So, the request came in to photograph 20 pounds of various cookie varieties, shapes and designs for a client of mine. The photographs will be used to publish a sales book to be carried by the distributors as well as to be used to illustrate the website for this high end cookie production facility. I went to Uncle’s Ralphie’s Fine Baked Goods at 24 Wilson Avenue, Manalapan, NJ to pick up my supply of their Pastel line cookies. The biggest problem now was to get the product to my studio without eating every last one of them.
Your approach to product photography will vary with each product. Shoes, jewelry, stamp collections all differ widely in design and require a different setting and a different mind set, however there are those commonalities that are maintained for every item.
Background: You will want to use a light or white background or a table top studio in which to place your subject. This will present the subject in the best possible surrounding to show its attributes.
Fast lens: You will want to use the fastest lens available. This will enable you to use the widest aperature available resulting in an out of focus background.
Exposure: It is important to bracket your initial captures in order to be sure that you have a bright subject that has not been darkened because your camera is fooled by the light background.
Focus: Be sharp. There is nothing worse than a fuzzy look. Use a tripod. Don’t trust handholding the camera. What may look sharp in the view finder will fool you when it is enlarged or published.
Lighting: Use soft lighting. If you hold a pencil 2-3 inches above your hand and take an image resulting in a dark shadow projected on your hand then this is not soft lighting. You will hardly see a soft shadow. Use a diffuser on your light source or shoot through a light tent.
After Capture: Make use of one of the many available photo processing tools such as Photoshop. Review your images for sharpness, for noise, for color balance.
I completed my work. I had constructed a glass platform so that I could have a certain amount of reflection at the base of the cookies. I used two strobes with umbrella reflectors. The lighting was soft with no harsh shadows and allowed the detail that I was looking for. I shot primarily with a 35 to 70 mm F2.8 Nikkor lense which gave me the subject sharpness as well as the out of focus back ground which resulted in the cookie standing out. It was a fun assignement albeit a little fattening.
Filed under: Daily Inspiration, Uncategorized Tagged: | "uncle ralphies", bake, baking, chocolate, cookies, pastel, recipe, sprinkles, sugar
