Bread and butter

While the recent holiday season has been very reasonable on my side from an eating perspective, this period of the year is always a feast for the eyes. Needless to say it's a also a source of opportunities for us photographers to grab some good shots.

But sometimes we do this simply to put some bread on the table. Or butter on the bread as they say. That's what we do as part of our job as commercial photographers. I produced the following pictures over a period of 2 years while shooting several sessions for an international bakery company in Canada. They needed pictures for packaging, brochures, catalogs and website purposes.

There's a lot to discuss with the client before you go into this kind of contract, but in the end it's always satisfying to see the final product on the shelf, with your shots printed on the wrap or box. I've been through tense and stressful session, while others were just plain cool. It always depends on the client, their deadline and attitude under stress.

For most of the shots I used a 2 strobe setup, with softboxes and a couple white card board for reflexion. Sometimes just flash and umbrella. Having a chef around for setting up the plates is always handy, and so is the importance of perfectly cleaning the plates. At this range, anything is visible. Good lenses, good cameras and a good eye are all necessary.

The good news is you can come up with a great shot with a simple setup anywhere in the house. Simplicity is key. Pay attention to details and have fun!

You can see the whole picture set on my website here.

Good light!

Norm

© Normand Primeau