Photographer- Darrin Jenkins
Website: https://www.dj-photo.com
He is a lifestyle and still-life photographer and shoot products, food and people. He enjoys the process of creating inventive beautifully lit images from diverse briefs, love to create moods, enhance form, and also produce provocative and tempting images. His photographs have been commissioned by both small companies as well as large international corporations, the images have appeared in the national press and numerous outdoor advertising campaigns, including 48 and 96 sheet posters, cross rail advertising in the London Underground and front of packaging for well known consumer brands. Also my animations have been used for global digital campaigns. He collaborates with a wide range of specialists to develop creative concepts. His clients include Virgin, Sony, Hilton and more.
I wanted to explore Jerkins' work as he has worked with various billboard sizes. I chose to look at these images because of the use of water and the lighting used to photograph glass. The first image is advertising Fruit beer. Bright summer colours have been used to compliment the concept of the photoshoot. People usually drink beer in the summer as it cold and refreshing in the hot weather. This billboard was probably put up near the summer to persuade the viewer to buy the beer as that is when most people would want to buy it. The yellow can is emphasised against the blue pool showing that it's the product they are selling. The pool with the ripples makes the drink appear refreshing and it also give people an idea of a location where they can enjoy the drink. The green leaves build up the composition and compliment the yellow colour of the can. The splash around the can brings the background and product shot together as it looks as if it is coming from the pool. I really like the lighting as you can clearly see the background as well as the shape and logo of the drink. I was drawn to the second image as it is set in a bar which is where people are most likely to buy Jack Daniels. You can tell that the glass has been lit from the back a you can see the light coming in from the sides of the glass. The substance is also illuminated which entices the viewer to buy the drink. The Ice cubes are used to make the drink look cool and refreshing. The background of the image contains out of focus alcohol bottles which goes with the bar setting as well as making sure that the glass and the bottle is still the main focus. The bottle of Jack Daniels is coming in the composition from the side and is pouring the drink into the glass which shows the whole scene in action. Overall, I think Jenkins photographs drinks well as he always lights the glass from behind and he always makes sure the photoshoots have a strong concept to temp the viewer. I am inspired by the lighting styles of these photoshoots as I am photographing perfume for my billboard and I wanted to find out more about lighting glass.
Moving image:
These are some gifs from Jenkins' website. The first one is advertising a perfume. The bottle is kept still as the water moves creating ripples around the perfume. The ripples draw our attention the the perfume bottle in the middle of the composition. The stones below the water show various tones and creates depth within the background. The use of water in this gif gives the photoshoot a calm and peaceful feel as if it is near a waterfall. The second gif is for Jack Daniels. The glass is still and is illuminated to draw attention to the substance. The lighting in the background moves over the logo showing us what the brand of the drink is but also gives the viewer time to look at the glass. The use of the spotlight against the dark background makes the setting look exciting for the viewer. I wanted to look at the gifs to see the use of movement in the moving images. The use of movement helps set the scene of the adverts as well as the concept.
