Commercial Product Shoot
This morning, if you can even call it morning, I left for my shoot at 2am. I needed a shot of a high-end camping tent set up beside a lake with the client's product, a magnetic light, illuminating it from the inside at sunset. The goal was to match the ambient with the light inside the tent for a soft warm glow.
The only real issue I ran into was locations. I needed a good location within the right context, and with a great view of the sunset and it's reflections on the water. After a bit of scouting, I just wasn't happy with the options. I made the decision to do a sunrise shot instead, and it would still have the same effects, but have better location options.
Using Sun Calc to see exactly where the sun would rise and at what time, I ultimately chose to shoot at the Bartlett Flats, at Bartlett Lake. The Bartlett Flats are a mile or so of soft sand that you can drive right to the water's edge. It was much more challenging than I had anticipated to find the location, and set up in total darkness, so I was racing the clock to be ready as the sky began to lighten.
I set up the tent, placed the client's products (three small lights total) inside, and the only gear I really used was a D300 on a tripod, and the laptop I shot tethered to. To be honest, when I was setting up in total darkness, I couldn't see a thing. I couldn't tell if there was water in front of me, or if it was just desert! I just had to hope for the best, and see where I was then the sun was up!
Once the sky began to lighten, I knew I had the right place, mountains, water, sand, it was perfect. I had hoped for some clouds to add a little color to the sunrise, but struck out there. I feel like the image still conveys the intended message, and I'm happy with the final shots. I took my last frame at about 6:45 am, just as the sun peeked over the mountain across from me.
The Bartlett Flats will definitely be my go-to place for any sand/water type of shots in the future, it's not crowded, and just 30 min from Scottsdale.
NEXT WEEK:
I have an album cover shoot next weekend, I'm very excited about this one! I ordered a background for this shoot from Hong Kong, I'm anxiously tracking the progress because I'm stressed about it arriving in time!
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The only real issue I ran into was locations. I needed a good location within the right context, and with a great view of the sunset and it's reflections on the water. After a bit of scouting, I just wasn't happy with the options. I made the decision to do a sunrise shot instead, and it would still have the same effects, but have better location options.
Using Sun Calc to see exactly where the sun would rise and at what time, I ultimately chose to shoot at the Bartlett Flats, at Bartlett Lake. The Bartlett Flats are a mile or so of soft sand that you can drive right to the water's edge. It was much more challenging than I had anticipated to find the location, and set up in total darkness, so I was racing the clock to be ready as the sky began to lighten.
I set up the tent, placed the client's products (three small lights total) inside, and the only gear I really used was a D300 on a tripod, and the laptop I shot tethered to. To be honest, when I was setting up in total darkness, I couldn't see a thing. I couldn't tell if there was water in front of me, or if it was just desert! I just had to hope for the best, and see where I was then the sun was up!
Once the sky began to lighten, I knew I had the right place, mountains, water, sand, it was perfect. I had hoped for some clouds to add a little color to the sunrise, but struck out there. I feel like the image still conveys the intended message, and I'm happy with the final shots. I took my last frame at about 6:45 am, just as the sun peeked over the mountain across from me.
The Bartlett Flats will definitely be my go-to place for any sand/water type of shots in the future, it's not crowded, and just 30 min from Scottsdale.
NEXT WEEK:
I have an album cover shoot next weekend, I'm very excited about this one! I ordered a background for this shoot from Hong Kong, I'm anxiously tracking the progress because I'm stressed about it arriving in time!
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