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[alinixon813]

Final Portfolio

Link to Flickr Portfolio

My final assignment was to create a final portfolio of 25 images. I wanted to show what I learned in each of the assignments, so I put in at least one from each. They are not necessarily my favorites, but I did learn new things in each and wanted my portfolio to reflect that. I wasn’t crazy about the glass, white-on-white and clothing/fabric images but I tried to pick my best ones.

Other than my tripod, I never used any photography props in the past. With the help from my professor throughout the semester, I finally learned how to use essential props. I had a hard time getting my flash to work. I ended up getting a radio trigger to get it to sync with my camera. I also didn’t have a stand for my flash, so my professor recommended an adapter to fit it on my continuous light tripod. I got two light boxes. The first wasn’t transparent so I got another one so that I can shine light through it. I got close-up filters for my lens, and light reflectors. I bought several backgrounds: black and white sheets, black and white poster boards and paper, fake marble and wood paper.

Along with reading the textbook and viewing webpages and videos, my professor taught me so much. I am so grateful for our regular zoom meetings because when taking classes online it can sometimes be difficult to learn things on your own.

This has been one of the best photography courses I have taken. Learning product photography gave me an overall better understanding of photography, and I look forward to using my new knowledge on on my continued photography journey.

[alinixon813]

Assignment 6 - Food

April 22, 2021

Assignment 6 - Food

Link to Flickr Album

(https://www.flickr.com/photos/191887684@N06/albums/72157718967096244/page1)

For this last assignment, I was to shoot 70-80 images of food (several variations of several plated food options). The food had to be plated pieces and not individual pieces, like just and apple or orange.  Plated is interpreted as food that is prepared to serve.  One of the options should display scale.  I was asked to be creative with composition, lighting and your eyes.

I shot four different plates:

1. Cheese, crackers, grapes, chocolate

2. Parfait

3. Toast with almond butter and bananas

4. Polenta rounds with mozzarella, tomato, and basil

 I really enjoyed this assignment and liked how a lot of the photos turned out. I shot in many different angles and tried out different lighting settings. For the first cheese shoot, I was trying to go for a romantic look, so I shot a little darker. Unfortunately, I noticed they were a little too dark when I was looking back at them. I had my ambient lights turned off, so it was kind of hard to tell while shooting. If I were to do this one again, I would make sure to check that the lighting was better by going through my images a few times while shooting with the lights on.

For the toast shoot, I didn’t realize that my bananas were starting to go bad until I started shooting. If I were to do this one again, I would make sure everything is fresh prior to shooting. And for the polenta rounds, I think I should have reheated them halfway through as the mozzarella started looking rubbery.

But other than that, I am pretty happy with this shoot. I shot each plate on different days, which gave me the time and energy for each shooting. I wish I had better dishes, more room, and another light stand for the shots, but I did the best I could with what I had.

 Below are some of my favorite images.

 Cheese, crackers, grapes, chocolate

I used a cutting board, a glass of wine, and black fabric as props.

12

25

36

79

84

102

114

 Parfait

I used a fake wood paper and some flowers as props.

145

146

164

178

182

191

 Toast with almond butter and bananas

I used a different fake wood paper, an apple, a newspaper, and a book for props.

199

201

204

259

275

287

Polenta rounds with mozzarella, tomato, and basil

I used fake marble paper, olive oil, and my boyfriend’s hand as props.

292

399

366

371

372

381

385

399

410

424

[alinixon813]

Assignment 5: Jewelry and Collectibles

April 9, 2021

Assignment 5: Jewelry and Collectibles

Link to Flickr Albums

(https://www.flickr.com/photos/191887684@N06/albums)

The objective of this assignment was to shoot 30 images of several jewelry objects and collectables while creatively promoting the quality of the object/product and thinking of the final output to be used for an ad to sell the product. The second part of the assignment was to shoot 30 images of collectables, with the final images to be considered for use to sell the collectable via ads or the Internet. Both were to be shot creatively with composition and lighting. 

 After reading the textbook and reviewing several websites, I decided to photograph the jewelry and collectibles in the 3 signature setups that are covered in the textbook: Tiffany Style, Black Ice Style, and Other Backgrounds. The Adorama website was helpful with background ideas. The ones they showed complimented the jewelry without being distracting. I did research on other websites as well but found the book most helpful. Though I did find great inspirational photos for shooting antiques and collectibles. Shutterstock had a lot: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/collectibles

 Summary

I enjoyed this assignment. I think I got a couple of good shots. However, since I was working with so many objects, I did lose track a bit. I was shooting in 3 styles for both the jewelry and collectables, and didn’t realize until looking back, that I took more pictures of certain objects than others. For example, I wanted to take more photographs of the coins. I did try to keep a list going but I was moving back and forth so much with the objects that at some point I stopped without realizing it. I think one problem was that I have a lot of jewelry and instead of just pulling out a handful of them, I was testing them all out. And like the past assignments, I easily get lost in a shoot, and later on realize that I spent too much time on just one object. I love the process of taking pictures and get in the zone where I lose track of time and what else I need to do, like taking notes. This time though, I did take more notes than before, during and after the shoot- just not as much as I would have liked.

If I were to do this assignment again, I would have liked to use some other backgrounds and props. I did try out several different backgrounds and props but didn’t like how a lot of them looked, and they were often distracting.

The biggest problem I ran into was during the “Black Ice” style shoot. It was getting dark out by the time I was doing this style, and so I had to turn some lights on in my house in order to see anything. And because my apartment is very small, it was very hard not to get the light’s reflection on the black Plexiglas. Also, the lights amplified the imperfections of the glass, like scratches, smudges, and dust.  If I were to do it again, I would shoot earlier in the day.

I also would try to figure out a better way of cleaning things. I didn’t realize how much dust and cat hair is on everything until I looked back at my pictures later on. This is true especially on fabric, as my cat’s hair seems to get stuck in everything and it is often hard to see.

Below are some of the photos I took following the research from the textbook and websites.

  Tiffany Style:

Tiffany style is a High-Key approach, with a bright white background and a relatively diffuse light source. The jewelry is placed on a white background, with minimum drop shadow and very delineated details. It is suggested when using a light tent, to put seamless paper/board/fabric/etc. and place light on either side or both. Then place the object on the paper or hang it in a way that it looks like it is floating.

I used my lightbox and put my flash on a tripod. I shot several different pieces of jewelry and collectible objects this way. I tried my close-up filter lens, but it didn’t work as well as I likes- it was hard to focus unless the object was very close to my camera.

  Jewelry

Link to Jewelry Flickr Album

Jewelry – Tiffany Style

For the jewelry, I shot with my flash overhead and to the right, with the top of the lightbox open. I put a softbox on the flash.

Set-up 1: 90

African beaded necklace and bracelet: 48

Cameo watch: 68

Japanese bead bracelet: 94

-I also hung 2 necklaces, so they looked like they were floating

Set-up 2: 31

Vintage flower necklace: 109

Vintage bead and pearl necklace: 156

-I wanted to keep these images clean and simple. I did add a prop to one of the pieces though.

Fish necklace with bowl prop: 134

 Black Ice Style:

The Black Ice style uses a highly reflective background, such as black Plexiglas. The object is placed on the Plexiglas and there is a dark material behind it to black out extraneous sources of reflection. Unfortunately, I was less successful with this approach. I used the black Plexiglas I recently got, but it was getting dark out and I had to put on the lights in my house in order to see anything. Where I was shooting, it was nearly impossible to get no reflections, and every scratch, smudge and piece of dust was visible as hard as I tried to get them off. So I ended up using a black fabric instead, which I realize is not Black Ice. If I get the change, I will reshoot these during the day.

 Jewelry Black:

I was only able to shoot one piece of jewelry on the Plexiglas:

Cameo earrings: 234

 The following were shot in the same way but with black fabric:

Setup: 72

Cameo earrings: 253

Blue bracelet: 260

Plumeria earrings (with props): 416 & 426

Pocket watch: 429

 Other Backgrounds

For other backgrounds, anything can be used from colored seamless paper to textured materials. I tried to keep the backgrounds relatively simple as to not to distract from the objects.

 Jewelry – Other Backgrounds

I used a sequin pillow, blue satin fabric, and marble paper with a black necklace stand

Set-Up: 19

Plumeria earrings in a seashell on a blue sequined pillow: 473

Cameo Set- watch, necklace, earrings: 494 

Blue gem necklace: (for this one I tried using the close-up filter lens again to try for some “macro” shots. After I realized though that the background is just black so wouldn’t fit in the “other” category): 539, 550, 565

Collectibles  

Link to Collectibles Flickr Album

Collectibles – Tiffany Style

Setup: 60

Coins: 173

Gemstones: 178

Seashells: 179

 Collectibles – Black Ice (again, I wasn’t able to shoot much on the black Plexiglas, and instead used black fabric.)

With Plexiglas:

Sand-dollar: 202

Heart and wings pin: 224

With fabric:

Setup: 10

Gemstones: 284, 300

Misfit figurines: 354, 373

Buddhist items: 406

Chakra stones: 433, 443

 Collectables: Other Backgrounds

I used the same as I did for the jewelry

Setup: 69

Chakra stones on blue sequins: 462

Seaglass on blue satin: 479

Buddhist Objects (I realized later that only the white background was visible so it would have been a Tiffany style instead): 518

Pins: 591, 605, 606

[alinixon813]

Clothes/Fabric & Beauty Products

The objective of my fourth assignment was to photograph 40 beauty products and 40 clothes/fabrics in a way that they could successfully be used as ads in order to sell them.

I am happy because I got my flash to work, and it really does make a difference. I also was able to attach the flash to my light tripod and I used the softbox that I recently got.

I am not really happy with my clothes/fabric images. I think I needed better props and ways of shooting them. They look pretty amateur to me.

I like how some of the beauty products turned out. I bought white and black reflective Plexiglas and paper that looks like marble to use for this part of the assignment.

Halfway through shooting, I did realize that I did not reset my camera settings. It was still set to an underexposure compensation that I used for the black-on-black project. Maybe because I was using a flash this time, I didn’t notice.

 When using the black Plexiglas, I could not seem to get all the dust off of it as hard as I tried. And there was some background that I didn’t mean to be there. These are things I would photoshop to fix if was actually posting them online to sell.

 If I were to do this assignment again, I would first make sure all my settings are correct on my camera and flash (which I need to do for every assignment!). For the clothes, I would try to think of better props. I had a hard time because I didn’t want anything in my house in the background. For the beauty products, I would try to shoot more angles. I didn’t want any backgrounds in this either, so I was trying just to shoot so that the Plexiglas or marble paper was visible. I should’ve tried to put up a fabric background. I also could have used my lightbox for some images, but I mostly wanted to focus on using my flash this time.

Clothing/Fabric:

1

2

3

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5

6

7

8

9

10

Set Ups:

1

2

3

 Beauty Products:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Set-Ups:

1

2

[alinixon813]

White-on-White and Black-on-Black

For the white-on-white assignment, I used two set-ups. First on my desk with a continuous light then on a table with continuous light- both with an umbrella. I had trouble with my flash again. It seems to sync up when I press the test button, but it won’t fire when I try to shoot through my camera. I am wondering if it could be the batteries, even though it does turn on. The flash doesn’t have a battery measurement. I did everything the same as the last time when it worked. So, I used the continuous light again. I will get new batteries this weekend and test it before my next assignment. I used a lighter opaque background and a darker subject. I shot a few different objects: a cup, a mouse, a cat, and a cassette tape. As suggested in the textbook, I set the Exposure Compensation to +2.5EV.

 For the black-on-black I shot on a larger table so that I could place the objects further away from the background, which was an opaque black sheet. I placed the continuous light with umbrella to the side of the object and tried not to light the background. I was shooting with normal settings for a while before remembering that the textbook suggests underexposing at 2.5EV. So, the images from 506 through 522 were shot with this underexposure, and I do think they turned out better. I have never shot with an underexposure and wouldn’t have even thought to.

 The objective of the white-on-white and black-on-black, were to make the objects visible with the same color background. The white was easier because any kind of shadow, even small, helps to separate the object from the background. The black-on-black went well knowing that I needed to keep the object further away from the background, and that an underexposure helps.

 If were to do this again, first I would test out my flash beforehand to make sure it works. I would also have extra batteries on hand. I would also go through my notes again right before shooting, as I did note about the underexposure for black-on-black but had forgotten. I also forgot to take a picture of the first set-up, so ended up having to draw a diagram. I will try to remember to take more set-up pics.

 White-on-White

Flickr Album Link

First Set-Up:

1

2

3

4

Second Set-Up:

5

6

7

8

9

10

Set-Ups

1

2

3

 Black-on-Black

Flickr Album Link

1

2

3

4

5

With Underexposure of -2.5EV:

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Set-Ups

1

2

[alinixon813]

Circuit Boards

Assignment 3

Circuit Boards:

The objective for this part of the assignment is to take technical and artist photographs of a circuit board, in order to learn macro photography. I first read the section of the textbook on Circuit boards, Microchips, and Electronics (pgs.232-237) and took notes.

I chose the circuit board inside an old transistor radio. It was beautiful inside and even had hand painted colors. For this shoot, I used my lightbox with its attached LED lights- I didn’t add any backgrounds. I also attached my camera to my computer tethering program so I could shoot remotely- since I was shooting close up, I didn’t want the camera to shake at all. Since I don’t have a macro lens, and can’t afford one right now, I ordered close-up filters for my lens.

I first tried shooting without the close-ups filter, on both my 18-55mm lens and 70-300mm lens, but I couldn’t get anything in focus. At first, I used the +1-close-up filter, thinking I had grabbed the +10 filter. While it was better than no filter, the really close-up shots were still blurry. I eventually realized I wasn’t using the +10 filter, and then switched to it. This helped tremendously. I was having a lot of fun with this shoot because there are so many interesting elements of the circuit board, so I reshot a lot with the +10 filter. I also used several small objects to prop up the circuit (little notebook, battery charger, etc.), and I shot both horizontal and vertical. I took about 150 photographs.

I used the same settings most of the time. I raised the ISO and EV when I upped the shutter speed.

I think this shoot went well. Having a macro lens would have been helpful, but the close-up filters did help. If were to do it again, I would try different types of lighting as well.

 Flickr Album Link

I first shot straight on facing the board for the “technical” shots, some being:

19

25

35

52

58

60

63

121

128

131

I then shot at different angles for the “artistic” shots, some being:

68

69

71

80

83

85

92

95

103

146

149

The Full Object:

131

133

154

Set-Up:

1

2

3

[alinixon813]

2/23/21

I shot liquid for my last shoot, but it was very unsuccessful. I need help. I am having problems with my lighting and props. I only have a bright continuous light (flash still won’t work) and with the lightbox and other backgrounds, there are always reflections. Without the backgrounds, there is less reflection, but then everything in my house is visible. And unfortunately, the only place I can set up is in front of my shoes and other junk. I know I need to get new props, but I already spent a lot of money on ones that don’t work.

 I tried so many different things, but just can’t figure it out.

 For the still liquid I used wine and a small wine glass. For the pour I used food coloring and a large wine glass. I need to reshoot these at some point! I tried using the tethering program, but it wasn’t letting me use Manual so I couldn’t get the shutter speed fast enough. So I ended up just using my camera’s shutter. I used a measuring cup to pour the liquid, but the higher I put it, in order for it not to be in the photo, the stream didn’t look as good.

Hopefully after meeting with my professor on zoom, I can figure things out and reshoot.

 The following are some of the still liquid:

1

2

3

4

The following are some pour liquid:

1

2

Set-ups (in order):

1

2

3

4

5

6

[alinixon813]

2/19/21

I spent a few hours messing around with different props (lightbox, posterboard, cloth) with my continuous light. With my table not being translucent, I can’t figure out how to light from below. I wasn’t really happy with any of them. I ended up liking the ones that I took with no background props and just on my black table. They seemed to have the least amount of reflections. I had a real hard time this time with reflections. I wish I could have someone with me to just show me what to do and what I am doing wrong, as I am more of a hands-on learner. I realize that this is how it is with online classes. But I have never had such a hard time before.

I did take better notes this time, so when I look back and reflect on the images that worked and didn’t work, I’ll know why.

Also, all my fabrics are wrinkly or creased. I need to learn how to iron them. I have an iron but have never used it!

All these had bad reflections

·       Using the lightbox with no backdrop fabric, light and umbrella

·       Using the lightbox with black fabric, light, and umbrella

·       Using the lightbox with black fabric, light, and NO umbrella

·       Lowered the black fabric to get in more light

·       Put black on both sides of the lightbox with umbrella

·       Without lightbox, trifold presentation board, light higher

·       Light on side

·       Presentation board with black sides

 I also tried light behind camera, which resulted in less reflections.

I was able to get the continuous light higher than I thought it could go- this was better- I used the lightbox and cloth

The best shots, in regards of reflections, was with no lightbox or backdrops and just having the glass on the table. The problem with this, is that I can only shoot at an angle looking down so that I don’t have the background of my house visible.

 I still have to shoot the liquid, and I am definitely a bit stressed since I can’t get the plain glassware to work.

Photos taken in order:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Some of the Studio Set-Ups, in order:

1

2

3

4

5

6

[alinixon813]

12/14/21

I used the lightbox on my kitchen table, but since it is bigger than my other lightbox, I couldn’t fit the umbrella on my continuous light, which is noticeable in some pics (white streak in the middle). So, most of the photographs were not successful. I ended up turning off the bright light and instead used my small LED lamp inside the lightbox in order to shoot the glass from behind.

The problem that I am having is that if I need to have a translucent backdrop, then it has a boring background. And with the height of the table and lamp, I can’t seem to get the right angle.

Photos from this shoot:

“A” Glass With Light Streak

“A” Glass - White Line

“A” Glass - Orange

“A” Glass - Light on Bottom

“A” Glass - White Background

Photo Shoot Set-Ups:

1

2

3

4

5

[alinixon813]

12/14/21

I received the lightbox and trigger. I literally spent hours tying to get the trigger to work. The flash just won’t go off. I am getting conflicting information when I research online.

[alinixon813]

2/12/21

2/12/21

I ordered a new translucent lightbox and speedlite trigger. I gathered some glass objects that I want to shoot.

[alinixon813]

2/11/21

I had a zoom meeting with Professor Maley. We went over my last assignment and discussed my next assignment. He suggested techniques and new props. I showed him my lightbox and we realized that it is not translucent so will not help with much. And I told him how I cannot get my external flash speedlite to go off because it doesn’t sink with my camera. He sent me links on props that should help.

[alinixon813]

2/9/21

I started reading the textbook’s sections on glass and liquid and took notes.

[alinixon813]

2/8/21

Assignment 2: Glass & Liquid

As per my professor’s instructions:

Due by February 22nd

 For your second assignment read though pages 152-160 (Glass) and 172-189 (Liquid) in the textbook.   Then, I would like you to shoot 60-80 images of a several glass objects and then add liquid to assignment.    You need to creatively promote the quality and strength of the first the glass then liquid.  Be creative with composition, lighting and your eyes. Consider that the images will be used in an ad to sell a glass product and then the second add would be to sell some sort of liquid.

 I am also including several links to videos that deal with lighting glass and liquid, please review these and see if you can apply some of the techniques to this next assignment.

[alinixon813]

2/8/21

Summary

Assignment 1: Metal

 Links to my Tumblr and Flickr accounts (same username: alinixon813)

·       Tumblr

·       Ali Nixon’s albums | Flickr

Link to Word Document - List of Photographs with Camera Settings and Links to Flickr:

·       Metal Photo’s Metadata

 Summary:

For my first assignment, I was asked to take 60-80 images of a several metal objects and creatively promote the quality and strength of the metal.  I was to be creative with composition, lighting, and my eyes. 

I shot several metallic items that I had around my house. I also took pictures of the studio set-ups. I tested out different lighting sources and backgrounds. The items I photographed were:

  Cat piggy bank

Old greyhound bus     toy

Paint brushes,     palate knives

Vintage Camera 1

Vintage Camera 2

Boombox

 The equipment I used:

I shot with a Nikon D3500 DSLR camera and an 18-55mm lens. I used a lightbox with its attached 70 LED lights (with high and low settings), a 6500K Light Bulb, 33” Umbrella with Stand, and a small LED lamp. (I was unable to use the Flash Speedlite that I recently got because it isn’t compatible with my camera- maybe I need a cable).

Along with the lightbox, for the backgrounds I used a white tri-fold board and posterboard. For my last shoot, I also used my natural tabletop and vinyl records as the background. I tried using a tablecloth, but it was too wrinkly. I will consider new/better backgrounds for future shoots.

 Summary statement – what went well, what went bad.  What would you do over if you could? What were your key learning’s from the assignment that you can apply to future assignments?

This assignment was a great learning opportunity to get better at using my camera’s settings. And I learned how to use new equipment, such as the lightbox, continuous light, and a tethering computer program.  

It was a rough start because it took a long time to find a way to trigger my camera remotely, and I could not get my off-camera flash to work. Living in a small apartment has been a bit of challenge trying to find a good spot to shoot. I found that my kitchen table was better but doesn’t have any natural lighting. I ended up ordering a small foldable table that I can move around and then won’t have to clear off my desk and table for every shoot.

I learned that there is a lot that goes into taking good product photographs. For this metal assignment, I learned that the angles of the camera and lighting is key. Not only to not to see things reflected in the object that you don’t want, but also to show off the items’ metal qualities. I don’t think I picked out the most metallic/reflective objects, which would have made for more successful pictures. (The greyhound bus was not reflective enough, whereas the paintbrushes were.) I wanted to pick things that were representative of who I am and what I like, but next time I will worry less about that and instead chose things more suitable to the assignment.

I did not take the best notes during the shoots. I figured that I could re-examine the camera settings later on and think back to the pros and cons of each shoot. I get lost in the shooting process and don’t want to stop sometimes.  I will take better notes next time! I did not post on my blog right after each shoot, instead I just took handwritten notes and put up a few posts at once. In the future, I plan to post and include my photos on my blog after each shoot.

While shooting, I focused too much on just getting a good picture, without paying enough attention to the camera’s settings. I ended up making a final list with a selection of my photos and their metadata, and though it didn’t truly reflect my process, it did help to compare and contrast each photograph. By studying the camera settings on this list, it helped me see why a photo worked or didn’t work. Next time, I will make sure to take notes during and right after each shoot- it may not be the fun part, but I realize now, is essential.

Overall, I think this was a great start- and though I don’t necessarily think my photos are the best, I did learn the basics and am more confident going forward.

[alinixon813]

2/8/21

Below is the link to the table with my photos and their camera settings:

Photo List with Metadata and Links to Flickr

[alinixon813]

2/7/21

I made a table with my photos, their metadata, and links to Flickr, but can’t figure out how to get it to show here.