kramski

Wicked

Seduction, temptation and on the flipside: An apple a day .................

Seduction, temptation and on the flipside: An apple a day .................
Read less

NIKON D7100

settings

Aperture 8/1 ISO 100 Shutter 1/60 Focal Length 40/1

upload_date

Sep, 2018

Views

Likes

Awards

2020 Choice Award

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this picture on my desk! it's such a small item it's really one of those shots that you can set up on the fly anywhere. I had a lot of fun with this picture

Time

I deliberately shot this image late at night in very soft ambient lighting so I could see in real time how changing my lighting position affected the overall image

Lighting

it's just an apple but lighting was key, I used an off camera flash as a key light which I bounced off a piece of A4 paper that I hand held above the subject. To stop it from looking too flat and bring out the 3rd dimension a little, I added a softer fill light from a mini mag lite just out of frame on the right, this also helped to soften the shadows.

Equipment

Taking pictures like this is great, there are so many ways you can implement a shot like this, the subject is small and doesn't require much room! My Camera of choice here was a Nikon D7100 with a Nikon Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G, Mounted on a tripod. Key light was a Nikon SB700 flash and Fill light was provided by a Mini Mag Lite. For the background I used a matt black piece of A4 card that I bent into a gentle infinity curve which I had taped to the wall. My subject actually kept it from losing it's shape!

Inspiration

Well the apple is responsible in part for the downfall of humankind ( figuratively speaking of course! ) and yet............. an apple a day keeps the doctor away! ........ How can you not want to photograph something so cliched? ...........It's duality is so very inspiring, how to capture it's dark side with it's sweet side?, The want, the need.......... to have it, the taste of something so forbidden yet so sweet and delicious? .......... hopefully I got it right!

Editing

I like to keep the post production work to an absolute minimum, it's really not something I enjoy! I shoot in raw so just some very basic, lowlight, brightness and contrast corrections and that's it!

In my camera bag

It changes according to my needs. A Nikon D7100 is my main camera, I use a manual focus 80-200mm f4 lens from the early 80's for my telephoto shots, the build quality on those vintage lenses is superior to modern day types, I love the all in on barrel zoom and focus it's also crisp with beautiful bokeh, I have a much loved Sigma 18-70mm f2.8. A Fuji X-M1 and a just recently purchased XT-100 are my secondary cameras together with a Nikon adpator these combinations produce interesting and often unique images, I have a good collection of glass, so I like to plan my shoot and take just the essentials!

Feedback

Shooting smaller subjects is really enjoyable, the entire setup is doable in a small space, requiring no studio, special lighting or fancy equipment! More than anything it requires out of the box thinking and usually stuff that's laying around will help do the job! lighting is key, it'll transform your subject from just ordinary to wow! use a flashlight, a desk lamp with a piece of paper as a reflector or even a different colour paper to add a colour cast. the possibilities are limitless don't be afraid to experiment!

See more amazing photos, follow kramski

kramski

kramski

Wicked

Seduction, temptation and on the flipside: An apple a day .................

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow kramski

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.