Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/14

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Subject: [Leica] re: a few of rob's favorite things
From: kcassidy at asc.upenn.edu (kyle cassidy)
Date: Tue Feb 14 08:48:13 2006

>This type of staged photography is new to me and I would appreciate any 
>advice.
>
>http://homepage.mac.com/robertmcclure/PhotoAlbum112.html

hi rob -- thanks for sharing. your watch shots are, well, they're watch 
shots. as you start adding favorite things though, they go from product 
illustrations to contrived still-lives.

i'm by no means an expert on product photography, but i've come up with a 
rule of my own which is "area of interest and three pieces of "flair"". your 
1911 + omega shots don't differentiate between your subject and your flair 
and when you throw the camera in, it's doubly so. you have three subjects 
competing for attention.

i think also that unless your product is still in the box it should have a 
_reason_ to be where it is. what's the reason? maybe they're all in a 
suitcase, or they're all on a desk -- why would they be there? give it a 
reason. add some clothes and a holster and they're together because someone 
is getting dressed, undressed, packing, (ahem) traveling, or whatnot. add a 
map and a minolta 16 and it's a scene from a spy movie. use framing to 
_detract_ from your flair -- maybe the watch and the camera only partially 
need to be in the frame.


hope this helps.

kc