Small Product Assignment Part 2 - Research

Establishing my theme:

For my small product assignment, I have decided that I would like to photograph 4 different types of bath/hygiene products.

·         A small bath collection

·         Face Wash and Moisturiser set

·         Body Lotion

·         Roll on Deodorant

I chose this theme because they are the types of products that I am interested in, and can easily get my hands on.

Bath Collection

For my bath collection photograph, I’d like to incorporate water into the image as it is something that is commonly associated with bathrooms and pampering yourself. I also think it would be interesting to work with, as I have never photographed water in the studio before.

Here are some ideas for this shoot:

Viewed 10^th December 2011, <http://shopcents.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/neutrogena-printable-coupons-available/>.

This image looks as if it has been deep etched, I’d say that each item and the water was photographed individually and then placed together in Photoshop. I would like to capture my products and the water as one single image.

Viewed 10^th December 2011, <http://www.cosmopolitan.com/hairstyles-beauty/beauty-blog/best-body-wash>.

I like this image, I looked as though it has all been photographed at the one time. The bubbles are effective and would be each to do. These products have been placed on a shiny surface to create the reflection below; I will be recreating this in my image.

Viewed 10^th December 2011, <http://covetedcanvas.wordpress.com/2011/09/>.

I love the effect of the water in this image; I will be trying to recreate this in my own shot.

For my shoot, I think the easiest way to achieve this would be to pour water over the products and take the image at the same time. I’d like to try and get the water to spread out across all the products; to do this I could get an assistant to run the water through their fingers above the products, or even pour the water into a colander. This however could be a messy job, and water is not something you want to spill everywhere in the studio, with electrical cords and expensive equipment sitting everywhere.

In order to contain the water, I will need to elevate the products above a container that will be able to catch the overflow. This could possibly be a developing tray from the dark room? And I could elevate the objects by placing them on a reflective surface such as glass or white Perspex (this is so I will achieve a drop reflection of the products) on blocks above the tray. I could easily then pour the water over and behind the products and the excess would run off into the container.

For this particular shoot, I’m going to need a lighting set up with two lights. The main light at the front, on a 45 degree angle to the products, I can then use a reflector if needed as a fill light. I will then need a light on the left hand corner of the backdrop, to break it up from the products; this will create a nice gradient on the background.

Here is a lighting diagram I have constructed in order to help me set up the lights:

Face Wash and Moisturiser set

Face wash and moisturiser are very common products used by women. The products that I have chosen are a chemist brand (Cetaphil), and don’t really have particularly nice packaging – they are quite plain.

Because these products are made from natural ingredients and are meant to be better for your skin, I’d like to try and incorporate some natural looking plants, like flowers, ferns or fruit into the image.

Here are some examples:

Viewed 10^th December 2011, <http://www.life123.com/beauty/cosmetics/green-beauty-products/natural-versus-organic-beauty-products.shtml>.

Viewed 11^th December 2011, <http://beautynaturalsecret.blogspot.com/2010/05/all-natural-beauty-products-as-home.html>.

Viewed 11^th December 2011, http://manchesterweddingphotographer.blogspot.com/2010/09/organic-beauty-products.html.

All three of these products have quite plain packaging but have been enhanced by the garnishing of a plant. Because I don’t know exactly what the cetaphil products are made of, there is only little choice of what plants I could use in the photograph. Obviously I can’t use olives or other kinds of fruit or plants like lavender or mint, all that would give reference that the product was made of that. I am more inclined to use a plant like the fern. This is a more leafy natural plant, and if I were to wet it, beads of water droplets would gather on the leaves, giving a sense that the product is rich in moisture, and is going to give you healthy clear skin.

So for this shot, I will be using a clipping of fern that I can easily get from one of the fern trees at CIT.  I will spray the fern with water, to get the little water droplets, and then place the fern in my product shot. I can experiment with where to put the fern when I am in the studio. This time I will try photographing my products on a tile surface, this will give the shot more of a bathroom effect.

Lighting my product will be simple. I will have two lights, the main light set vertically at a 45 degree angle to the products; this will light the products evenly, as I will be placing one bottle closer to the light than the other for some separation. Having the light set vertically to the products will allow for a nice white line reflection from the softbox to run down the side of the products lids – this will give the product a shinier rounder, more 3D look. The second light I will use is to light the background, this is to give the overall image some depth.

Here is a lighting diagram of how I will set up the lights:

Body Lotion

For my body lotion photograph, I have decided to photograph my Vaseline coco butter body lotion. I’ve been trying to think of a different type of prop that I can use to enhance my product. For the above two images I have used water and plants, now I need to find something else that is going to reflect the theme of a bathroom on my product.

After doing some research, I couldn’t really find any type of existing image that I really liked or that I could try and recreate. But I did find single images that I could use as inspiration for my own image. With this I have come to the idea that I could use either folded up face washers or folded or rolled towels as a prop in the background. I could use my lenses depth of field to have the washer or towel out of focus and keep my product in focus. I think this could work really well!

Inspirational images:

Viewed 11^th December 2011, <http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-64273555/stock-photo-luxury-bathroom-interior-soap-and-towel.html>.

Viewed 11^th December 2011, <http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-9597634/stock-photo-spa-and-wellness-green-towels-in-bathroom-stacked-stones-and-aromatherapy-salt.html>.

Viewed 11^th December 2011, <http://www.cassadecor.com/articles/how-to-complement-your-space-with-luxury-bathroom-accessories.html>.

Once again I will only be needing 2 light sources; one on the product and one on the background, however, I will have the light for the background angled so that it hits the back of my product, acting as a heir light. This will give the bottle more depth.

Here is the lighting set up I have constructed to refer back to when setting up my lights:

 

Roll on deodorant

For my roll on deodorant product shoot I have chosen to photograph some of my Rexona women’s deodorant. In this shot I want to try and mix up the background this time. For the first three shoots I have chosen to have the same white background for each shot, but just change up the lighting a little bit. I also have a different kind of prop incorporated into each one. So for this shot, I’d like to try and get away from the white background and prop situation.

When I was going through some of the props we have in the studio, I found some interesting glass blocks, that I thought I would be able to set up behind my product, these would act as my background and I wouldn’t need a complementary prop to go along with my product as the rippled texture of the glass blocks already reinforce the bathroom theme, giving a sense of flowing clean fresh water, deodorant is supposed to make you feel clean isn’t it?

Here is an example of the glass blocks I found:

Viewed 10^th December 2011, <http://selector.com/au/suppliers/adelaide-glass-blocks/products/glass-blocks>.

The blocks from the studio are all clear. I will place the deodorant bottle in front of them; I will most likely only need one, as the image will be quite a tight crop.

The way I will light the image is by using one light (softbox) to light the product, directed front on, and angled slightly above it. I will then use another product to light the background. I will do this by bouncing the light from a snoot off a white backdrop directly behind the glass blocks so that the light will shine through to the front, illuminating the ripples in the glass.

I will have the product sitting on some white Perspex to get a reflection of the deodorant. It will also reflect the patterns of the glass and create a smooth graduation between the table surface ant the background.

Here is a lighting set up I have constructed of what I will need to do:

NOTE: The brick wall in this diagram represents the glass blocks, and the flowers in all diagrams resemble the product.

Small Product Assignment –Part One - Research

The Advertisement

Initial Idea

For my Small Product advertisement, I would like to photograph something in the range of beauty products. So In order to come up with an idea I decided to go shopping. What better way than to gather inspiration for my photographs? As a female, when shopping for beauty products, I like to look at the advertisements of each item, as I’m not really inclined to buy a product with dodgy packaging or sales posters. While looking for my product, I thought about how I could make each item my own, how would I advertise it? I looked at eye shadow; I would want it to be bright and colourful. I also thought about how I would advertise it. Would I get a model to wear the eye shadow or would I try something different?

I looked at perfume and lipstick; I also looked at the prices of each item. How much am I willing to spend?

I then settled for nail polish. Pink Revlon Nail Polish. I decided on the colour pink because it’s bright and girly and also a colour I would wear once I was finished photographing. (Really just an excuse for me to buy some new nail polish haha). I chose the brand REVLON because the logo is nice and big, it’s also simple and I knew that I would be able to work it well into any advertisement I’d make.

In order to turn this product into an advertisement, I have researched some existing nail polish adds; some REVLON and some not.

Here are some examples:



Viewed 8th December 2011, <http://www.glossicious.com/2011/02/new-revlon-top-speed-nail-enamal.html>.

This is the current nail polish add for the product I will be photographing.



Viewed 8th December 2011, <

http://webdoc.gwdg.de/edoc/ia/eese/artic20/piller/5_2000.html>.

Viewed 8th December 2011, <

http://www.cinemagupshup.com/bollywood/bollywood-actress-wallpapers/aishwarya-rai-in-loreal-lipstick-and-nail-polish-ad-photo/>.

Viewed 8th December 2011, <

http://beautyeditor.ca/2010/06/01/coco-rocha-struts-for-a-cure%E2%80%94and-shares-her-best-supermodel-beauty-tips/>.

Looking at all these examples of existing Nail polish advertisements, I have that each ad seems to have the same common fingers framing the face, this technique works well, because every time you look at an advertisement where the model is holding painted nails up to her face, it’s kind of an automatic reaction that the viewer knows what is being advertised.

With my advertisement I’d like to try something different by not showing off a beautiful face so much and put even more focus on the nails.

To do this I’ve thought of the idea, for my model to wear a big floppy sun hat, where she will be pulling the brim down over one eye. This will help to take the focus off her face and draw more attention to her nails.  

The sun hat I use for the ad will need to be a neutral colour, as it is important that I don’t have clashing colours (especially when the product I am advertising is pink).

Photographing the Product

Now That I’ve got my product, I’m ready to photograph my deep etched image, but first I need to think about how I am going to light it.

Here is an example of my product:

REVLON, 2011, viewed 6^th December 2011, < http://www.revlon.com/Revlon-Home/Products/Nails/Nail-Color/NEW-Revlon-Top-Speed-Nail-Enamel.aspx>.

For my photograph, I would like to try and reproduce the above image. However, because the material of the bottle and lid is so shiny, I need to research how to photograph the product without casting any ugly reflections in the mirror- like- lid, and how to get the nice vertical lines running down it.

I found that the trick with any reflective product is what to position in the reflection. The last thing you want to see is some lighting stands, your camera or yourself in your product. Positioning some screens in the right places will take care of this. However If you photograph the products in a white box and light them evenly, they will tend to look flat and boring. It is important to use various shades (dark, grey and light) in the reflection to give the product the shiny look. Easier said than done, but when you get it right, they look great!
To Photograph the Nail polish, I will need three light sources.

1.      A light on the  background (preferably white, this will make it easier to cut out the product in Photoshop.) This light will help to illuminate the white background even more.

2 & 3. Two softboxes, one on either side of the nail polish, but as close to as possible (leaving a gap for the camera). These will reflect in the lid and create the white vertical reflections. To get the black lines on the lid, I will need to get my camera at the correct angle to the product (to figure out the right angle, look at the object up and down so that you can find the right position to place the camera). I will also need to make sure the surrounding walls of the studio are black; I may need to hold up a black piece of card in front of me to stop and reflections I may cast.

·         I will also need to sit my product on some kind of shiny material, preferably glass, or white Perspex, to create a nice drop reflection of the product.

Here is a lighting diagram I have constructed to for me to refer to when setting up in the studio:

Finding a Model for My Advertisement

For any kind of beauty advertisement I believe it is important to have an attractive person modelling what you’re trying to sell, as the buyer is purchasing the product to look beautiful, not ugly. So I will need to find someone who is attractive and will sell my product well. This person will also need to have nice hands and fingernails, as that is the main area I am focusing on. I am pretty lucky and have a fair few options of where to find a model. I currently live in a boarding house with around 40 girls, so this gives me plenty of choices, I also have a girlfriend that would be suitable for the job, I too have thought about asking one of the girls from the beauty/makeup department at CIT to model for me.

Points to help me choose a model:

·         Has nice skin

·         Needs to have natural longish nails, can’t be acrylics/gels etc. as I will need to paint them, and don’t want them looking fake.

·         Slender hands

·         Preferably longish hair (shoulder length or longer)

Choosing a model will come down to the above factors and who will be available at the time when I need to shoot.

Photographing my model/background image

In order to get the correct lighting on my models finger nails, the best position for me to place my main light source will be directly in front the subject, however the softbox will need to be slightly above her so that I can get my camera in there to take the pictures. This however will most likely cause a shadow to be cast across my models face from the sun hat she will be wearing. This can be corrected by using a reflector to bounce light back up on to her face removing the unwanted shadow.

For this shot I will just be using typically portrait lighting; one light for my main light source and another light on the backdrop to give depth to main subject and its background.

Here is a quick lighting diagram I have constructed to refer to when setting up my lights:

References:

Reed, M 2011, Perth Product Photography, Viewed 8^th December 2011, <http://www.perthproductphotography.com.au/chrome-taps-mixers>.

Studio Assignment One – Portraiture Research

Corporate portrait

For my corporate studio portrait, I have decided to take the image of the manager (Lisa) that runs the boarding house (Mackillop House), I am currently living at. This type of image of her could be used on the house website or for promotional flyers. Mackillop house is run for young rural girls that are moving to Canberra for the first time, so it is important that the portrait I take of Lisa, portrays her as a warm, friendly, approachable person, whom runs a house where someone like myself would like to live and feel relaxed and at home.

To do this, I have researched some corporate portraits, with nice subtle lighting on the subjects faces. I want this type of lighting as it brings out the nicer side of a person, rather than the dramatic, angry personality shadows around the brows and eyes can develop.

Here are some examples:

NIWA Photograpy, 2010, NIWA Corporate Photography, Viewed 6^th December 2011, <http://www.niwaphotography.com/corporate_studio_portraits.html>.

Viewed 6th December 2011, <http://www.pbase.com/singapore_photography/image/86623522>

I have done some research on some lighting set ups to achieve this kind of portrait and have come up with these:

Paramount Lighting

Paramount lighting is great light for portraits, it can sculpt the face with light. The effects of highlighting and defining features to enhance or soften the overall look will pay off in the final print.

·         The key light is placed at a 45-degree angle to the subject.

·         A backlight is used for separation from the background.

·         A hair light is used. Not a spot, a soft box (preferably) or diffused light above the subject.

·         A fill reflector is used on the dark side of the subject.

Basic Lighting Set Up

This is the most versatile of the three lighting set ups. This set up travels well and is quick and easy to set up. Many different variations can be used with this basic system. You can use a bright window for one of the lights, a white wall for the reflector, a remote for the fill or backlight. So, this set up can be modified to fit any situation either in the studio or on location. If a bulb burns out or the photographer only has one light and flash, with the proper positioning, this lighting set up can be achieved with minimal equipment. That is the beauty of this particular lighting technique.

·         Subject should be about 3 to 5 feet from the background (this it to avoid shadows behind the subject.

·         Main light should be at a 45 degree angle to the subject, and about 3 feet away.

·         Fill light should be directly in front of the subject, but angled slightly above, this light should be about 8 feet away.

·         Background light directed at the wall is used to create separation between the subject and the wall.

·         Reflector, held below the subjects chin angling up to the face is used to remove any harsh shadows from around the neck and eyes.

The Lighting set up that I have chosen to use is the Basic lighting set up. This is mainly because I am looking for simple lighting, and this is an easier set up to arrange, than having to try and get the hair light right. I am also restricted to my time slot for the studio and this set up will be more quick and efficient, yet will still achieve great results!

Using lightingdiagrams.com I have constructed the following lighting diagram of the basic lighting set up, for me to refer to while working in the studio:

Couples Portrait

As soon as I read the brief for the couple’s portrait, I had the idea of what I wanted to do and who I wanted to photograph straight away!  

So my idea was to photograph my best friend Hayley and her partner Eric. Both of them live back in my home town of Boorowa and since I don’t get to see them very often any more, I thought it would be nice for them to come and get a portrait together. The two of them have been together for about 4 and a half years and now have a baby on the way. I’d like to make the portrait of them a nice pre-baby couples shot.

Ideas for my portrait actually came from some portraits I’d seen of my Aunty and Uncle together at their place. The images of them were set against a black backdrop, and their dark clothing seemed to blend into the background. This then drew more attention to their faces and the emotion between them. This is what I want to achieve in my own images.

Here are some examples:

Lenkus, L 2011, Linnea Lenkus Fine Art Portrait Studios, Viewed 6^th December 2011, < http://www.linnealenkus.com/couples1.html>.

Lenkus, L 2011, Linnea Lenkus Fine Art Portrait Studios, Viewed 6^th December 2011,

http://linnealenkus.com/blog/2008/07/03/couples-portraits-for-me/.

Viewed 6th December 2011,

<http://www.studioelizabethblog.com/2010/04/20/kristen-and-matt/>

While researching, I have found that in typical portrait photography, you only usually use one light source on the subjects face/faces. So for my portrait of the couple I will be using a softbox, placed to the right of the couple at a 45 degree angle. I will then need a reflector to get even lighting over both the subjects’ faces. The reason I’m not placing the sofbox directly in front of the couple is because there will be too much light casting onto the background and my black backdrop will no longer appear to be black.  

For this shot I will then need another light source directed behind the couple, this will appear as an heir light, creating some separation between the background and the subjects. I will need to flag this light so I don’t get any unnecessary lens flair.

Here is a lighting diagram I have constructed to refer to when needed: