When the Kitchen inspires you
Ordinary Objects
It was one of these days. No photo shooting scheduled, but there it was, the creative itch. What to do? Perfect moment to go back to shooting some still lives in the studio. Maybe some flowers, vegetables, or an object with an interesting shape? Looking around the flat, nothing seemed inspiring enough. Ordinary objects, that were there all the time.
I turned to my partner, asking if he had any idea what I could use. Off to the kitchen he went, rummaging around a bit. Finally, he came back with… One garlic bulb. White and smooth on first sight, but looking closer, with a papery structure to its skin. For a moment, I was lost, as it did not seem to offer anything exciting to work with.
Studio Set-Up
But I was up for the challenge. Two choices seemed to offer themselves. Something dramatic on a dark background to enhance the smooth whiteness. Or something tone in tone to work out the finer details and the hues of pink, that could be detected upon closer inspection.
I found some cut-offs from our latest favourite background in bone. A small table and some clips to fasten everything were quickly organised. Lights with a soft box and grid were still standing around from a previous shoot. Set-up was fast and the first pictures quickly taken. The initial results were already quite interesting, but I was looking for something more dramatic.
Going for Extra Drama
I added a second studio light which lit the background from the left side and propped up some black cardboard to give it more direction. So much better already. Looking at the next round of pictures, I realised some more detailed close-ups would, probably, reveal some of those intricate details, that I had discovered at the start. Not owing a dedicated macro lens, I got excellent results with my extension tubes, which I bought early on into my photography adventure.
I finally found them slightly neglected in one of my accessories bags. After some adjustments and tightening of screws, I got them working with my 56 mm lens. Back to the studio for another round.
The results were stunning. The papery quality of the outer skin, the shiny smoothness of the shell of the individual cloves, veins, and bumps all stood out now in perfection.
Post-Production
After importing them into my Capture One software, I tried a few of my personal presets and finally settled on one that accentuated the pink hues with some deeper shadows. I also added a black and white edit that brought out the background lighting even more and gave an almost 20s vibe to the images. The final pictures did not disappoint. And I promised myself to play around more with studio set-ups, experimental lighting, and most of all: macrophotography.
Equipment and Software
- Fuji tx-20
- Fujifilm Fujinon XF 56 mm f1.2 R
- Viltrox DG-FU Extension Tube 10 mm
- Flags various sizes
- Studio lights
- Godox ms300 with 120 softbox with grid
- Godox ad200 pro with standard reflector and grid
- Capture One for final edit
More still life work can be found here