Week 2 Task - Product Photography
I made an attempt at a scene to advertise Parker 'Quink' ink. It was fun to attempt this genre!
I used a wide 85mm lens and closed the aperture down a couple of stops to f/3.5, in order to capture just the signature and the product label. I made sure these two points of focus were on the same plane of focus, so that I could blur out the rest of the scene.
I typed out a fabricated love letter on a type writer and signed it with the ink and calligraphy pen. I composed the background using a variety of pink and pastel coloured objects, however felt this distracts so set the image to b&w in post production.
I composed the image with glass below the product, and tried to complete the background with photo frame, blanket, and card. I removed the glass from the frame to stop reflections. I tried a couple of shots without the blanket but found it hard to finish off the background. I think a deeper desk would've helped.
I tried to use the surrounding objects to draw the eye from the product toward the frame at the far corner.
I composed it in the evening and so used a flash pointing to the ceiling, with trigger on camera hotshoe. I wanted more reflection in the glass below the product originally.
Week 2 Task - Food Photography
This is my attempt at setting up a food photography scene. I decided on coffee, and so set up a scene of various objects around a bright mug of coffee.
I used a 50mm lens at approximately 35 degree angle on kitchen worktop with flashgun directed at a warm gold coffee packet to reflect warm light from the right. Natural light came from the left.
I struggled in post product to get the view of the coffee within the mug quite right. On reflection, I think that a top-down view may work well for this sort of object, to really focus in on coffee itself. For this sort of view, I am curious as to whether a wider angle (perhaps 24mm) and shooting from closer up may make for a more interesting shot.
I am not quite happy with the amount of white space to the top right corner, but I do like the reflections. I tried the flashgun in a variety of positions and this one was my favourite. I tried hard not to get too much shadow against the background.
Week 2 Task - Architecture
I took this photo at Donington Park race circuit at 3:30pm in December of last year: I think the sun had set by this point, so the colours were part of the blue-pink half hour. I think they create a nice glow, stemming from the internal lights within the paddock compound.
I like the composition with the compressed lettering that crosses the start-finish straight giving it that 3 dimensional effect.
Perhaps it could be a little brighter in the dark areas, or cropped to more of a letterbox shape, but overall I think that it is successful.
