Espresso | A Lighting Experiment | Our Kitchen

[D-B-J]

Damn, this one was tough, and I'm still not sure I honestly NAILED it. We don't have a huge kitchen, but it's the only open-flame stove I have access to, so I made it work, as best I could. What are your thoughts?

We recently got an espresso maker in the house-- I love coffee, specifically espresso/americano's, so this was a welcome addition. How to christen it, you ask? Photograph it! I had the idea this afternoon, so this evening I set to shooting. Three lights, two umbrella's, a tethered D800, and a bunch of test shots later, I finally nailed it... er, mostly.

Nikon D800
Tamron 70-200 2.8VC
2X SB600
1X SB700
SU800
Pocketwizards

Espresso by f_one_eight, on Flickr

One SB700 behind for a slight rim and to highlight the steam, one SB600 in a 43" reflective umbella for main, and one SB600 10 feet behind the 60" parabolic almost directly above but slightly camera right.

Cheers!
Jake

 

[Rick50]

Sure looks good to me.
But, the bottom part looks busy. Only thing I can think of is large vertical soft box(s) for lighting the front. But, hey, that's easy to say now.

 

[D-B-J]

Sure looks good to me.
But, the bottom part looks busy. Only thing I can think of is large vertical soft box(s) for lighting the front. But, hey, that's easy to say now.

Given the location and my "stash of gear" that couldn't happen. But I agree that or a long strip-light might have been perfect. The umbrella caused a bit of highlight's on the lower portion that were really hard to control other than flying the umbrella over, which lost some light on the face. It was a delicate compromise, for sure.

Cheers!
Jake

 

[D-B-J]

Thursday morning bump [emoji5]️

 

[CameraClicker]

I like it. Two observations:
-- Steam is coming out by the handle, careful to avoid burning yourself.
-- If your camera was level, your stove needs levelling. The pot is not vertical.

Black, silver, steam and flame were all handled well. Good job.

 

[MichaelHenson]

Very, very cool shot! I like it a TON! I really like the "mood."

 

[D-B-J]

Very, very cool shot! I like it a TON! I really like the "mood."

Thanks!

 

[D-B-J]

I like it. Two observations:
-- Steam is coming out by the handle, careful to avoid burning yourself.
-- If your camera was level, your stove needs levelling. The pot is not vertical.

Black, silver, steam and flame were all handled well. Good job.

I think the iron set-ins aren't level... [emoji12]

 

[Scatterbrained]

Just a thought: rather than use umbrellas for this, you would be better served to simply shoot through a diffusion panel that is close to the subject (some tracing paper or a white sheet/curtain etc). If you don't have diffusion material you can use white cards (20x30 foamcore is cheap ). Placing these close while using a long focal length will alloy you to fill the angles of reflection with white, rather than kitchen cabinets and umbrellas. You can put the lights behind the subject and aim them across into the white cards, this will give rim and front fill from the same light. Otherwise I'd say it came out nice.

 

[JerryVenz]

Nice job! It's always far more difficult doing this kind of image in a real kitchen instead of a studio--that's why commercial photographers build kitchens IN their studios.

As I view your image here and scroll down to crop off everything below the brand label band around the center of the pot---the image is DIALED! Everything below that needs work.

The problem with this subject is that it is actually TWO SUBJECTS tied together and each half needs different lighting. The bottom half of the pot, being a cylinder, is reflecting much of its light back to the lens. Scatterbrained gave you some good lighting tips to try-out.

Very challenging subject--good for you that you made the attempt: that's how we learn and grow as photographers! Jerry V.

 

[D-B-J]

Just a thought: rather than use umbrellas for this, you would be better served to simply shoot through a diffusion panel that is close to the subject (some tracing paper or a white sheet/curtain etc). If you don't have diffusion material you can use white cards (20x30 foamcore is cheap ). Placing these close while using a long focal length will alloy you to fill the angles of reflection with white, rather than kitchen cabinets and umbrellas. You can put the lights behind the subject and aim them across into the white cards, this will give rim and front fill from the same light. Otherwise I'd say it came out nice.

Yeah, I really need to get a roll of paper. Do you recommend any specifically? I also really need a good C-stand...

 

[D-B-J]

Nice job! It's always far more difficult doing this kind of image in a real kitchen instead of a studio--that's why commercial photographers build kitchens IN their studios.

As I view your image here and scroll down to crop off everything below the brand label band around the center of the pot---the image is DIALED! Everything below that needs work.

The problem with this subject is that it is actually TWO SUBJECTS tied together and each half needs different lighting. The bottom half of the pot, being a cylinder, is reflecting much of its light back to the lens. Scatterbrained gave you some good lighting tips to try-out.

Very challenging subject--good for you that you made the attempt: that's how we learn and grow as photographers! Jerry V.

I like challenging subjects, as they challenge me to be creative. What I thought would be a simple image actually turned out to be very difficult. I'll definitely be revisiting this... I may end up lighting the top and bottom differently and compositing them together...hmmm. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Scatterbrained]

Just a thought: rather than use umbrellas for this, you would be better served to simply shoot through a diffusion panel that is close to the subject (some tracing paper or a white sheet/curtain etc). If you don't have diffusion material you can use white cards (20x30 foamcore is cheap ). Placing these close while using a long focal length will alloy you to fill the angles of reflection with white, rather than kitchen cabinets and umbrellas. You can put the lights behind the subject and aim them across into the white cards, this will give rim and front fill from the same light. Otherwise I'd say it came out nice.

Yeah, I really need to get a roll of paper. Do you recommend any specifically? I also really need a good C-stand...

I use these: Amazon.com: Pro Art 36-Inch by 5-Yards Tracing Vellum Paper Roll
It works great most of the time, and you can make small frames so you'll have custom sized diffusion panels/fingers/dots etc. The downside of vellum is that it has a natural "mottled" look that will show itself in close up shots of polished objects. For close ups of silverware, jewelry, watches, etc I'd go with rip stop nylon, or bounce the light off of a white card.

As far as C stands I'm a huge fan of the Kupo quick lock turtle base stands. You can get them at a discount from B&H as the Impact branded units (so long as they still have any). I had an e-mail conversation with Jason at Kupo and he told me that the Impact stands B&H were selling at the time were indeed re-branded Kupo units, but that once they sold out they wouldn't be getting more under the Impact brand. I do however prefer the friction discs in the Avenger grip arms and heads however. Even though the Kupo "big grip" is super comfy to work with, the friction disc set up in their grip heads is slippy compared to the Avenger units.

 

[D-B-J]

Just a thought: rather than use umbrellas for this, you would be better served to simply shoot through a diffusion panel that is close to the subject (some tracing paper or a white sheet/curtain etc). If you don't have diffusion material you can use white cards (20x30 foamcore is cheap ). Placing these close while using a long focal length will alloy you to fill the angles of reflection with white, rather than kitchen cabinets and umbrellas. You can put the lights behind the subject and aim them across into the white cards, this will give rim and front fill from the same light. Otherwise I'd say it came out nice.

Yeah, I really need to get a roll of paper. Do you recommend any specifically? I also really need a good C-stand...

I use these: Amazon.com: Pro Art 36-Inch by 5-Yards Tracing Vellum Paper Roll
It works great most of the time, and you can make small frames so you'll have custom sized diffusion panels/fingers/dots etc. The downside of vellum is that it has a natural "mottled" look that will show itself in close up shots of polished objects. For close ups of silverware, jewelry, watches, etc I'd go with rip stop nylon, or bounce the light off of a white card.

As far as C stands I'm a huge fan of the Kupo quick lock turtle base stands. You can get them at a discount from B&H as the Impact branded units (so long as they still have any). I had an e-mail conversation with Jason at Kupo and he told me that the Impact stands B&H were selling at the time were indeed re-branded Kupo units, but that once they sold out they wouldn't be getting more under the Impact brand. I do however prefer the friction discs in the Avenger grip arms and heads however. Even though the Kupo "big grip" is super comfy to work with, the friction disc set up in their grip heads is slippy compared to the Avenger units.

Just have to pay off the Tamron....

 

[Scatterbrained]

.......


Just have to pay off the Tampon....

Why did you finance a Tampon?