{"id":599,"date":"2011-11-03T19:40:59","date_gmt":"2011-11-04T00:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/blog\/?p=599"},"modified":"2011-11-03T19:40:59","modified_gmt":"2011-11-04T00:40:59","slug":"preparing-your-still-life-studio-part-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/2011\/11\/03\/preparing-your-still-life-studio-part-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing Your Still Life Studio (Part 1\/3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lecture originally presented at the Est\u00fadio Brasil 2010 photo conference, S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/em><\/p>\n

The word \u201cstill\u201d, as it is used in Photography, comes from a reduction of \u201cstill life\u201d. To most, shooting stills is a very tedious practice with little appeal. But if you\u2019re interested in learning several lighting techniques, from basic to sophisticated, the best option is to start shooting products. From a little diamond ring to huge settings, light is key. Only then comes the aesthetical sensibility and the photographer\u2019s style. Of all fields within Photography, the most diverse and productive is Still Photography. New products are released daily; new cosmetics, new recipes, new drinks, new food, juices, water, clothes etc. The dynamics of the market forces clients to renew their products visuals and packages in order to stand out. There will always be a lot of work.
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Other Advantages<\/strong><\/font>
\nFor those starting a career, shooting stills has yet greater advantages. There\u2019s no pressure from a large production crew, but ease and tranquility. The photographer has full control and time to study, prepare and compose his subjects and his light \u2014 one doesn\u2019t take a picture; one makes a picture.
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The Still Studio<\/font>
\nDifferently from a fashion studio, where the photographer has in principle only light and camera devices, the still photographer, given the great variety of situations he faces each day, relies on many tools and gadgets. I usually say that there are at least one thousand ways of setting up a studio. Each photographer has his peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. I would even go far as betting that there are no identical studios in this business.
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Light<\/font>
\nA people specialist, in his studio, will prefer to use flash light, which freezes the natural movement. A still photographer, though, may and should use tungsten light i.e. continuous light, in order to have more control of the lighting nuances over his subjects. When one uses a flash light one can\u2019t know in advance how the picture is going to look like, since one sees it with one light (a modeling light) and shoots with another (the flash light itself). The greatest advantage in using tungsten is that what you see is what you get.
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Gadgets<\/font>
\nWhat I\u2019ll show today are cheap and straightforward solutions for the ones who can\u2019t invest much and have a practical spirit. Some gadgets ideas I took from others and some I developed myself in my adventures through the world of Photography.<\/p>\n

1. Apple-box, pancake-box and half-pancake-box \u2013 These have a lot of use in the studio. To me, they\u2019re essential, and they can be piled up in several different configurations etc.<\/p>\n

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2. Pot Stands \u2013 also called\u2026 poor photographer\u2019s tripods. They\u2019re very practical and functional, taking less than the space a mounted tripod would take and are also very stable. They\u2019re built from 2\u00d72\u2032s, a gallon can and concrete. In order to build one, before sticking the batten in the can, one should use nails to prevent its sliding after it stiffens \u2014 refer to the image below. One very important hint is that before using the can, its bottom should be hammered in, so it won\u2019t bulge once the concrete hardens on its own weight.<\/p>\n

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Below, in (1) we see pot-stands. In (2), a pot-stand with what I call a \u201ccorner\u201d attached to it with a clamp. This contraption allows for a great variety of settings and, as the pot-stand is heavy, stability is guaranteed. Finally, in (3), pot-stands used to support the subject and reflectors posistioning \u2014 one white, one silver.<\/p>\n

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3. Fixed corners \u2013 these gadgets in (1) work as pot-stands arms, so to speak. By joining the two with the help of a clamp we have a tool of great value to the studio. It\u2019s versatile, safe, takes very little space and is very cheap, only limited in its function by the photographer\u2019s creativity.<\/p>\n

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4. Minibooms \u2013 1. (a) metal base, (b) flat iron rod, (c) pivot with wooden peg, (d) wood extension. 2. Set up boom. 3. Boom with a white bounce card facing upwards. 4. Boom with a silver card turned downwards. 5. Boom with varied extensions. 6. Pivot detail.<\/p>\n

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Lecture originally presented at the Est\u00fadio Brasil 2010 photo conference, S\u00e3o Paulo. The word \u201cstill\u201d, as it is used in Photography, comes from a reduction of \u201cstill life\u201d. To most, shooting stills is a very tedious practice with little appeal. But if you\u2019re interested in learning several lighting techniques, from basic to sophisticated, the best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cliftonliphotography.com\/cliftonliblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}