Why chose Studio 3? Because whatever you want done, WE help you do it better.
Take this shot of vintage Nikes, for example. The brief was to take a fresh approach with footwear photography and shooting a pair of vintage Nike sneakers – so the Team created a very gritty-looking night environment to showcase the shoes. But the idea was to keep the setup looking as un-styled as possible, like the person had just kicked the shoes off and they landed exactly as they did. The Team was striving for a moody atmosphere, so having reflections throughout helped underscore that mood. The “street” locale was, however, created entirely in-house. Photographer Chris Eltrich laid out 4′ by 8′ of bricks to make the paving stones, pouring sand in-between them to look like grout, and finished them off with some large pavers for the “sidewalk.” He wet the set with a spray bottle to create those reflections, which proved a challenge due to to the bricks and sand absorbing the water. He had to spray continuously all the way down to the moment he clicked the shutter, or everything would dry. All the work paid off in the end and resulted in a wet-looking, gritty set as a backdrop to the cool Nike kicks.
In post-processing, Digital Lead Alex Gumina found that the bright yellow of the sneakers didn’t look ideal against the background. The logos weren’t “reading” in the final photo and the feel was a little off, so he converted the image to black and white to play up the vintage aspect. The monochrome treatment was just right and made those logos POP!
From an open brief to an ultra-specific “mood” created entirely in the studio, our Team takes any concept from origin to exceptional execution. Perhaps anybody can just do it. But WE do it better.
Call us today to find out how we can do it better for your brief, each and every time.
Tag: Chris Eltrich
Drinks on Seattle Magazine!
Seattle Magazine recently approached Chris Eltrich, to do a drink photography shoot. Seattle Magazine’s goal was to showcase the best watering holes in Seattle. In order to truly capture the spirit of each Seattle destination, they gave Studio 3 the task of capturing each bar’s signature cocktail’s unique look and recipe. Luckily, we had help from a mixologist, from each bar. The mixologists whipped up the drinks, and we couldn’t be happier with their styling skills.
On set, we enjoyed hanging out with all of the talented mixologists and testing all of the different cocktails. Our favorite beverage included the salad drink, it made us all feel quite “healthy”. It’s multipurpose nature, won us all over. However, with that said there wasn’t a cocktail that didn’t agree with at least one of us! We can’t wait to visit these spots as a team and try all of their fun drinks!
Besides the team having a blast on set, Seattle magazine was quite impressed with the results, running one of the images as the cover. Stephanie Mennella, from Seattle Magazine, shared a few words with us on the feedback received regarding the images:
It looks AMAZING!! It’s getting tons of compliments, and I appreciate the extra mile you guys went to accommodate the hectic schedule of getting all the drinks shot.
With such awesome words, we couldn’t help but feel great. It’s always a blast working with Seattle Magazine, especially when spirits are involved. We look forward to our next shoot with them and hope perhaps it involves Seattle’s best restaurants…
On that note, we expect the months ahead to be full of fun drink photography shoots and hope to get a call to work with you on your next drink project!
The infamous salad cocktail from Rocco’s
A delightful concoction from Cafe Flora
The cover image, a beautiful treat from Stoneburner
This edition of Seattle Magazine is now available on newsstands, so check it out!
Product Photographer Chris Eltrich Adding Drama to Center Court
We recently have been having tons of fun with shoes, and Product Photographer Chris Eltrich is no exception. His newest images are showcasing the fantastically shiny Air Jordans, that would make anyone want to be a basketball player. In usual Chris fashion, he was concerned about highlighting the shoe and keeping things simple. He describes this shoot in his own words:
I wanted to shoot a pair of shoes in a simple setup with minimal propping, so I was on the lookout for a pair that had cool textures. I found this pair of Nikes and knew I had found something special. Their tops were made out of a gloss black material with a grid pattern and red accents, and the side details had a contrasting solid red with a Jordan logo. Pair of shoes with sick textures, check! Do we put those shoes on white and call it a day? No! Of course not! We rent out Key Arena and put them on genuine basketball court! Wait… Wait… I’m being told that’s too expensive. Oh….. Um, I guess we fake it? Yes! Faking it, just as good!
So we’ve got a pair of sick shoes and our “Genuine” basketball playing surface, so now we’re ready to photograph them. I wanted the shoes to live in a little pool of light on this “court,” so I blocked most of the light off the background. I wanted the focus to be on the differing textures. both textures lit up nicely, especially the smooth red portion. It took on a milky quality that looked really good. I added a couple of accent lights to make sure the sides didn’t bleed into the dark background, and that was about it.
Stay tuned for more shots of these Air Jordans, as Chris has more to come.
Get Your High Beams On!
With the sudden increase in temperature we thought it was time to showcase Chris Eltrich’s HOT take on our favorite summer accessory: Sunglasses! With all the fun styles and frames, it was hard for Chris to decide what he wanted to feature. After much thinking he decided it was the wayfarer that needed to be in the spotlight. Read on to see why Chris specifically chose these classic glasses:
I really like shoes, clothes and accessories. For this specific shoot, I knew I wanted to focus on sunglasses. Sunglasses are a tried and true accessory that almost everybody has and loves. I decided to capture the classic wayfarer style and was completely in love with these fun colors. Since I was drawn to the color of the frames I wanted to make sure that part of them stood out. I accented the color through the lighting and positioning.
These fun pops of color add the summer twist we can’t resist!
Check out his sunglass series below:
Bike Photography In Two Styles!
Seattle and Portland are in the nation’s top ten bike friendly cities, so it’s no surprise our photographers are inspired by the environmentally friendly mode of transportation, therefore they get their bike photography on. Dana Jonas and Chris Eltrich teamed up to play out their personal strengths, with Dana shooting bicyclist Eddie and Chris shooting the fun color inspired product shots, it was a bike to remember. While Chris shot his series in studio, Dana chose a pier on Green Lake and here are her thoughts on bike photography:
I chose to shoot on a pier in Green Lake to have the option of creating the element of surprise. My goal was to have the viewer take a second look, like: what, wait, wow…is that guy riding on water? The model was great, seeing eye to eye on my vision. He even got so intense as making himself hyperventilate to look authentic. It was a great team and match up, I am definitely loving the fun visual result!
Check out the lifestyle bike photoshoot below:
Here are a few words from Chris Eltrich on shooting bike photography in studio:
To View More Photography By Our Photographers Check Out Our Website!
It's Tool Time!
Let’s just say Chris hit the nail on the head with this one!
Product Photography Wind Up!
Chris Eltrich loves shooting product photography, especially when it comes to a fun product and an interesting background. Most recently he shot some great Nixon watches on textured backgrounds. It’s clear from these photos that the monochromatic look didn’t take away from the beauty of the watch. In Chris’ own words he describes his inspiration, lighting techniques, and love for product photography.
To View More Product Photography Visit Our Website!
White Christmas!
It’s that time of year again. Chilly weather, goofy sweaters, stockings, snowmen, reds and greens, oh and presents! Heck yes we love Christmas time…who doesn’t? Here at our lovely Seattle location, the Studio 3 team’s been getting our dose of all things Christmas, decorating, shopping, loving each other, and all that jazz. There is one thing we’re missing a bit of though and it’s one of the key ingredients to a classic white Christmas (hint: it’s the white part).
Here in Seattle, a fluffy blanket of snow makes for a real love/hate relationship. We LOVE to play in it, turn it into cute snowmen, throw balls of it at our dearest friends, and catch it on our tongues (missing school because of is also pretty great). We HATE walking through it, getting it in our socks, when it turns to slush, and most of all driving through it. We don’t see each other much, snow, and us Seattlites and the Studio 3 team was feeling the need for some snowfall around the workplace. So what’d we do? We made it snow, of course!
One of the perks of being a photo studio is having props galore at our fingertips, so our holiday parties, aside from being super fun and wild, are always beautifully decorated. Check us out below in our new photo from this year’s party. We pulled out our favorite Christmas props and got warm and cozy under the studio snowfall. Some things of importance to note and think about: Chris’ tiny cup and huge mullet, the mystery of what Alex is afraid of, and our little plant friend that came to hang out for the photo.
We had a blast and can’t wait for all the family and friends time coming up in the next few days. And of course, we can’t wait to get through that wrapping paper to all those tempting new toys. Here’s to hoping you have as great a Christmas season! Happy Holidays from Studio 3!
