Photoshoot day

Despite all odds, it didn't rain!

It was forecasted to rain on the day I took the pictures, so I was freaking out because this would mean falling behind on my schedule, something I simply couldn't afford. The day began with me trying to figure out how to make a colorful-looking "cocktail" for which I ended up using food coloring and a bit of lime. From there, things started to fall into place my drink looked good enough to be a nice splash of color. 

I shot this cocktail in my backyard to put it into the place where it would belong: a BBQ on sunny spring day. For this, I asked a friend to help me by being a faceless model that was simply stirring the drinks and moving them around. Despite him being in the shot, the pictures had a shallow focus that blurred him out and showed the drink more clearly. 

For the shots I used my dad's Sony RX100 camera. It's not a professional camera, but it is easy to use and pictures actually come out looking great. 

Next, I worked on the shot of the champagne, glasses and used two very elegant and different-looking glasses that I think will elevate the feel of the magazine. I set this shot my the window which had dispersed light coming in through the shadows of the tree. I can't wait to show you how these came out, because I think I really did justice to how beautiful the glasses are. Look at them:

After the champagne shot, I recreated the picture of the pineapples I have as a place holder, but set it by the lake to give it a more "spring-y" feel. This shot was challenging because first of all, I was running out of ice so I had to get creative... and second of all, the table was slanted so everything was sliding off. Luckily, my friend helped my hold the table still and I got some shots I think will work. BTW the little ice I had melted while I went to get new batteries... so you really cant see the drink :(

And finally, I shot the cover page pictures. For this, I had to carve some ice to make a nice, big cube that looks like something Don Draper would use to make an old fashioned. 

Anyway, for the cover page shot I used a light box set up I borrowed from a friend. This was helpful in giving the shot a solid background, something that is common and expected of food magazines. If the background was busy with things like flowers and nature, it would be hard to fit the cover lines. Also, using a light box allowed me to play around with light and give it some natural looks and some artificial looks. (Let's ignore the fact that one of the lights had smoke coming out of it by the end... woops!)

I definitely think I got some good shots yesterday and cannot wait to show you guys. Until next time!!