Industrial Parts Photography

I enjoy the opportunity to work with good designers and art directors. Their collaboration invariable produces better photographs, brochures, catalogs, ads and websites. I had the good fortune to work with Designers & Partners on this project. This photo was assembled in Photoshop from individual shots of all of the parts our client makes for a 9 speed transmission. Shooting shiny parts is almost always fun. As always, I am interested in your thoughts and comments.

Industrial Product Photography

 Shooting industrial product photography is often challenging. In this case the goal was to create an exploded view of all the parts our client makes for this 8 speed transmission. Working from Jim Tocco’s layout we shot all of the parts with the proper perspective, angle and lighting, then assembled them later in Photoshop. As always I am interested in your comments.

Location Photography

Unexpected things are a constant when shooting on location. Some of those things are good, or great, but, there are also the unwelcome surprises too. The trick is to roll with the moment. Accept the positive, and roll the not so positive things over to the positive side. As it happens, this shoot went quite smoothly. I am always interested in your thoughts.

Wedding Rings

We’re coming into the wedding season. I don’t shoot weddings, but I do shoot rings. My friend Richard makes jewelry in his Birmingham, MI shop. He’s advertising engagement rings and needed some photos. The challenge with stones is multifaceted. (sorry) When  you look at them in a shop, you move it around and it sparkles as the light bounces around inside the stone. Little points of light winking in and out of existence. When you shoot it however, you only get one angle! It’s possible to light it so it sparkles, but sparkle is a relative thing. Nothing is winking in and out of existence. As always I’d be interested in and comments.

People Photography in the Studio

I don’t photograph people often, but I enjoy it when I do. There are lots more balls to keep in the air. When shooting product, you can methodically move forward till you have what you want. With people, everything is always changing – especially with groups. It’s much easier with good models, so I try to have a casting session to see what they are like in front of a camera. As alway, I am interested in your thoughts.

Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone

With Zingerman’s bread, I might give it a try. Fortunately, I can get it at a nearby market. The bread itself is beautiful, and the fig jam adds a warm glow. Food photography is fun and challenging. As always, I am interested in your thoughts.

Tools of the Trade

Sometimes, all that is required is a simple honest portrayal of a product - one light well placed, simple background and a clean product. Actually, I often say that cleaning the product is responsible for 50% or more of your success shooting products. Of course, while not complex, it is not as simple as it looks. As always,I am interested in your thoughts.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

My job is to find out what my clients want to say, and then figure out how to say it best. It’s shocking to me how many (direct) clients don’t understand this. When you write a paper, an email, a blog post, a book or anything really, it’s important to know what you are trying to say before you start. A thesis statement or an outline, even if it’s just in your head, is imperative if your writing is to be clear. Photography is no different! It’s just a visual language. PPG wanted a photograph to illustrate (say) that their new pigment is better. Which side do you prefer? As always, I am interested in your thoughts.

Cutaway Product Photography

When telling a story, sometimes you need to see below the surface. It’s sometimes done with a saw, if it is going to be displayed there is little choice. A display company would be able to find someone with all the necessary skills, but it would be expensive. If it is just for photography, then it can often be considerably more affordable. This image is part of a brochure for a backup emergency lighting system. On the outside it appears to be an attractive red box. The story is inside. Shooting multiple images and assembling them in PhotoShop is how it was done. Let me know what you think.

Studio Product Photography

There are few things I like better than shooting product in the studio. From cars to vodka, it’s just a gas. Every product has it’s challenges. This lift truck has mat black next to shiny red paint and black interior trim. Fortunately, the shiny red can be turned into a plus. With a blue background, it really pops. We did tons of shots this day, so there was not time to make everything perfect. Retouching is always necessary, it just a question of how much and where you spend your time. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Plumbing Photography

There are details of every day life that must escape our attention. Who wants their head to explode? Plumbing is one of those things, it just works, hopefully. Let alone plumbing parts photography. I had the opportunity to work with a talented designer on a recent shoot. Shaping hoses to make pleasing contours. Controlling reflections to illustrate the part. Loads of fun. Really! Let me know what you think.

Industrial Photography

It may look like this was shot in a gritty, dimly lit industrial warehouse, but in fact, it was shot in the relative comfort of our studio. I found a floor to shoot at a factory nearby, and stripped that in under the lift truck. I love that photography can portray an alternate reality. In fact, that’s the core of our business, to make things look better than they actually do. In this case, few industrial warehouses with this lift truck would be quite so gritty. These are high-end lift trucks and more likely to be found in a modern commercial warehouse that is clean and well lit. I like the tough gritty feel though, as it does communicate that it’s a durable, well built machine. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Car Parts Photography

It takes a lot of parts to make a car and some of them are pretty small. The smallest of the parts above - seals for electrical connectors -  is about a 1/2 long. Water and air add up to corrosion and failure, and these little guys keep it out. Photographing small products can be difficult because the parts are often displayed larger than they are in reality. For products that were never meant for display in the first place, making them this big exposes ALL of their flaws. It’s fun to photograph cars, but it’s fun to shoot the tiny little car parts that make them too. As always, I'm interested in your thoughts.

Automotive Parts Photography

Most automotive parts are destined never to be visible. You can only see a battery if you pop the hood. While many things have changed dramatically in the construction of cars, most batteries are still acid and lead, same as they were 60 years ago. A123 Systems is making a lithium car battery for cars that use a “start-stop system” – mostly in cars overseas. We needed to show that this is not an ordinary battery, and showing the inside seems to do the trick. As always, let me know what you think.

You Cannot Live on Bread Alone

While it may be true that you cannot live on bread alone, Zingermans' breadcomes pretty close. I did not have to go to Ann Arbor to buy it, my local grocery store carries it. It is the best bread I've ever had, so it seemed a good subject for this still life. I thoroughly enjoy shooting rich low-key pictures. The fig jam is a nice extra element. As always let me know that you think.

Jewelry Photography

I don’t wear any jewelry myself, except for my wedding ring, but I do appreciate the beauty of it. A good friend of mine is a jeweler, and I love photographing his work. I’m always amazed that he can start with a lump of metal, a hammer, torch, files, and some other tools and the result is a piece of art. It’s challenging shooting jewelry, with all the shiny surfaces and stones, but I enjoy shooting highly reflective objects. It helps if they are pretty, but shiny industrial parts are fun too. Richard’s hands are a little worse for wear. He uses his thumbnail to check the sharpness of files, and polishing compound gets into all the nooks and crannies on his fingers. It’s a perfect contrast to the brilliant perfection of his jewelry. As always, I am interested in hearing your comments.

Photography for Digital Illustration

;This image for Goodyear was created in the studio and with stock photography from Medioimages/Photodisc. The process of shooting for strip or input photography as I heard a colleague call it, can be quite involved. For this illustration, we carefully matched the angle and perspective. To do this, you must first decide where you are going to place the image within the background. If it’s up close, you need to be closer to the product with a wider lens. In other words, you need to match the actual distance that it would have been had it been there when the background was shot. Moving the camera right or left just a few inches can make a huge difference. Camera height is crucial as well.Next there is the lighting. In this case, I tried to keep the contrast a little lower than normal to match the relatively low contrast scene. We added artificial snow and ice too! On the windshield, after scattering the snow and ice, we ran the wipers to create the clear area on the windshield. We even captured the wipers in a few different positions, but they were not used because it got in the way of the people inside. We put snow and ice on the grill, bumper, hood and roof of the car. We also shot with the headlights on and off so that decision could be made later. Then Dave took a turn, and lit then shot the models. No easy feat with that many people in such a tiny space. The retoucher, hired by the agency, put it all together with a few touches of his own. As always, let me know what you think.

Calendars!

You can't do great photography if you can't remember your schedule. I depend heavily on my calendar to keep me punctual.  I just found a calendar app for my iPhone that’s fantastic! I have been using Calvetica for a year or more. It makes entering events super easy, but seeing what’s coming up is where it falls down for me. Fantastical’s interface is amazing. See events for today, what’s coming up and a whole month at a time. Then, touch the top bar and you are instantly back to today. I tried their Mac application, but I’ve settled on BusyCal. Just a better interface than Apple’s Calendar App. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Plumber Photography

It’s not often that I find myself lying on the floor in a public restroom. Well, not really public, but not private either. I suppose it doesn’t matter, any bathroom floor really. Anyway, I recently did a shoot for BrassCraft through Group 55 Marketing. Michael was a great model and the shoot went well. It’s funny, I sometimes mention plumbers when clients are surprised by our prices - “When was the last time you hired a plumber?”As always, I’m interested to hear your comments.

Automotive Wheel Photography

One of the really great things about living in the Detroit area, is the automotive industry. It’s not just the car companies, but all of their suppliers and the aftermarket companies too. Customizing our cars for style, speed or utility is an American tradition. I can remember looking through JC Whitney catalogs before I could drive. Wheels, tires, bed liners, roof racks, sun roofs, towing packages, the list goes on and on.

An entrepreneur has a passion for racing wheels, and I get to help promote them. These are racing wheels, not ordinary cast aluminum, but three individual pieces bolted together. Photographing shiny products is always fun and challenging.  As always, let me know what you think.