Path: The Design Center _/_ FOTOgraphic _/_In-House Photo Studio _/_Let's shoot


Let's shoot... get creative

For starters you'll want a simple set-up. Your best all-round agency shot will be with the softbox just over the camera pointing down at the subject. If you want the light to fall off the background you'll have to hold up a card to block the light from hitting the background. (It's called a "barn Door")
__ With a digital camera you can experiment with all sorts of set-ups and see the results real-time. In the old days (and sometimes still today) we Polaroid the shot first to see how we're doing.
__ High side lighting simulates daylight... low side lighting adds drama. Overhead lighting flattens the scene... be sure to have a reflector in the front to bounce light up into the 'face' of the subject.
__ Once you get going you'll want to experiment. Try a gold colored reflector to warm things up. Try a light blue one to cool things down. If you're shooting a shiny object... plumbing fixtures, jewelry or silverware try several different colored reflectors positioned around the subject. Now you're painting color into the object's reflections.
__ We once shot over 100 auto gauges for VDO, the German automotive instrument company. They just didn't look right until we put two gray reflectors in front of them. (See "VDO" story.) Another time we were shooting brass castings for Colonial Williamsburg and had to drape the entire set with white sheets in order to eliminate all the reflections we didn't want! This is called a 'tent.' (Dennis Curtin explains "Tents") Once the set was completely tented all that could be seen in the reflection was a little dot... the camera lens peeking through a hole in the sheet! (See "Williamsburg" story.) Later we were shooting bathroom fixtures for Kohler and nothing worked... except the full tent. Then they just went dead. To add pizzazz we took brightly colored ribbons of construction paper and pinned them to the inside of the tent... flecks of color now "seen" by the highly polished surface -- results were very handsome indeed.
__ Don't let the Photoshop geeks tell you to just "build in the reflections" -- the best results are when reflections are actually "seen" by the object being shot. Besides, you can probably get the shot in 20 minutes rather than taking 4 hours in Photoshop to get the job done.
__ For something different how about using a sheet of milk acrylic as the backdrop, and light it from below! Or perhaps try etched, screen printed Formica... it comes in a staggering array of selections. (See "VDO cover" story.)
__ Then there are fabrics or carpets... hundreds of different kinds... limited only by your imagination. Let your creativity flow... move the camera around... move the lights around... try everything. Be crazy. Trust me... you'll love the experience and you'll turn out some unanticipated results that your client will be happy to pay dearly for. (Just don't tell them about the duct tape!)

...when you're done, send us a sample!


Tip: most of all this also works with the point-n-shoot cameras. Once again experiment with quantity of light and different film speeds. You'll astonish yourself.

PS: This is by no means the full story. Be flexible. Test and experiment.

Introduction Diffusers & Reflectors
Lighting & Snoots Building the photo studio
Backdrops Okay... now we're ready to shoot.

The Design Center _/_ FOTOgraphic _/_In-House Photo Studio

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