During weddings, photographers are often left with limited options when it comes to shooting details. I recently challenged myself to do a detail shot in my small apartment at USC. I wanted to blog about my thought process in choosing the location for the shot. I hope it helps anyone trying to figure out where to shoot little details without much effort.
The subject in the photo was my anniversary present to James.
The subject in the photo was my anniversary present to James.
Here is a wider shot showing what I had to work with. I wanted to do my best to isolate the subject from the living room. I chose the lower level of the table in order to block out the distractions of the background, which included the kitchen and unappealing trash can. The wood is also a much nicer option than the carpet.
I was lucky enough that the placement of my subject happened to be facing the light source I wanted to use (the light coming in from the screen door). Had it not been facing in this direction, I would have moved the table over. Since I am a natural light photographer, it is important to leverage the outside light.
Here is the finalized product! I shot it using my 50mm 1.4, a beautiful lens for detail shots. My settings are in the caption. As bright as the light seemed like it was coming from outside, it was a pretty cloudy day, so I had to bring up my ISO and slow my shutter speed. I could have also brought the table closer to the screen door, but that wasn't an option given my focal length since I was already laying down by the door. The reason the OT (oolong tea) and BT (black tea) label aren't in focus is that my aperture is very wide (2.0), and they aren't on the same plane. Everything would be in focus if I had put them on a straight line next to each other. However, I wanted to create some depth to the photo and bring the attention to the Happy Anniversary.
For those of you who are curious about what the gift was, inside the canister are more test tubes, and they are all filled with different kinds of tea from Teavana! I was hoping to combine two of James' favorite things: tea and science.
I hope these tips helped anyone who was curious. Happy Monday!
For those of you who are curious about what the gift was, inside the canister are more test tubes, and they are all filled with different kinds of tea from Teavana! I was hoping to combine two of James' favorite things: tea and science.
I hope these tips helped anyone who was curious. Happy Monday!