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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