Assignment 2 - Product on Location

1. We plan to use a hanging lamp to the left of the table as the main light, as it adds a nice rim light to the plate and I think it will enhance the texture of the pizza crust, as well as to maintain the 'feel' of the ambient light on the table. At the workshop, it was at full power, but we have the option to dim it if need be, but I don't think we will have to as the available light reading above our plate was f/5.6, 1/2nd, ISO 400, so we will have to add in more light from the flashes in order to boost the shutter speed to have a sharp image. A potential problem we may have is that having a light above our pizza may reflect off the cheese and make it look greasier, but hopefully using a polarizing filter will be effective enough to eliminate unwanted shine.

2. We are using an 18-200mm lens at a focal length between 85-100mm, in order to throw the background out of focus. However, after looking at my polaroids, I think I will experiment with a fixed 50mm lens when we have the dummy plate, to see if the depth of field can be increased.

3. We are planning on using an aperture of f/5.6, so that the pizza is in focus and the table is blurred, as the wood will look nice out of focus. However, after looking at my polaroids, I don't know if the depth of field is shallow enough at f/5.6 to throw the table out of focus enough to my liking. I think when we have the dummy plate, I will try to raise the aperture to f/4.5 as well as try and increase the height of the camera, to see if the depth of field is increased. I will also play with the camera angle to see if that makes a difference.

4 & 5 & 6 & 7. Our ambient light reading directly above the plate was f/5.6 at 1/2nd ISO 400. Even with the camera on a tripod, this shutter speed is too slow, so we will use the flashes in order to be able to increase the shutter speed, hopefully to 1/15th or faster. As we didn't have our lights during the workshop, I don't know the exact amount of light necessary, but I'm confident we will be able to use the flashes in order to achieve an optimal shutter speed.

8. I would like to throw the background (wood table) more out of focus, so I will have to play with the camera angle and height, as well as potentially increase the aperture in order to achieve the look I want. We will also have to increase the shutter speed by adding more light with the flash in order to have a sharp image suitable for a magazine cover. As our tripod will be extended to maximum height, we will have to be sure to anchor it with a sandbag so that it is completely stable. 

9. We will use a grey card in order to color balance in post-production and will bring gels in order to match the flashes to the available light, which is tungsten.

10. Equipment:

1 Profoto kit

1 small softbox (16x24)

2 grids (1 medium, 1 fine)

trigger and receiver

2 sandbags

3 light stands

tripod

2 extension cords

powerbar

grey card

orange gels 

tools for styling food (cardboard, toothpicks, napkins to blot)

polarizing filter

mirrors

reflector dish

11. As we are shooting pizza, we will have to be 100% ready to shoot when it is brought out, as our group has 3 people and we will have to shoot fast so that the pizza looks good (I think it will quickly start to look too greasy). I prefer the composition with the plate to the side but I would like more of the wood table at the top so that “Gourmet”is only on the wood, not the plate. I also looked at an archive of Gourmet covers and I think the simplicity of our chosen composition works well with the overall style that was used consistently while the magazine was in print. I will also have to be vigilant to shoot wider to crop, as this is something I tend to forget easily. 

I prefer this composition and will work with the dummy plate to improve upon it
(more wood at the top to better fit 'Gourmet' and better balance the image)