this shot but the focus was more on the reflection in the water than on her face. I want to try and do more of these type of shots in the future, but did not turn it in because of the lack of overall sharpness. It was around 7 pm when we shot this so were losing the light -- if we had taken it earlier in the day, I could have used a smaller aperture  and more of the image would have been in focus...

This was done in studio -- I love the pose on this and the colors really work for me. I did some retouching -- upped the vibrarnce (which made the background a little more blue) and reduced the clarity (which makes her skin a little more smooth ) . I turned in a shot where she is in the same pose, but which is a tighter head and shoulders crop. 

I have all this lacy fabric that we were playing around with and I like the effect of it overall but think I would have liked it a little better if it was off of her left shoulder.... 

For this one we were trying to come up with some different looks and I like the way her hair jumps out, but in the end, I was drawn to her hair more than I was to her face and I also found the little bit of pink that sticks out under her chin very annoying.

More playing with fabric to try and get different effects. We used lace in the background and over her face -- which I liked and I love the makeup in this one. The pose was fun , but it bothered me that you could see her armpit and none of her shoulder . Also the fabric -- though it was pretty was just a bit too busy for me . Okay in theory but not quite right when we shot it....

I also tried my hand at a male beauty shot. I really liked this one of Sam and think it could have worked as a clothing ad, magazine cover -- the pose is fun and the colors are nice, but the photos I chose of Amy just had more of a beauty feel to them so this one did not make the final presentation....

 And here is my final portfolio.  Thank you for viewing my blog and my photos.  The next class I am taking (which starts October 9 and lasts for 7 weeks) is product photography. I am looking forward to it and hope I have as much fun and learn as much in that class as I did in the portrait one. I will post some of the projects from that class as we do them.