Photographer's Block

[vvcarpio]

Fisheye? Lensbaby? HDR? Just throwing stuff hopefully to get your photographer-creativity going again. Sometimes, a new gadget (however gimmicky) to play with could fire up the imagination for fresh ideas you can call your own. Also, when I go through the same, I sometimes go to Barnes & Noble to browse NYC coffee table books for new ideas to shoot New York City.

 

[soufiej]

http://digital-photography-school.com/7-tips-better-commercial-food-photography/

 

[vintagesnaps]

To get creative maybe take the cornmeal spread on the wooden paddle idea a step further - write the name of the place? use pepperoni or whatever to spell it out? try different angles and vantage points?

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot there to work with, but what about the letters that spell out Salad and Pizza? they seem reflective, could you reflect something in the letters? a big pepperoni pizza? lol just spitballin' here... the circles made me think of it I guess.

Everybody probably gets stuck and can't come up with an idea. I try to look at some things, or get out somewhere and see if I can find anything to jumpstart an idea (like those shiny little circles in the lettering - maybe not the best idea but I may come up with something, anything, and that can sometimes get the wheels turning and I come up with something better).

I'd say Derrel and Vfotog hit a couple of the key points, consider backgrounds/not so wide angle, and tighter shots. I'd probably try another time of day, not sure how it looks in there evenings, maybe when the sun's coming in from a different direction would help. If I've got a lousy overcast hazy day I try to frame shots to minimize sky in my photos, so with this I'd probably try to not get so much of those windows in the pictures. And epatsellis has some wisdom there, I think it helps to have good photos to work from to get creative.

 

[Kezra]

Thank you to everyone who has spent their free time helping me out. There a lot of great ideas and suggestions. I have another shoot tonight during their peak hours and I know this time around I'll capture what my client wants.

The one thing that didn't dawn on me was, until someone mention gels to match the lighting color. I had that issue when shooting at night since their indoor lighting is a amber color and I'm shooting in basically white and thus making it look like complete garbage. Now I know.

Another thing that I realize is, yes, when it comes to "commercial" photography, I'm not as seasoned as I am with other forms of the medium. For example, the huge bulk of my business is wedding photography which a beast of it's own. I've only been getting these gigs because people see my other work, and through networking, I'm being hired.

I'm the kind of photographer that likes to learn everything I can and try different types of photography. If someone wants me to do a specific job and I have never done a shoot like that, I am always upfront with them about it and I never shy away from a challenge. I'm not going to turn down business; that's just silly. So, because of that "policy" I've had a lot of opportunities and doors open to me. For example, I was asked to shoot some production footage for Nicolas Cage's upcoming movie the 'USS Indianapolis'. With this pizza job, when I finish, I've been asked to shoot 4 other restaurants.

At the end of the day, it's folks like you that refuel me with your ideas, advice, and critiques. Thank you.

On a side note, I'll upload the shots from tonight once they are edited so you can critique them.

 

[epatsellis]

Two things I can suggest,

First, only shoot when they're closed, there's no way you can adequately light and control with the restaurant open.

The second, find a food stylist. They're worth their weight in gold, they charge it, and will make your work really stand out. (And don't ever eat the food from a shoot, not only bad form, but once you work with a stylist, you'll never look at a food ad the same)

And shoot on a tripod, tethered and you'll be far more productive than you ever realized you could be. The ability to make small adjustments to lighting and product without changing the framing is huge.