My food photography class recently went to our professor Cosimo Bargellini’s studio a little outside of Florence for a photo-shoot and dinner experience. Cosimo set up a still life made up of different colored glass bottles and liquids on an opaque plexiglass table with a circular floor flash below the table. The flash emitted constant light so that when we were setting up our still life of wine glasses, bottles, and fake ice, we’d know what lighting we were going to get. When we depressed the shutter, the flash underneath the table would go off, and allow us to freeze motion in time. We took shots pouring wine into glasses, and dropping ice into goblets so that when the liquid would splash out of the goblet, we caught the image.
As the whole class was working on that set, I asked Cosimo if we could set up another set to practice working with studio light for portrait photography. My friends Andrew and Ashley were wonderful (and patient) models for me – I had such a great time figuring out spot focusing and lighting with them! (Andrew and Ashley had previously attended a photography workshop on portraiture with me. I had decided to go to the workshop right after class and didn’t have my camera with me. The professor was not happy, and after sending many nasty comments my way, assigned me as the model. Now let me tell you, I had decided to come as long as I could be behind a camera or taking notes on a lecture. I had absolutely stated that I did NOT want to model. That particular morning, I had woken up late, showered and thrown on the only clean outfit I had. It was sticky, rainy, and humid outside. My curls were frizz and I looked absolutely disgusting – but had a great desire to learn and so I went to Ganzo (Apicius’ restaurant that holds workshops regularly) to take the workshop anyway. I stood by the constant light with 10 cameras clicking nonstop, capturing me at every angle and lighting possibility of disgustingness. Suffice it to say that I didn’t really get a chance to practice the technique he was teaching.)
This time was different. I had a blast! We tested the lighting (a single spotlight) on different backdrops and at different angles. I can’t wait to get to try this again! Check out my link to the pictures under "My Links."
As the whole class was working on that set, I asked Cosimo if we could set up another set to practice working with studio light for portrait photography. My friends Andrew and Ashley were wonderful (and patient) models for me – I had such a great time figuring out spot focusing and lighting with them! (Andrew and Ashley had previously attended a photography workshop on portraiture with me. I had decided to go to the workshop right after class and didn’t have my camera with me. The professor was not happy, and after sending many nasty comments my way, assigned me as the model. Now let me tell you, I had decided to come as long as I could be behind a camera or taking notes on a lecture. I had absolutely stated that I did NOT want to model. That particular morning, I had woken up late, showered and thrown on the only clean outfit I had. It was sticky, rainy, and humid outside. My curls were frizz and I looked absolutely disgusting – but had a great desire to learn and so I went to Ganzo (Apicius’ restaurant that holds workshops regularly) to take the workshop anyway. I stood by the constant light with 10 cameras clicking nonstop, capturing me at every angle and lighting possibility of disgustingness. Suffice it to say that I didn’t really get a chance to practice the technique he was teaching.)
This time was different. I had a blast! We tested the lighting (a single spotlight) on different backdrops and at different angles. I can’t wait to get to try this again! Check out my link to the pictures under "My Links."
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