Studio 3, Inc.

2014

Food Photography – Mac & Cheese Shoot

Posted on October 14, 2014

Mac n Cheese 0162 — Studio 3, Inc.This Mac & Cheese food photography shoot showcases the Studio 3 creative Team’s exceptional ability with food photography and food styling. The goal was to show the quintessential down-home comfort food (macaroni & cheese) in a cozy Fall table setting, creating a warm, family-inspired atmosphere. The color palette featured an array of rustic wood, reds, and yellows…but with a Seattle twist. A Thanksgiving with friends = a “Friendsgiving.” The resulting photo depicts a homey environment in a beautiful, relatable way.

David Bell was the ideal choice as photographer for this shoot since creating a dark, moody atmosphere is one of his many skills. David and our fabulous Producer Ms. Megan spent half a day just working on the lighting and playing with the tilt-shift the week before the shoot. The tilt shift adapter is a favorite tool of Mr. Bell’s, allowing more control of the plane of focus. With this he was able to get the essential shallow focus to the shot, directing where the viewer looks. Due to the extensive lighting preparation once the model was actually on-set, the shoot was executed seamlessly within just 2 hours, making the model budget reasonable.

The team utilized an old cast iron skillet that had been loved for many years, and mis-matched bowls to give the sense of Seattle “found” goods. (It seems to be a recent trend in food photography and prop styling to have an eclectic collection of silverware, plates, bowls, glasses etc. instead of “matched sets” of everything – check out the latest issues of your favorite food and lifestyle magazines to see this in action!). In trying to stay authentic to the creative vision, we used the bowls as our (seemingly) random element and kept consistency with the silverware and glassware. Cider right now is the new beer (isn’t it, though?) and we have a BIG love for local ciders, so wanted to make that option available on our endless prop table. The request for a model with a hipster vibe took us visiting tattoo parlors instead of the normal modeling agencies. WP 20140910 14 18 31 Pro — Studio 3, Inc.

Besides the food, the model’s arms were the most important element in the image. We needed someone that had interesting colors, patterns, and art covering their whole forearms, and ideally, with tattoos on their hands as well. (No makeup necessary!) We originally toyed with the idea of a woman serving the food, but thought that was too conventional. We settled on a rugged PNW (that’s Pacific Northwest for those of you not familiar with our local slang!) male with the perfect amount of unique designs, color, and composition to his tattoos. This edgy element really took the shot to the next level.WP 20140910 14 18 42 Pro — Studio 3, Inc.

Food Photography Essentials in a Professional Photoshoot

*Food photography often has a short window of time before the food starts to cool off or look less than “appetizing.” Unlike other product photography shoots, there is a time-sensitive imperative to capture the shot quickly.

*Allow time before the shoot to extensively text lighting setups and prop styling. The more time spent beforehand on these details, the more efficiently the shoot can be carried out. (Time is money!)

*The Producer’s skills are essential in executing the shoot and in coordinating all the necessary logistics. Our Producer Megan Nolan has years of experience with Food and Beverage Photography, so is able to coordinate efficiently and effectively to capture that perfect shot.

Producer: Megan Nolan

Props: Megan Nolan

Wardrobe: Megan Nolan

Comic Relief & Prop Removal…aka eater of mac: Chris Eltrich

Photographer: David Bell

Digital Artist: Alex Gumina

Model: Michael Lopez

Camera: Hasselblad V-Series with a 35mm lens and the tilt shift adapter

Lighting: Speedotron Fresnel flash head

Check out more of our food photography here – but we’re not responsible if your mouth starts watering uncontrollably. And if you’re in the market for photography that makes your products, beverages, and food entice, give us a ring anytime.

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Video – September 1 Second Every Day

Posted on October 7, 2014

“There are so many tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic moments in your life — how are you going to remember them all?”

We’ve begun a new tradition of having the Studio 3 Team record videos of tiny, beautiful, funny, tragic, and amazing 1-second moments in their lives. For our newest piece, we’ve edited another 30-second video short from September that encapsulates what we’re all about.

Studio 3 is an awesome place to work, made up of a band of cool, creative talent. We also offer videography services to discerning clients who need the very best for their commercial shoots – and it’s our video Director David King who creates all of our videos.

The above video was just for fun, but Director David King and our Team regularly produce professional videos that effectively tell the brand story and exceed client expectations. Our process begins when a client reaches out to Studio 3 with a creative conundrum. We get into the client’s head and solve their problem utilizing our technical filmmaking skills to create a compelling visual story. Check out some of the videos we have produced for past clients here.

Each clip in the video is a snapshot, a moment from the past month, compiled by Mr. King into this upbeat vignette. In reality, these 30 seconds = “a month in the life” of Studio 3. Get a glimpse into what it’s like to hang out with us for a month (in one-second intervals):



If you’re interested in showcasing your best 1-second moments, the 1 Second Everyday app is available from the App Store. See our earlier 1 Second Everyday video from July here – and get in touch for an experience you won’t easily forget.

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Apparel Photography – Vintage Levi’s Jacket

Posted on September 23, 2014

Jacket Test — Studio 3, Inc.

Beautiful lines, gorgeous greens, rich wood paneling: all of it harkened back to the days of yesteryear, when times were simpler. The Studio 3 Photography Team aimed to capture the nostalgia and rustic appeal of those times, through artistic prop styling and creating a snapshot of a moment in a day laborer’s life.

Craig Wagner led the shoot, setting the lighting to emulate being out in the hot sun of eastern Oregon. The team sourced a vintage 1976 Chevy Cheyenne truck, a set of barn doors to act as backdrop, and a table full of vintage, time-worn props wrangled by our own queen of vintage Ms. Liz. However after spending most of the day shooting the jacket hanging on the mirror outside the truck it just seemed too predictable, and we wanted something different. After trying countless “ideas” the team settled on a Levi’s denim jacket arranged artfully against the driver’s-side door, creating our ideal apparel photography shot. It worked, and you could feel yourself being out there in the sun. With great photography the post-production was minimal, with minor color adjustment to bring out the swaths of green and blue. And of course just a little snap added to that ever-important little red tab that was created to differentiate Levi’s from its competitors.

Creating the right lighting for this piece was essential to the mood of the finished image. This is how to do it:

What Warm Sunny Lighting?

  • Apply heavy warming gels on the lights
  • Overexpose the lighting on the backdrop by a couple stops while still holding detail in the highlights
  • For the key light: Set up a strobe head with a large reflector (16″-21″) and soften by placing some Diffusion over it
  • Bring up the fill light to show detail in the deeper shadows
  • Control the amount of lens flare using a soft silver card placed just out of frame and hit with a diffused light, bouncing it back into the lens
  • Hire Craig!

Producer: Liz Swales

Prop Styling: Liz Swales

Photographer: Craig Wagner

Photography Assistant: Jonny Brandt

Digital Artist: Alex Gumina

Camera: Hasselblad H4D, 80 mm lens

Lighting: Black Line Speedotron strobes

If you want to differentiate yourself and your clients check out more of our photography and see our advanced lighting techniques in action. Take a gander at our Portfolio (and see if you can spot where our lights were placed!)

And if you’re following us on Twitter, you’ll see much more of our lifestyle photography, product shoots, inspiration, and tips on professional lighting and photography. Check out Studio 3 on Twitter for the lowdown!

 

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Product Photography Shoot – Grenade Gloves

Posted on September 15, 2014

grenade gloves studio 3 — Studio 3, Inc.Here at Studio 3 we are often coming up with new ideas to to push the envelope and add gorgeous images to our portfolio.

We recently completed a product photography shoot with our Photographer Henry Ngan, featuring Grenade Gloves on a bed of green powder.

We know what you’re all wondering: are these gloves used to handle grenades? Are they made from used grenade casings? If you’re not into snowboarding, Motocross, or skateboarding, you may not have heard of Grenade Gloves.

Founded in 2001 by the two professional snowboarders Matt and Danny Kass, Grenade Gloves Inc. is now a worldwide, global lifestyle brand that has hosted the annual Grenade Games since 2005. The founders chose the grenade as their logo because it was reminiscent of G.I. Joe, someone they felt was in line with their renegade image. Headquartered in Portland, OR, the Grenade Gloves brand is growing at an exponential rate and has a loyal following of extreme sports enthusiasts.

No grenades were harmed in the making of this photograph, however. The inspiration for this photo came from a recent magazine feature, where powder was used to show the imprint of the product, instead of the product itself appearing in the photo. We thought it a neat idea to incorporate this into our next product photo shoot.

Prop Styling Behind the Scenes

Henry bought toy grenades for the shoot, and had to disassemble the parts to imprint each carefully into the chosen background powder. The team carefully addressed the placement of the grenades, first trying out a full-scale pattern (which looked too busy), and then settling on one where the glove would appear to be “holding” a single grenade. Other imprints were made selectively in the powder order to balance out the initial top-heavy feel.

The gloves appeared too flat in the first test shots; in order to give them body and allow the fingers to be bent the team created an internal wire structure all the way into the fingertips. Henry wanted the feel of hard light in the image so the scene was lit by a single Fresnel key light and incorporating mirrors and bounce cards to enhance and fill the scene. In post-processing, our Digital Artist Ciaran Green removed stray fibers and increased the contrast in areas that appeared too blown-out under the hard lighting. With a little tweaking, the image turned into what you see above: a beautiful color pop of green and orange, with saturated blacks. All in all, it was a fun couple-day shoot for the team, resulting in art and photography merging on a bed of green.

Poll: Identify that Prop Styling Material!

**Poll is now CLOSED**

easypoll results — Studio 3, Inc.

Find out the answer on Twitter!

And if you’re not following us there yet – go ahead and sign up; we don’t bite. And we won’t lob grenades at you. We just showcase amazing, inspiring photography that you’ll definitely want to see.

Go ahead – take a peek.

 

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#TBT Stanley Man

Posted on August 28, 2014

StanleyPoster1981 — Studio 3, Inc. Can we fix it? YES WE CAN! Ahh… nothing says “Made in America” more than a room filled with sweaty, hard-working Macho Men (and Women). With that said, the Stanley Hydraulics advertisement shown above was brought to life by the diligent work of  Studio 3’s Henry Ngan and our very creative friends at Bronson Leigh Weeks. With the innovative concept mapping of Loren Weeks, this lively production resulted from the need of an in-store display showing the extensive line of Stanley’s hydraulic power tools for industrial applications. Henry noted that this concept took a little more brain power than normal. The oversized nature of the elements included in the shoot  (power poles, manhole covers, I-beams, forklift, load of lumber, etc.)  made it so that Weeks’ vision could only be brought to full fruition in a controlled environment. Photographer Henry Ngan states:

“This was a particularly challenging assignment that unfolded over the course of several weeks from concept meetings to getting all the elements together to painting the cyc with an airless sprayer and building the scene. We had to scout for talent to fit the right characters envisioned by Loren Weeks. When the day finally came to shoot, it was like conducting an orchestra in order to create a harmonious image with all the elements including lighting, talent, products, various props and the whims of the art director, and product managers.”

Henry recalls that the most complicated part of the process was the fake I-beam which was strapped to a fork on a fork lift. Luckily, it was strong enough to support Craig Wagner (top right), one of our current Studio 3 photographers who back then was acting as an assistant and model. Isn’t he dreamy? In order to allow swings and tilt to enhance photo quality, Henry shot with a Sinar P camera with a 135 mm Nikkor lens on 4X5 Fuji Velvia film. Henry then lit the set with various light modifiers and Speedotron strobe lights which were hung on beams above the scene in order to add a little drama and create the look Weeks was after.

“There were lights everywhere,” he said. “Up in the air, on the ground, and hidden behind props. I had to get as much depth of field as I could, so I used Speedrotron Black Line 2400 w/s power packs, one per head. With the bigger cameras and longer lenses, f32 and f64 was not uncommon in order to achieve max depth.”

All in all, with so many hands at work, the project turned out to be top of the line just like Stanley Hydraulics. At Studio 3 we think work is good, but we also like play. SO come hang with us and you can have the best of both worlds.  Do like our photographer (and model), Craig, and take a break to have a bite with us. Shoot us an email to schedule our lunch date. We’ll even throw in the libation of your choice! Until then, only one more day until Friday… Keep dreaming, friends. Keep dreaming.

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Polartec Punch

Posted on August 19, 2014

 

Frank Creative — Studio 3, Inc.

Talk about making a splash this summer! Studio 3 has been heating up on set- this time with one of our fun and creative clients, Frank’s Garage. The team at Frank’s called us to help them visually illustrate the many qualities and characteristics of Polartec High-Performance Fabrics. The goals for these images were to portray the waterproof protection and breathability of the NeoShell outwear fabric. After the production meeting, photographer, Craig Wagner couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty…or soaked. As always, he came up with a great solution for capturing this fist going through water:

“I knew Broncolor’s Scoro S power packs would provide control of the high flash duration needed to freeze the action without giving up the output needed to capture this image. Our initial approach was to shoot using a H4D-40 Hasselblad and our IR trigger setup, but found that the inconsistent speed of the punching fist didn’t give us the results we were looking for. We switched to our Canon 5D MKIII to take advantage of 6 FPS burst rate. We then made adjustments to the Scoro packs and after a few attempts, the model and I were in sync.”

Many different oils and lotions were tried on the model’s hand to reduce drag and create a smoother looking barrier between the fist and water. In the end, nothing worked better than some good-old fashioned baby oil.

So in the end, with a great concept, extraordinary photography, a fish tank and some baby oil, an image that packed tremendous punch was made. Add some punch to your photography, call us, we can deliver.

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Dat ChromeCast, Tho.

Posted on August 12, 2014

 

Old New / Chrome Cast — Studio 3, Inc.

You know how you have your closet full of countless DVDs? Doesn’t it suck whenever you move to a new home and you have to lug your timeless collection with you? Yup… It used to.

Last year Google launched the ChromeCast, a thumb-sized digital media player that claims it’s “the easiest way to enjoy online music and videos on TV.”  Life just got a little bit easier without DVDs that skip or piles of movies that go weeks without being organized. To celebrate the cure to this chaos, Studio 3’s Chris Eltrich captured this ingenious innovation in all its glory.

The inspiration for this photograph, Chris states, is the juxtaposition of “old” vs. “new.” In order to accomplish this production, he covered the shoot with a multitude of lights and reflectors that created an iridescent look on the disks. After a few takes, what had originally started as an idea to shoot just a couple of DVDs developed into a brilliant plot to shoot an entire spread of them. This helped gain a greater color scheme which would become the perfect backdrop for our all-star, the Google ChromeCast. “I was really pleased with the way the CD’s turned out. They made for a perfectly unique background,” Chris says.

While some things never get old, like The Goonies, Otter Pops, and Johnny Cash… other things have expiration dates. CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes are just a few examples of them. We’re not saying you should quit watching your favorite childhood movies… but maybe it’s finally time for those grainy recorded video tapes to go. Make a sleek transition to the ChromeCast life and lose a load off your back- or your movie shelf.

Old New / Chrome Cast — Studio 3, Inc.

And now, FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY book a job with us and get a free movie night in the Studio with your favorite film and photography team. Pick up that damn phone and get dialing!

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Break A Cool Sweat

Posted on August 5, 2014

Here we are in the HOT HOT HEAT of the summer and there’s no way we are hanging up our bathing suits just yet! While breakin’ a cool sweat and trying to stay cool, Studio 3 brought in the Marquis Spas  ATV (Aquatic Training Vessel) for a much needed dip. The ATV was delivered on a trailer and was fork-lifted into Studio 3. From there, the team hauled that huge piece of heaven onto a custom-built stage. It took 2 days to fill it up and get it to a temperature that was juuuust right. Once the bubbles were flowing, the cameras started rolling. 

Marquis Spas — Studio 3, Inc.

Studio 3 has had the pleasure of working with Marquis Spas for many years now. The California based company founded in 1980 strives to provide top-of-the-line aquatic products that aid in rest and relaxation for the “ultimate soaking experience.” 

For this particular shoot Studio 3 Film Director of Video Production, David King, filmed the features of the ATV while our Lead Photographer, Craig Wagner, caught some overhead and underwater shots. Craig gives a bit of insight on this splish-splash shoot:

“I was piggy-backing on the video shoot of Marquis’ new ATV. The client wanted to feature someone working out (water aerobics) from under the water’s surface. Since the tank was blue, we chose to give the image an overall blue hue by gelling the key lights.

I shot this using a Canon 5D MKIII in our underwater housing. I also mounted a Canon 5D MKIII above the tank for the overhead image. I remotely triggered the camera and viewed the images in Lightroom. Speedotron packs and heads were used along with our 8’x14′ lightbank with custom flash tubes.”

Marquis Spas — Studio 3, Inc.

The end result was comprised of a five-star video and brilliant stills that capture the endless capabilities of a Marquis Spas ATV. If you think you don’t need one, just wait until you watch this.

There’s still a lot more sunshine comin our way for the rest of the summer. If you can’t take the heat, give us a call! Let Studio 3 take care of business while you enjoy the non-stop flow of ice cold drinks to keep you cool.

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#TBT: Digital What?

Posted on July 31, 2014

10 hours, 6 polaroids, and 3 sheets of film. Can you even imagine the torture that used to go into creating just one composited image?

Screen Shot 2014 07 02 at 4.17.52 PM — Studio 3, Inc.

Studio 3’s David Bell approached this project with Reilly Jensen of Reilly Jensen Design for the ghost we now know as Egghead Software. The idea for this production was to create a series of summer sale posters that would adorn all of the the windows to this software retail chain. But Senior Lead Photographer, David Bell can tell you this was no stroll through the park. He used nothing but a few polaroids, a studio strobe, and 3 sets of film all composited in camera to make this concept a reality. I don’t know if you’re understanding correctly… THAT MEANS NO DIGITAL WORK- AT ALL! That is a toilsome task that would now be unheard of and would only be attempted by the bravest of artists.

Well, we’ve changed things a little since then. Actually, Studio 3 was the first commercial photography studio to dive into the digital world and uncover the realm of Photoshop. Now-a-days a composite like the one shown above would be accomplished through a simple process in which one of our digital pros would take several images, digitally clip them, layer them and VOILA! We’ve just cut down on 3/4 of the time it would take to composite an image the old-school way. Ahh, technology. Isn’t it great? It sure is.

And I know what you’re thinking now… “Wait, what the hell happened to Egghead?” Ironically enough, in 2001 the company’s computer system got hacked and soon after, our local favorite went under. But enough negativity. There are plenty of things to be thankful for… like top-of-the-line photography and first-class digital art. Did I mention we’re fun too? Give us a call, we have a margarita waiting for you on our terrace. Cheers.

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Studio 3 Rides Out On Ducati

Posted on July 22, 2014

ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.

Summertime is all about fast cars and even faster Ducati motorcycles. Studio 3 wanted to explore our dare devil side and kick up the dust to catch the sunset on a few of these bad boys of the road. While the rest of us had fun forming our very own Studio 3 Biker Gang, our talented Seattle Shooters David Bell and Chris Eltrich had the pleasure of capturing these beauties with a Hasselblad Medium Format camera system. Eltrich goes a little more in depth about this sexy shoot:

“The team was looking for a darker, dramatic look… I used Studio 3’s Speedotron lights for all the shots with various light modifiers, but generally each shot had a Beauty Dish as the key light with lights through diffusion panels for accents. A lot of the planning and conceptualizing for the shoot was done by our amazing Producer, Megan Nolan and our go to Digital Lead, Alex Gumina.”

Alex shares his inspiration behind his work here:

“There seems to be a trend in vehicle advertising lately of hyper-processed, super crisp images. I thought it would be fun to do something in this style but needed a subject. That’s where Ducati Seattle came in. I pitched the idea to Megan, our studio producer, and we made our way across Aurora to Ducati Seattle to look at some beautiful motorcycles. We met with the sales manager Mike MacConaghy and before we knew it we had a couple beautiful Italian made motorcycles in the studio.

The original plan was to do a couple composites using shots of the bikes in studio, and environmental shots for the backgrounds. We would blend the two together to make one perfect, seamless image. Since we had the bikes in studio though, we decided to take full advantage of our photographers capabilities and do some amazing detail shots as well. My only request was dark, moody, high contrast, and sexy. What you see here is the end result.”

ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.ducati test — Studio 3, Inc.

We had a blast having the Ducati Motorcycles for a few days. We couldn’t load up on our leather gear fast enough! At least we know we’ll be prepared for next summer! If you want in on the fun, give Studio 3 a call and we’ll bring an extra helmet.

 

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