More product photos and a few other things

I realized I never shared any photos of the last 2 products that I was working on for class.  We have already done some reviews and are doing reshoots at this point. The two products I want to share this time are a chrome product and a tool. I will talk about which ones I like and why and some of the challenges that I had when shooting them.

CHROME: 

Our professor gave us a watch to shoot for this product. There were many challenges associated with this product. First since a large part of the surface is chrome, we had to set up are lighting/ set so that there you could see the texture of the chrome and not have the photographer or other things in the room reflected in the surface. Since it is a watch we also needed to be able to see the face and the time. The band is also shiny black so we had to be really careful about fingerprints.  Our first way to control some of these challenges was to use a light tent (basically a big square white box that has a slit in the front panel that you can put your camera lens through to get your shot. Light tents are used quite frequently for product photograpy. Lighting the set was pretty easy.We basically used one light behind the tent and raised it high enough so that it shone through both the top and back of the tent. The biggest challenge after that was figuring out how to get our product to stay and keep it in focus in the small space. I ended up using a wide angle lens (18-55 mm) and leaning way in the to the box to get some of the shots... 

 First round 

I wanted to get a picture in the box. According to my prof this is the weakest of my shots because it is not very dramatic. I was more worried about making sure you could read the face of the watch....

Trying to get more creative with this one ... I bought mirrored glass pieces and I love how they look blue in this. I had it around a block that is wrapped in the lace to get the watch to and up. 

Added the box in this one for a little flare. I liked how the glass pieces and the fabric draw your attention to the watch and how the glass is also reflected in the box. 

I wanted a close up of the watch and again threw in the glass pieces for affect. I loved how the black and white fabric gives it an elegent feel. In hindsite I would have cropped it so that you can not see the box in the background ... 

I bought gears esp to use with this shoot. I really love all the shapes and colors of it. the most difficult part was getting them to stay where I wanted them ..... but its a fun shot and i like it a lot. 

CHROME RESHOOT

After looking at my above shots with my professor, (he gave me a B+)  I knew I needed to get a bit more creative and tighten all my shots. I had the chance yesterday to reshoot and here are my favorites.. 

I realized I never took a picture of the watch itself. A lot of the other students (and a lot of product ads) show the product and its reflection. Took this one on a piece of glass with a piece of foil underneath it. We ended up using sticky wax (which is a life sacer) to get it to stand up ... 

I used ever piece of mirrored glass I had and piled it around the watch for this one. I love how it gives a shimmery look to the whole thing and how the watch is just a little bit off center 

I left the glass and added a necklace that I was given to me by my great aunt. I love all the colors and how the beads are reflected in the top (which helps to highlight the shiny quality of the band)  -- and yes I tightened it way up. I was leaning so far into the light tent that I almost pushed it off the table 

A redo with the box. this one feels simpler and cleaner to me and I love how the red is reflected in the mirrored glass... 

and last but not least -- my new shot with gears. I had some larger ones that I wanted to use and again I tried to bring this one in tighter so that the watch is the primary focus. I love the different colors and shapes of the gears and how they are reflected in the class .... 

TOOL: 

The last product I had to shoot is a tool. For this we had a mini LED light which presented a whole different set of challenges. Not only is it small but we needed to make sure we could see the logo and try to set it up in a way that was interesting and showed the tools functionality. I had a lot of problems with this and am really looking forward to being able to shoot this again .... We tried to do some light painting for this but my shots did not come out. Light painting is basically having little very little light on the scene (we just had the light itself on)  using a tripod and a longer shutter speed and having someone use a small light ( like a cell phone or flashlight) to light the parts (such as the logo) that you need to highlight.  The shots I have are without the light being on ... 

I loved the blue backgroun on this and my prof liked how sharp the logo is -- unfortunately I cut off the bottom of the tool -- and would have liked a little less wood in the forground. 

The base of the tool is magnetic so I wanted to get a shot of it standing up. The light is actually on in this picture but you can't tell. We liked the idea but it really does not show the full uses of the tool . The lighting is pretty good and the logo is clear, but again I cut off the top -- 

I was going for the idea that this was laying on a work bench among a bunch of differnt things -- and though the concept was good -- I cut off the left side  but  I really liked the chain and all the different textures . 

I love the red tool box as the background of this and the angle was good -- again I just should have backed up a smidge to get the left side where I had the chain attached. 

And this is my favorite shot in the set -- this is actually paper used for wrapping presents etc. It looked so much like sawdust and was just fun . It would have been a little better if I could have had the light on but .... 

As I said I am looking forward to the reshoot of this one. I want to try having someone hold the light and am defnitely going to try light painting again. So though there have been some frustrating shoots (this was probably the worst) I have learned so much and will just add it to the knowledge I am getting in all these classes. 

Thanks for sharing my photos with me. My next post about products will have reshoots of the tool, the moisturizing cream and the liquor bottle. 

Photos from the last month

Over the last month I have taken photos of a bunch of different things, a wedding, some fall photos, landscape and various scenes out and about. I've been looking through some of my photos and wanted to share some of my favorites ...

Campus scenes

I was walking home one night and saw the way Old Main was lit up, had to try and get the shot -- it was taken from the library steps

this was taken at sunset -- loved the color of the sky and the contrast of the bright lamp ...

this was all about the colors and the way the building and mountain were framed between the trees

another shot at sunset.  I loved the dusky blue of the sky and the way the part of the building caught and reflected light

the light on these leaves was incredible -- believe it or not it came from the headlights of a car that was parked nearby

these leaves are on a tree on my walk home . I loved the contrast between the yellow and the green. I took this shot from below -- looking up at them. Loved the way it turned out

this was taken early one morning when it was still dark out. I loved the contrast of the tractor with the leaves behind it. So fun I just had to take a shot. 

another shot taken on an early morning walk to campus.  I loved how the lights and the building are reflected in the side windows and the pattern of the lights just pulled everything together...

these are in one of the flower boxes on campus. I loved the colors and the way they meshed together

the white flower in this one caught my eye from across campus -- and since I am a fall child it was a must have 

this was on a sunny afternoon and is part of the library. I not only loved the tree but the blue sky was amazing. I loved how dark the branch and the lines of the windows are also. 

this shot was taken during and early morning tailgate. Loved how misty it was 

the same tailgate day when the sun was going down. The light was amazing

the same tailgate, when the sun had set -- loved that you could see the new sign on the stadium

Fall Portraits  

 My friends Brandi and Hai wanted some fall portraits -- they picked matching outfits and we went to a few differet spots with awesome trees. here are a few of my favorites from our session which was in mid October

We were actually under the tree -- loved the way it blanketed the back. 

they wanted to peek out through the leaves. Loved the mixture of yellows and reds...

this is a wider shot but we wanted to get the stone wall, the boots and of course the trees

I loved  the shapes and colors  and the contrasting reds between the brick wall and the leaves. 

and my absolute favorite from this session -- I saw the wheat and asked then to sit and was so pleased with the result

 Wedding Photos

On October 18th, I was privileged to help with my first wedding--- I took lots of photos and learned a lot. Here are a few of my favorite from the whole day.

one of the detail shots. loved how the orange of the necklace brought everything together

one of the fun outdoor shots we took of the groom and his party

the kiss 

after the ceremony -- loved how the groom is reflected in the mirror

they blew bubbles to greet the bride and groom -- and then granny kissed her hand -- loved it

the flower girl and ring bearer -such cuties

we asked them what kind of poses they wanted and he dipped her in front of the window --loved it 

our outdoor sessions -- it was cool and windy and she was warm -- caught this shot of her just appreciating the atmosphere and the day (this is my absolute favorite of her) 

focusing on her -- loved the contrast of the black and white

the groom and the bridesmaids

they wanted to do a fun pose like this -- was not sure it would come out but we got it 

this was against one of the power transformers. I love the pose and the way the lines create interest

on the hill -- the expressions tell it all

at the reception hall. Taken from the balcony 

taken on one of the stair wells in the reception hall.  love the composition, the light and the pose. 

That's all of the photos I am sharing for today. I have learned so much in the last few months (which is when all these photos were taken)  and plan to keep on learning and practicing. I am working on product photography and will share some more of those and some spooky shots I took of the moon in my next post. Thank you for going on this journey with me.