The Watford Photographer @phototravelblog

Here we go...
This week with MJL Photographics we at The Watford Photographer are going to take a look at Portrait and Product photography on location. Michael had previously worked with and shot product images for Tom Hide Designs who design and sell high quality leather apparel. "Created in 2008, Tom Hide encapsulate the classical and functional designs of a bygone era.  Inspired by the bags carried by horseback messengers and motorcycle dispatchers, Tom Hide satchels display both simple lines and rugged appeal."

The second part to this was some Lifestyle shots to showcase the products. For full details of Tom Hide Designs including contact please see the end of the article.

So Why Where We There?
Michael explained that the idea behind the shoot was to show the products from a posed and real life perspective. Obviously the products needed to remain the main focus of the shoot however striking the right balance and ensuring the feel of the imagery was natural was paramount.

The image to the right does not necessarily showcase the product in its entirety. However as the model is looking away from the camera and is therefore more detached from the viewers perspective, the viewers eyes are naturally drawn back to the bag the model is carrying,

The images were to be used on Tom Hide's new website, the images needed to be fresh bright and colourful.

Technique Time (each photo has the technical data from the shot)
When shooting products or portraits of even a mixture of the two on location the most important part is lighting.

When we arrived at the shoot it was raining heavily, hardly ideal! However after waiting it out in hope of a break in the weather for about an hour we were rewarded with a new weather front of glorious sunshine!

Don't get me wrong sunny weather is better than rain any day however the bright relentless midday sun also has its challenges! Shadows can be very harsh and lighting can blow out highlight detail.

To combat this Michael used a Sigma 530DG super flashgun with diffuser and large reflector. This helps to brighten the subject and make them 'pop' from the background.
There were six different products from a briefcase to an ipad cover.  The location was close to the clients address and in a great area with a nice park. This turned out to be a brilliant location for some really varied shots.

Be Creative
Each shot can be different and say something different to the viewer. Using a mixture of shots with the models looking at the camera and away in to the distance enables the viewer to connect differently to the images.

Having the model wear sunglasses is also a great way to avoid the subject of eye contact. The viewer wont be able to see the models eyes and therefore it adds a sense of mystery, plus having a reflection in the sunglass lenses looks really great!

Throughout the shoot we were constantly scoping new locations, an overgrown field shooting in to the summer sun was my personal favourite (see first image).

For final images and out-takes take a look at the images below:

And that's a Wrap!
I hope you have found this weeks article interesting and informative. As always we will add more technique information and advice from today's article in our 'Technique Time' section. 
Big thanks to Michael at MJL Photographics and James at Tom Hide Designs for making this article possible.
Please feel free to get in contact with any comments or questions.

See you in a few weeks back with the Watford Photographer