My favorite shoot on the third Professional Imaging Excursion was definitely our stop at the Lift restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming. The restaurant had a rustic ski-lift theme, but the food was elegant and gorgeously plated. To top it all off, we were blessed with stunning natural lighting on the upper deck. If you’d like to see shots from the restaurant itself, look here! Appetizers Entrees: Dessert: ...
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In addition to making food look delicious, Sis. Esplin instructed us to practice HDR. Apparently HDR is very trendy right now even in food photography. I think it’s pretty odd looking, but the technique certainly brings out interesting textures, especially in bread. I used Photomatix for my HDR composite shots. ...
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Destiny and I had to hurry to photograph as many products as fast as we could to the best of our abilities at the latest shootout. Our product options ranged from perfumes to pepper shakers to party favors. Once again, I found lighting makes or breaks a shoot. I had the opportunity to experiment with lots of different lighting set ups. For the shootout each participant had to bring a product. I brought these adorable salt and pepper shakers. My roommate has a set just like this, and I thought they were so cute that I had to get my own. The little owls also have a matching spoon rest, but I couldn’t figure out how to work it into this shot. Apparently this stuff is a Bostonian favorite. I was introduced to Fluff on our last excursion, but this was the first time I’d seen it in strawberry flavor. Tacky shiny stuff. In retrospect I should have been more careful to put better lighting on the logo and I would have loved to make the can look dewy with condensation, but I kinda like this shot anyway. This is my favorite photo from the shoot-out. I like to think it would look like a real ad with the right text and logos on it. The lighting on this shot was particularly tricky. I think we had too many flashes, because most of the photos were drastically overexposed even though they were in such a dark container. This is what the set-up looked like....
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You’d think product and food photography would be easy because your subject isn’t moving, but it can still be tricky depending on your lighting setup. I greatly prefer working with natural lighting so I had to stretch myself when it came to this indoor shootout, ESPECIALLY since I don’t find most of the following foods delicious. In fact, I’d never even heard of an Italian soda before. You learn new things everyday! ...
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If getting good portraits of one or two people is challenging, getting a good group photo is astronomically more difficult. As part of my third and final Professional Imaging excursion, I participated in a group portrait shoot-out. My group and I were allotted fifteen minutes to organize our class for one full shoot and four smaller sub-group shots, which were arranged in advance. If these photos are any indication, I still have a lot to learn about staging and shooting group portraits, especially when cooperating with other photographers. ...
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As practice for photo-journalistic style headshots and portraiture Kenna Gurel headed over to Sticks and Stones bike shop to meet with the owner. We only spent a few minutes with him since we had to run off to our photoexcursion right afterward but I think we got some great shots! Here are a few of my favorites. Props to Kenna for helping with the lighting. ...
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Evan and Aubree Perez are a beautiful couple. I wish I would have had more time to shoot them together! I loved their subtle displays of affection and sweetness. Evan’s classy beige suit paired wonderfully with Aubree’s dressy summer wear. ...
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As the daughter of my professor, Caryn Esplin, I’m rather certain young Zoe knows more about photography than I do. She certainly taught me a lot about modeling in the few moments I spent with her! She was a complete natural and adorable to boot. I was sorely tempted to let her do all of her own posing and just set my camera in continuous mode, but I knew I needed to at least try (laughs). We found what I assume to be a piece of an old wagon wheel leaning up against a barn and we experimented on a few poses with it. ...
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Nick, Tina, Oz and Mac Leishman were a delight to work with. The sun broke with perfect timing, bringing their beautifully coordinated outfits of navy and yellows to life. The little boys were rambunctious and far more interested in throwing rocks into the stream, playing with sticks, and otherwise being boys, but I still managed to get a few sweet shots of them. Nick was reserved and dignified, and his wife Tina was so sweet. ...
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Megan looked stunning in her beautiful dress, especially against the dingy backdrop of an old junkyard outside of Virginia City. Her delicate pearl necklace and script CTR ring added an extra touch of elegance. ...
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