Still Life Commercial Photography in Studio Ramen Shoot
Shot by Leilani Tran Using CaptureOne in a studio to tether Camera (Mar 2024)
When developing the concept for this still life’s setting, I was deciding between a
kitchen scene or a traditional oriental environment. Looking at the props I had access to, with all things considered, a kitchen scene was most effective for me to be able to have some creative liberties as far as the overall set up goes. I first noticed the red peppers on the logo, this immediately made me think to include peppers in the shot, giving the idea that the peppers were just sealed into the ramen when placed next to them. For the surrounding environment I utilized a lot of props from my own kitchen drawing inspiration from traditional Asian cooking utensils. The green onions and teapot were added because they compliment the reds present in the chili peppers. For actual shot composition and lighting choices, the hardest part was being able to achieve focus on the noodles whilst not drawing too much attention to the rest of the shot. I knew I wanted the background to look darker than the cutting board area. To keep control of my shot I first took a shot that was almost black, lowering the aperture to compensate for the rest of the light in the room. This way I was able to precisely control the amount of light entering my camera. First I used a soft box on one light coming from the left side to create ambient light. Once I was happy with the amount of light hitting the scene itself I added another light, this time with a snoot modifier. This helped me create a spotlight effect on the noodles to add emphasis to the product being advertised in the image. Once the lighting was the way I needed I was able to play with the position of the camera and surrounding props. I chose to go with a slightly elevated position to add depth to the photo and to be able to see inside the bowl and cup. I chose to place the props around the ramen to create hierarchy in the image and direct the audience’s eye towards the product. The final Camera settings I ended on was, an aperture of f/16, and focal length of 62mm.
kitchen scene or a traditional oriental environment. Looking at the props I had access to, with all things considered, a kitchen scene was most effective for me to be able to have some creative liberties as far as the overall set up goes. I first noticed the red peppers on the logo, this immediately made me think to include peppers in the shot, giving the idea that the peppers were just sealed into the ramen when placed next to them. For the surrounding environment I utilized a lot of props from my own kitchen drawing inspiration from traditional Asian cooking utensils. The green onions and teapot were added because they compliment the reds present in the chili peppers. For actual shot composition and lighting choices, the hardest part was being able to achieve focus on the noodles whilst not drawing too much attention to the rest of the shot. I knew I wanted the background to look darker than the cutting board area. To keep control of my shot I first took a shot that was almost black, lowering the aperture to compensate for the rest of the light in the room. This way I was able to precisely control the amount of light entering my camera. First I used a soft box on one light coming from the left side to create ambient light. Once I was happy with the amount of light hitting the scene itself I added another light, this time with a snoot modifier. This helped me create a spotlight effect on the noodles to add emphasis to the product being advertised in the image. Once the lighting was the way I needed I was able to play with the position of the camera and surrounding props. I chose to go with a slightly elevated position to add depth to the photo and to be able to see inside the bowl and cup. I chose to place the props around the ramen to create hierarchy in the image and direct the audience’s eye towards the product. The final Camera settings I ended on was, an aperture of f/16, and focal length of 62mm.
Diagrams
