Ready for take-off…

After all the wonderful feedback we’ve received on the image “Boxer Chick”, we bring you another in-depth explanation from Bill, this time on a still life shot. Thanks to all those who took the time to contact us in regards to Bill’s work. Hope you enjoy!

The images:
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - - 8

From Bill:
Thanks to all of you who enjoyed the tutorial on my photograph “The Boxer”.
I thought it might be nice to follow that up with some insights into producing an ad using similar techniques, but not involving people.

I was approached by a high end graphic design studio whom I work with often to produce a series of ads for a consortium of tool manufacturers. Tools in the sense of machining tools. I know these look like drill bits, but they are actually machining tools, and are widely used in the aerospace and defense industries.

During preproduction meetings we were all given the opportunity to look at competitors ads and a variety of other work current in the industry.
The client wanted something “different”, dramatic, eyecatching”.

The designer showed them several concepts and examples of my work and everyone liked the idea of some sort of a composite.
The idea of making it look strong and dramatic like a movie poster was suggested.

The client supplied us with some of their favorite tools, and suggested that it would be appropriate to feature somehow a fighter jet.
The designer and I got together and brainstormed and sketched until we came up with several basic sketches of approaches we both liked.

This is my favorite one. It was the idea of the airplane in some “batcave, ominous location”. We talked about how it might evoke feelings of someone hiding the jet. Crazy minds huh?

The designer asked me if we should look for a stock photo of the jet. I suggested that he try to locate a detailed model, feeling confident I could make it look cool in the final composite.

I began by photographing the tools in a nice arrangement we had previsualized. I placed them on the metal step like piece in the photograph both to get variation in height, and also because I intended to actually show it in another version of the ad. I photographed the small tool on the left separately so that I might insure a highlight running the full length of the right side. When it was in the real arrangement the other tools prevented it from having a nice highlight and it looked rather dull.

They were photographed using lots of large diffuse light sources. Two 5′x10′ Chimera F2 banks (www.chimeralighting.com) each with two comet 2400 watt second heads were arranged left and right and behind the tools. These provided the full length highlights on the tools. A 2′x3′ Northlight(www.northlightproducts.com/) with a single comet 2400 watt second head was arranged above and slightly behind the tools. The camera, a cambo 4×5 fitted with a phase one h20 digital back, was placed slightly low to add to that “monumental” feeling for the tools. (www.cambo.com, www.phaseone.com). This was tethered to a Mac G5 workstation with a 23″ cinema display calibrated with eye one software/hardware. (http://usa.gretagmacbethstore.com/)
Finally, an 8′x8′ matthews (www.matthewsgrip.com/) diffuser was arranged angling from over the tools to just above the camera lens.
Behind this was placed a single comet 2400 watt second flash head with a 7″ reflector on a boom. This is the source that creates the nice gradated highlight on the front of the tools.

Meanwhile the designer got online and tracked down some very nice metal scale models of airplanes and ordered an appropriate fighter jet.
I simply photograped it on a neutral gray surface lit from above and behind with a 4′x4′ Northlight Bank with one comet 2400 watt second head installed.
Also with a Phase One H20 Back on a Cambo 4×5.

I have mentioned this before, and it is worth saying again. When compositing I try to use surfaces and make shadows that I can blend into the background shot. I used no fill light on the plane, only that single source so as to create an eerie, dramatic feel and to create a shadow that could be carried forth onto the surface it would be composited into.

I knew of some very cool abandoned industrial buildings close to me and secured permission to shoot. Inside one of them was this interior and I knew as soon as I saw it that it was perfect. I loved the strong perspective of the long space and also the skylights up top. Yes the tire tracks in the dirt floor were actually there and right away I thought how perfect to our concept that would be also. I made exposures to execute an HDR. These were done with a Canon 1DS. I believe I combined 5-8 bracketed frames. Bracketing with the shutter speed so as not to disturb focus.
I used Photoshop CS2’s merge to HDR function, and the photomatix tonemapping plugin. (www.hdrsoft.com/)

On the airplane I did a lot of contrast work with curves isolating areas with TK Luminosity masks available at http://www.goodlight.us/writing/luminositymasks/luminositymasks-1.html.

I like these alot as they allow me to work specific areas of the image. So let me take this opportunity to thank Tony Kuyper for providing all of us these fine tools. Visit his site www.GoodLight.us and see his awesome photography of the Colorado landscape. I also did a lot of airbrush and burn and dodge work and sharpening to “grit up” the airplane and help it to look like it belonged in the environment.

I extracted it primarily with photoshop’s pen tool carefully drawing a path. I did however keep the bottom intact so as to blend the natural shadow into the dirt floor. I did this using a layer mask.

The tools were enhanced through sharpening and burning and dodging, and localized increases in saturation. Primarily the copper and gold and blue.
The bottoms were gently blended into the scene using a layer mask.

This one involved many layers and lots of blending, and was very challenging and fun. All this work was executed using 16 bit tiff files. The final layers file was 886 Mb.

If anyone has any specific questions fire away!