| EXAMPLE and SETUP "PASTA BLANCO" |
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I've never been inside a photographers studio, except maybe for a school photo a few decades ago, so when the idea popped into my mind for a still life to enter in the latest photo challange, I kind of had to make things up as I went along. So in the spirit of sharing photo techniques, I offer some of the things I went through to make the above image. I've always been a "walk around" photographer, that is, carry the camera, and when I see something interesting, shoot it. The STF challange is a great learning tool to get outside your natural tendencies, and force yourself to try new things. I'm sure an accomplished studio photog would laugh at my efforts, but I am very happy with my fledgling steps. The studio 
This shot was shot outside in the sun with a black construction paper background. It's spagetti #13, spray painted white on a plate, Unfortunatly all I had in the house was rose wine, so the wine, its cran-apple juice, sorry to ruin the illusion! I did over a hundred exposures, different combiation of f-stops, and speeds, suprisingly the final choice was full auto! Most shots were full place setting views from a tripod, but the final version happened because I started doing handheld shots, and it just "popped" out from the bunch. I then used Photoshop's unsharp mask just a little, but otherwise, it's straight out of the camera, not even any croping. I hope this helps others, and I hope other members who are more accomplished than I will share their techniques with all of us, so we can try new things, and improve on our skills. I hope this explains it all!! All finished products
in a larger size are available on my photo website |