In last Saturday’s post about ‘Product Placement‘, I wrote about some of the puzzles and challenges of lighting a product to make it interesting. A big part of of solving these puzzles takes place insight our minds, as we think of different scenarios and how they might look through the lens.
Today’s image is very much one of those exercises, as I wanted to create something a little different…
The reality is that these are a pair of cheap sunglasses bought from Walmart; the fiction that I wanted to create was something that floats in an undefined space looking into a far future…
The list of challenges include:
– managing reflections on the lens of the sunglasses
– light falling on the frame and lenses to create both definition and mystery
– floating the sunglasses in mid-air
– having a perfectly black background
Each of these challenges require thought, planning and careful execution.
The lighting certainly was complex; after suspending the sunglasses using invisible thread, the first step is to plan how light will fall on the glasses, and positioning a white reflector to ensure that the lens reflection looks right.
Next step in the lighting exercise was to ensure that no light fell on the black background, as any light will cause the background to show gray. This takes a bit of black cinefoil bending to control the light and judicious blocking with various light control flags.
All told, it’s a fun exercise and always great to create something a little different. And, of course, there should be a nod to ZZ Top’s Cheap Sunglasses:
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