recent work: Training environment
I recently completed work for a local information technology training company. They were tired of using the same old stock photography for their catalogs so we put together a small shoot utilizing real life instructors and several employees acting as students. By using real people you achieve a real people look. The client ended up with a nice catalog of images and was very satisfied. Here a a couple of my favorites.
The shoot took a half-day inside their local training room. Myself and their marketing team pretty much rambo'd through. It was great working with their team and employees. I tried to make it a fun time for all. The hardest part is getting the lights down for each different shoot. Some were better than others. It is very important to work your shot list and develop a lighting plan ahead of time if possible.
Lensbaby for food photography? Maybe…
An outtake from a recent food shoot. I was finished up showcasing the product and used the steak as a test for the Lensbaby 2.0 movable lens.
The lensbaby's shifted focus offers a different look but I'm not really sure it would work in the food photography. I don't see it being used very much.
The steak was prepared by Chef Michael at Jimmy V's.
Iced Tea with lemons
From Chapter three of Food Styling for Photographers. Frosted glass technique.
In a future post, I will detail how I created these photographs. In the meantime have a sip!
prepared coffee
A piece I put together this weekend that I'm hoping to market myself with to a very specific client. So, I commisionned myself to produce a photo I thought they might enjoy. I used a double diffusion set up on the lights to keep the specular highlights under control. And not only under control, I wanted them in certain spots. I didn't want the light to be noticed but it needed to be very well lit.
The cups were bought from Homegoods for a steal. Factory seconds probably. The textured material is scrapbook paper from an artist store. The use of papers can be an inexpensive way to add color and decor to a shot. I don't know about you, but I like it.
I posted a set up shot on my Flickr account if you want to see how it was shot. Again with the Nikon Micro 60mm lens. My go to lens for food photography as of late.
Appetizers for Chef Mario
Some images from a recent session held for Chef Mario.
His theme for an upcoming article was appetizers and entertaining. Mario likes the food to stand on it's own against a neutral background.
I brought home some of the shrimp from this shoot. Simply marvelous!
Now what? On to microstock?
I got this email today from my stock agency.
Dear Friends,
We're contacting you today with some unfortunate news - we will be closing The PhotoShelter Collection, effective October 10, 2008. Going forward, our team will refocus heavily on enhancing our original product, The PhotoShelter Personal Archive, which several thousand photographers use for bulletproof storage and online image sales directly to their own clients. Our financial position remains solid and we look forward to working with the photography community for years to come.
As I've stated before, I'm against micro-stock (selling your image for under $1) but now I must reconsider the options. I have several hundred images worthy of sale and now no agency to which I'm working with.
I'm hoping John Harrington can offer sage advice.
7th Edition of ASMP’s Professional Business Practices in Photography
I've been waiting for this book to hit the shelves for a couple years now. I almost bought the 6th edition when I first started out almost three years ago, but opted not to since it's last edition was in 2000. Many things have changed in commercial photography in the last seven years. Like Digital cameras? and Photoshop version 100 it seems. In retrospect, I probably should have bought the book anyway. It's literally the bible for photography business and I've started to dig into it.
One of the biggest challenges for commercial photography is pricing. Prices are all over the place and not everyone values a photograph the same. This book has detailed chapters on pricing and negotiating that alone make the price of the book insignificant. Every photographer selling images should have this book at their side. I hate to think my pricing structure is polluting the commercial photography waters with out of bounds pricing or keeping me from being competitive. There are many photographers out there virtually giving their work away. Work they made using $5000 worth of camera, computer and software. It costs a fair amount of money to produce an accurate, sharp and conceptualized photo.
As 2008 slides into fall, I am focusing my photography education on the business side of things. This book will pretty much be the text book for this chapter of Tim Broyer Photography, LLC.
Props To Logan's Nursery in downtown Raleigh. I had a wonderful Pistachio Chicken Salad sandwich while enjoying my new book.
Daisy
A shot from a recent wedding.
I've gotten several questions about my blog and the recent lack of post & photos. I'm very back logged with post processing of some large weddings and I'm spending my time trying to catch up and put these orders out. Once I'm complete I plan to do a portfolio review and update the main website. Thanks for the concern everyone!
Bland Landscaping
For an upcoming issue of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
Here is a link to the Gallery
Software News: Adobe updated Lightroom to 2.0 yesterday. I've downloaded it and started using it. It's a whopper of a change and significantly reduces my need to get into Photoshop proper. But is it a hog on system resources? I'm starting to think so.