Pro-Photographer Guide

Putting heart and soul

into product photography
with Paloma Rincón

© Paloma Rincón
Introduction
Why read a guide about
product photography with
a heart and soul?
Historically, product photography has been artistically pleasing, to present a product
perceived as a rather rigid specialty that is accurately while also eliciting an emotional
primarily concerned with showing a product response from the audience.
in the most accurate way possible. Pixels and But mastering this balance will benefit your
lighting matter, but not much else. However, work even beyond the happy clients – it will
consumer buying habits are drastically change your approach to photography.
changing along with technology, and how
commercial brands present their products is Don’t think this guide is only intended for
now more important than ever. product photographers. As a subgenre
of still life photography, creative product
In order to stand out among thousands of brands photography sits at the sweet spot between
we’re exposed to every day, a product shot commercial photography and fine art. This
needs to be creative and provocative. It needs intersection of genres makes it a fertile ground
to evoke emotion or tell a compelling story. for experimentation and innovation, giving
It’s not easy to create product photography any type of photographer endless possibilities
that’s both technically outstanding and to develop their craft.

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Acapulco pink / personal project
Bringing together passion
and purpose
Even just a quick look through Paloma’s Paloma Rincón honed a unique style as a
portfolio will make it clear why she’s the product and advertising photographer. Her
perfect mentor for this photography guide. graphic, colorful and crafty artistic vision has
With a lifelong passion for painting and helped many brands stand out, including Coca
handcrafting, and with combined studies in Cola, Sonos, Nestea, Absolut Vodka, Ford,
audiovisual communication, arts and design, Architectural Digest, and Swatch Watches.

Client: Absolut Vodka

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In this guide, you’ll learn about:
• Producing creative product photography from concept to final image
• Bringing passion and emotion to a product shoot
• Highlighting a product’s commercial benefits through an artistic concept
• Photographing different types of objects
• Combining skills from fine art and commercial photography
to build visually striking compositions

Client: Phase One XT Camera System

Through this guide, you’ll gain insight into learn some of the photographic techniques
Paloma’s highly creative approach to product she’s applied in her work. You’ll follow one
photography and get inspired by her ability particular project from initial concept to
to turn any regular product shoot into a final shots, including Paloma’s conceptual
visually striking art project. sketches and video footage from the set.
It’s a product shoot Phase One did together
You’ll go through some of her projects, follow with Paloma for our new XT Camera System.
her creative process and workflow, and

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Creative concept
Turning commerce into art
Hi, I’m Paloma. I’m a still life photographer search for new, exciting materials, treatments
with a thing for quirky graphical compositions or other creative displays.
and explosions of color.
This combined perspective comes in handy
Since I was very young, I’ve been into when shooting products for a brand. Usually,
handicraft, painting and arts in general. I the concept for a product shoot doesn’t
studied audiovisual communication and am start in a photographer’s imagination, but in
passionate about design. All these interests a client’s brief with specific communication
have shaped my perspective and led to the requirements. Turning commercial objectives
career I have today. I have a technical side, into a creative composition can be tricky,
more closely related to pure photographic because you need to balance what your client
disciplines, and an artistic side, which combines needs with what their audience wants to see,
my love for traditional crafts and my endless what gets their attention. And all this while
also managing to express your own creative
vision through the project.

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 Saturated Fat / Client: Revista Moi

Understanding your client

Often, the client doesn’t know how to explain build a framework for idea generation. Setting
what they want from the product shoot. some limits is helpful in boosting the right
Sometimes, when there’s an advertising agency ideas to come to life. Even if these limits don’t
involved, they’re in charge of translating client come in the shape of client requirements, I
needs into a creative concept. Take advantage set them myself, e.g. a type of light I decide
of that work as a team to bring the right to use, certain materials, anything that keeps
creative vision to light in a coherent way. me grounded and focused.

Clients sometimes reach out because they Showcasing product assets

want to see my specific visual approach in their I never get to work before establishing what
communication. That’s great news for me as an story the client wants to tell about their
artist, but having a very wide brief can also lead product. If it’s a new product, what’s the first
to unclear goals or misunderstandings. In such thing people should know about it? What
case, the first thing I do is ask them which of my product features should the visuals highlight?
projects got their attention. Then I ask for a set What should people feel when they look at
of references that will translate their subjective the images? What should the images make
appreciation into something tangible and them do? All these questions help me build
understandable, i.e. a mood board. That’s how I the visual universe for the shoot.

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Case study: Phase One XT
Camera System photo shoot
For this project, the brief mentioned that highlight was the lightness of the camera,
the visuals should convey the type of since this was something the audience might
environment where you’d naturally find the not be aware of, especially if people were
camera being used: outdoors, in nature, in familiar with the full frame medium format
the wilderness. The feature we needed to cameras that came before it.

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Working with mood boards
The mood board for the project featured natural, raw materials
such as rock, wood, and vegetation. That’s where the inspiration
for the art direction came, along with the idea of positioning the
camera in simulated, abstract landscapes with natural textures.

Playing with scale

By building the simulated landscapes on set, we would be able to
manipulate the scale of the compositions and play off the lightness
of the camera against the heaviness of the rocky surroundings.

1. Colored light 3. Creeper around

gradient background selected parts of the
camera embracing it

2. Dense vegetation 4. Sculpted stone

(for the base)

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Case study: KaDeWe project

Client: KaDeWe

Staying away from clichés

These images of cheese for KaDeWe cheese as a building material. To create this,
magazine and in-store displays were a very I had to forget for a second about the main
fun project. I had complete freedom to create purpose of cheese – food to eat – and focus
the series, with the only request being to instead on its shape, color and texture.
use certain colors and materials in the sets. I
wanted to use this as an occasion to do food Tip: Think about unexpected ways to
photography that doesn’t look the way you’d present a product. If you have a shape and
expect food photography to look. I created a function, try to divide these two attributes
these art-inspired compositions using the and develop ideas just following one of them.

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 Client: KaDeWe

Pitching to big brands

The most important thing when you’re are a good representation of you, than client
trying to get the attention of big brands work - even for well-known brands - that does
or advertising agencies is to have a strong not represent what you want to do.
portfolio. The more personal and original your
portfolio is, the more likely it is that you’ll be Tip: Build a portfolio with the kind of work
commissioned for a project that’s close to you want to be contacted to do. If you
your style. A strong portfolio is not necessarily don´t have enough commissioned work,
made out of projects for big brands, but out devote some time to personal projects. It
of good work, no matter who the client is or might seem counterproductive, but in the
if it´s published work or not. It is better to long run your personal work will help you
show personal and/or editorial projects that tremendously in building the kind of career
you want for yourself.
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Set design
Playing with perspective
Most of my projects get developed in a the brand come from. The agency came up
studio setting and involve building entire with the idea of featuring a recognizable
scenes from scratch, even when they are Madrid landmark - its best-known park. So
recreating a real landscape. For the campaign my job was to find the best way to design
I created for Fontestad, for example, the the set into its own universe, and put the
brief was to connect Madrid – where the product at its center. We ended up building
campaign was going to be launched, and a mock-up of the Retiro Park pond and
the Mediterranean – where the oranges and hand-painting tiny figurines.

Agency: ARG / Client: Fontestad

 Acapulco blue / personal project

When I want to use direct sunlight, I shoot I used natural summer sunlight to shoot
on location. As it’s the hardest existing these images. As the most powerful and
source of light, I like using it mainly for furthest away light source we can have, it
personal projects where I can be more delivers the best results when seeking hard
flexible and adapt to its changing nature. shadows.
For example, Acapulco was a self-initiated
project prompted by my own childhood When using natural light, I have to work
memories. I grew up in Mexico, so the around the sun position, either shooting
aesthetic of these visuals was inspired by at the central daytime hours for shorter
the sunny days I spent on the Mexican shadows or when the sun is lower for longer
coast, as well as by late 80s and early 90s shadows. It is important to account for the
vacation souvenir graphics. shadows in your composition, as they will
have a lot of visibility in the image.
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The importance of sketching
Because I usually shoot scenes that are At this stage, it’s important to define a
completely constructed, it is very important framework for my set design in a way that will
for me to sketch the compositions from not limit my freedom for improvisation later
the get-go. This helps me visualize what I in the process. No matter what idea I have
have in my mind and figure out whether it’s in my mind, when it all starts to materialize
realistic or not. It also makes it easy to break I’ll have to take into account budgets, timing,
down all the elements we’ll need to build and resources, and adapt my vision.
the set. If I’m doing client work, sketches
are crucial in getting concept approvals and Tip: Being flexible and open to adapt is
avoiding wasting time and money for work absolutely crucial in a product shoot – or any
that will end up being scrapped. Sketches shoot that involves many moving elements
don’t always have to be great drawings or you don’t fully control. If you panic when
realistic compositions. What matters is that something isn’t going according to the plan,
whoever needs to see them understands the your creative thinking will get suppressed and
vision they’re trying to translate. you’ll just freeze in the middle of the shoot
without knowing how to move forward.

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Case study: Phase One XT
Camera System photo shoot
The material references in the mood board We agreed on a color palette and Niklas
were the starting point of our conversation Hansen, the set designer we worked with,
with the set designer for the Phase One started looking for realistic options for
XT shoot. We wanted to shoot the camera materials and textures. That’s how we came up
from 3 angles, so we decided to build 3 with the visual universe for the compositions.
different sets - one for each scene.

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Drawing attention – case study:
Mexican Pink
It’s getting harder than ever to produce product photography
that not only presents a product in an appealing way, but stops
people in their tracks. As consumers, we’re scrolling and walking
past countless product ads, barely noticing what’s in them anymore.
So for a still image to get our attention, it needs to really stand
out. My way of making a still stand out is by mixing in elements
that one wouldn’t normally expect to see together. I frequently
modify, paint or compose my images in unexpected ways, which
is where my love for handcrafts gets mixed with photography.
I always try out new techniques, and my personal projects are
usually my playground for these kind of tests and exploration.
The Mexican Pink project is such an example.

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 Mexican Pink / OFFF Festival CDMX

In this image, I wanted to deconstruct the I used a transparent acetate to be able to

colors a Sarape (a typical Mexican shawl) have the paint dripping in the right position
has. I wanted it to look as if the color was and shape so that I could integrate where it
changing into paint and beginning to drip. connects afterwards in Photoshop.
Stimulating the senses
– case study: Let’s Gooey
In another personal project called Let´s with other textures that feel very tactile, so
Gooey, I used different aesthetic languages the visuals activate several senses at the
to create unexpected compositions. I same time. Suddenly you realize you’ve been
worked on a very small scale with a lot of staring at them for two minutes and you
detail (150MP!), so the textures are at the don’t know why. That’s the reaction I was
center of attention. I mixed dripping bits going for. It’s a technique I frequently use
commonly used in food photography to in my images. A visual game in which I take
make the image mouthwatering and tasty, cues from one kind of sensory stimuli and
use it in an unexpected way.

Let´s Gooey! / personal project

Equipment
& workflow
Paloma’s favorite equipment
Most of the time, I use a Phase One XF IQ4 150MP with a
Schneider Kreuznach 80mm lens or Schneider Kreuznach 120mm
macro lens, and a very steady tripod. I love heavy Cambo-style
studio tripods. My favorite tripod head is Manfrotto 405.

For me, it’s crucial to be able to shoot tethered, and I love the
Live View feature of the Phase One connected to Capture One
during the shoot. I work with a lot of detail, and part of composing
a scene is done on the spot. It makes my workflow so much
easier to be able to see on the computer screen how I’m framing
an image, to have access to live file quality information such
as the RAW histogram, and to get the focus right and adjust
exposure – all prior to capture.

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 Client: Phase One XF Camera System

Playing with light

The type of lights I use depends on the composition and the
look and feel I want to achieve. I love hard lights, but they only
work for some kinds of compositions - ones that are simple and
don´t have many layers that could make the shadows distracting
or messy. They work when the subject I’m photographing is very
close to the background, and when having a hard deep shadow
is not distracting but instead adds a graphic touch. These lights
make colors appear bright and shiny.

For more complex compositions, or products that are more

difficult to photograph because of their shape, texture, reflections
etc., I use directed lights that I can control in a more precise way.

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Case study: Phase One XT
Camera System photo shoot
Because I was working with a non-chromed to the camera to create some volume and
metal surface (the camera), I wanted to direction. Then I added dedolights - small
highlight the object’s shapes with lights set Fresnel lights to point to different areas of
at angles that created smooth gradients and the product that we wanted to highlight.
interesting volumes. As a base, I used an For the reflections in both lens and display I
environment light to create ambience - a grid used reflectors - a white one for the lens and
a black one for the screen.

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Client: Phase One XT Camera System
High-speed photography
– case study: Broken Heart
Two pieces of equipment are essential when shooting high speed:
• Very fast flashlights that can freeze the movement

• A sensor that can trigger the shutter at a certain point based

on, for example, a sound or a laser beam among other options.
This is very helpful for time lapses as well.

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Broken Heart / Madrid Photo Fest
Post-production:
Composing a product shot
I often prefer composing rather than heavily retouching an image.
That means that I shoot different plates of the same scene with
small variations in lights, exposures, background colors, etc. and
then combine assets from the various plates in post-production.

For the Phase One XT images, I also shot some plates for extra
background surface to be used in different types of extreme
formats, such as a very tall crop (for a roll-up) or a very wide
crop (for a web banner). These considerations are good to have
in mind during a product shoot, because most clients will want
to have maximum flexibility in using the final images, even if they
might not know from the very beginning all the scenarios in which
they’ll use them.

Client: Phase One XT Camera System

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Conclusion
Still life and product photography can be creative and fun.
It’s not an antiquated and boring genre as many people
think at first. It’s full of possibilities. If you’re up for a lot of
experimentation in your photography, still life photography
is your best playground. I, for one, poured into this genre
all my passion for arts, and throughout the years found it
to be a rewarding medium.

I hope that after going through these pages you feel

motivated to experiment more in your photography, and
to strive for that elusive balance between technically
outstanding imagery and eye-catching, inspiring visuals.

In a world where every day and everywhere we look we are

bombarded with thousands of images, let’s try to create more
of the ones that are worth stopping people in their tracks.

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 Shot on the
XF Camera System
Learn more at www.phaseone.com/XF

© wv One 2020. All rights reserved. February 2020, content is subject to change without notice.
For more information,
please visit
www.phaseone.com

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