Size Is Relative

Here's a photo of a perfume bottle. Do you have any idea how big this perfume bottle is? I bet you don't have any idea. Looking at the photo on its own will be hard or impossible to say especially there are no markings on the bottle that would indicate its volume.

Vintage Look?

I had some vinyl panels with great wooden pattern and had this deep color. I thought that this beer looks good with it.

Applying the same technique used in "Something Is Brewing" less the smoke and light intensity for a different feel.

1906 Red Vintage

What can you say about this?

White On White

Products that are white and photographed on white is sometimes tricky. One has to take care that the white product doesn't blend into the white background and lose it's shape.

Below is an example of a product that is white and is on a plain white background. As you can see, this bottle has curves in it and you can distinguish it's general shape against the white background.

The trick here is to use the opposite of white reflectors (or card boards in my case) which is black. The whites tend to reflect the black into the camera and thus giving definition on the subject. Below is the setup for the above image.

Similarly, clear bottles with clear liquids are tricky ones as well. I had a hard time on the image below due to the fact that the bottle is glass that reflects almost anything. The angle of the shot made it a bit hard to do as it is also reflecting the dark glossy table.

Hope this helps when in comes to shooting things white on white.

Living Sweets

It's once again Easter and we're headed for another themed Easter Celebration - Candy Dreamland.

Costume for the kids have been decided, materials have been bought, and it was made. I'm sure you're curious what they are. Here are a some photos to get you started.

Have you figured it out? Let's see what they are!

Walking Skittles

Walking Cake

Happy Easter!

The best living sweets!

A Living Portrait

Trying to get the creative juices working again which I started with my eldest daughter. An impromptu portrait session which we had on a Saturday morning.

Looking at the photos I have taken, I've spotted something to make those creative juices working.

Our Bunso (Our Youngest)

Our youngest daughter is not as keen as her elder sister when it comes to having her photo taken. To my surprise, this morning she obliged without hesitation. I asked her to come down to our living room and have her sit on the sofa and read a book while I take some photos of her where there was great ambient light that I couldn't pass. Her big sister helped in holding a reflector for those nice catch lights.

Another beautiful, fast-growing kid like her sister. Taking good looks from their mom.

Something Is Brewing

Last night on my way home, I passed by a convenience store looking for something to drink with my expected dinner. While looking around the beverage area, I saw this bottle of beer I don't recall ever seeing before. It had an interesting label and I thought it would be a good opportunity to photograph it and make something nice. As I continued on my way, my mind was thinking of how to make this more interesting then an "Aha!" moment occurred.

When I got home, I did some research on how to do what I wanted to do while I ate dinner. Didn't exactly found what I was looking for but there were some very helpful stuff in the Internet. After filling up my tummy with food and my mind with ideas, I started to set up and as usual, I do a test shot which I posted last night which is also shown below.

Something's Brewing...

Something To Celebrate

In one of the last few days of Dec 2014, I was able to do one last product shot that I can say is one of my best creative product shots. Shown on the left is a teaser photo that I posted sometime January 2015 that can also be seen in this link.

When my wife bought and surprised me with this beer, I was very happy and I remember having this smile in my face I can't wipe off. This is because I have something to photograph and I have something to drink after -- Cheers!

Every time there's something new around is always a good opportunity to get some product shots. First, they're somewhat at their "best" look and if it's beer and liquor it's best while it has still contents.

Going back to the image, it took me several days to think about how to photograph this beer bottle. Since it was the holidays and the spirit of celebration was in the air, I was aiming to have something to get that feeling in the photo at the end.

The teaser image on it's own is good in my opinion and can be used as is. It's simple but I wasn't getting the celebratory feeling in this image so I had to slowly build on it.

Moisturize

While I was preparing the set for the Slim Bottle shot in my previous entry, I came across this bottle of lotion that looked new and thought it would be a nice subject for another product shoot.

Photographing this bottle was relatively easy if not for the shiny irregular cap that reflected everything in the room. I was having a hard time getting rid of those reflection in camera and just decided to clean it in post.

Moonlight Path by Bath & Body Works

This bottle of lotion was similarly lit by the other beer and wine bottles I've photographed except this is a bit flat and is not translucent so there is no light  passing through the bottle itself.

I have managed to have a repeatable setup on most bottle or cylindrical objects. In this case I had to do a small change on how to light it since it has a broader face that needs to be lit.

I used a water spill to indicate moisture instead of water beads like I use on beer bottles.

Looking forward for more similar products to work on in the near future.

Slim Bottle

I received a gift and once again it's a great opportunity to make something beautiful. I've got a tricky bottle situation - dark bottle and shiny lettering.

Times like these having several light sources to light the different parts of the product would have made this shot easier. Since I'm limited to only two lights, I had to do with what I have and do the rest in post.

I wanted a shot glass with this photo but the lack of if made me pick some leaves and use it as something to accompany the bottle. Until now I still don't know why I prefer to have those leaves in the image than without it. I guess it would be too simple with any "garnish" in the image.

Would you say those leaves are distraction or something that adds to the image?

Nazdrave! Cheers in Bulgaria.

What Time Is It?

I have been thinking how to shoot a watch out of the ordinary and this what came out of that pondering.

I rolled this craft foam and secured it with the watch so it won't unroll. Then suspended the setup and placed a black card board below. Lit the watch and the background and there you go!

It's like looking at your watch and asking what time is it. Tried also a new signature but it looks to complicated. Will revert back to the old signature.

Our Big Girl

Early this year, I promised our eldest daughter to take some photos of her in sports-like attire.

Let's play badminton!

Time flies fast and now she's almost nine. Growing up pretty just like her mom.

Big Girl Na!

Taking advantage of the setting sun as a rim light for her hair and a shoot-through umbrella as main light.