PS5 Conceptual Photo Series on Behance

batman destiny Gaming Photography PlayStation 5 ps5 star wars Video Games

Project Overview

This is my final project for my GIT490 (Advanced Commercial Photography) class at ASU. The goal of this project was to create a series of 3 photos with a consistent concept that promotes a product or brand. Since the PlayStation 5 was recently released, I chose to promote 3 video game reboots for the new console that were designed for the PS3 and/or PS4.

The three game games advertised for this project are Destiny, Star Wars Battlefront II and Batman: Arkham Knight. My idea was PlayStation could use these images for a digital marketing campaign on their social media. I do not own the logos (PS5 and game publishing companies) used in the final images.

Treatment

Below is the treatment plan (proposal) I completed prior to shooting.

DESTINY

Challenges and Solutions

Replicating the sunset and shadow lighting from the background was incredibly challenging. First, I tried using a softbox light on the right side of the subjects and using a reflector to fill in the shadows on the left. Unfortunately, it did not produce the result I was hoping for. In addition, the shadows in the background had a bluish tint to them, and that was another challenging part of lighting this photo.

Then, I replaced the softbox with a reflector light and raised the height of the light about 1.5 feet and angled it down towards the subjects to copy the angle of light from the background image. I also placed an orange gel on the reflector to give it a warm sunlight look. To fill in the shadows and make the background more interesting, I placed a blue gel on a speed light and shined it at the objects to fill in the shadows of the rocks and make it seem as if there was another light or planet shining in the sky of the background. Finally, to add more dimension to the figures, I placed a small softbox light behind the subjects.

Work in Progress

Lighting Diagrams and Behind the Scenes

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II

Challenges and Solutions

I thought lighting this image was going to be easy. I placed two reflector lights on the sides of the figures (one on each side) with blue gels on the lights. I tried lighting both sides evenly, but it was not producing the dramatic lighting I was expecting. Using snoot lights did not work either, because they focused the light too much. Then, I realized the hard light on the glossy figures was leaving crisp highlights that I did not want in the photo.

To resolve this obstacle, I switched the snoot lights back to reflectors, put diffusers in front of them, and moved the lights about a foot away from the diffusers to soften them. I also placed a speed light to shine behind the subjects as if the lights from the star destroyer in the background were shining on the figures.

Work in Progress

Lighting Diagrams and Behind the Scenes

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

Challenges and Solutions

This was the hardest shot of the series because I was trying to replicate light from a nighttime scene. Originally, my plan was to place a reflector light behind the subjects to copy the Bat Signal light. But the glossy surface of the subjects were leaving crisp highlights I did not like. Then, to fill in the dark shadows of the figures, I placed a reflector with a diffuser on the left side of the image, and a speedlight with a grid to focus the light on the right. Unfortunately, it was not highlighting the detail of the main Batman figure I wanted, and the background was too bright for this scene.

My first solution was replacing the reflector behind the figures with a softbox. For the Batman figure, I placed the reflector and diffuser on the right side of the image, and the speedlight on the left side. I also placed a light blocker to the side of the speedlight to prevent it from shining in the background. Finally, I slightly increased the shutter speed to dim the brightness on the background, because of this, I had to brighten the lights shining on the subjects so they would not become dark.

Work in Progress