Food shoot #2 cook book

Today was a location food shoot. There were two locations and there will be more to come. This is the second shoot for this cook book however while shooting the first we got caught on the beach in an absolute down pour and it will have to be reshot. Our first location today was historic sponge docks of Tarpon Springs FL. At one time this place was the sponge capitol of the world now it is a tourist destination. It is nearly like stepping into Greece. Much of the population speaks Greek as a first language even today. Truly as we arrived early around dawn we walked around to find some coffee. We stumbled into what can only be described as a social club. What I mean is there were many tables and several elderly Greek men. We asked about coffee and were told yes but only Greek coffee no American coffee. well as adventurous coffee lovers we said bring it on. What we were served was a very small cup filled with what looked like bubbly motor oil. As I finished my tiny cup of rocket fuel I found that the bottom was covered in a thick dirt like substance that was my unfiltered coffee grounds. We asked about breakfast but were told only coffee no food and were sent next store for a pastry that consisted of a large filo filled with feta. As far as I was concerned this was one of the best breakfasts in a long time. The second location was the back yard of a nice home on Tampa's Davis Island.
For this shoot the goal was really as much available light as we could muster. We did employ a large soft box to balance the table and background while shooting towards the sun on the sponge dock as well as a large white reflector. When shooting with our backs to the sun we used no strobes just a 6x6 gold and silver checked reflector. At the back yard location we had many more shots and employed a few different techniques. The large table shot in mid afternoon was all available light the result was vibrant but contrasty. We shot this a second time in late afternoon with mostly available light but with a beauty dish with a grid and a warming gel for a little kicker of light. we shot this twice strictly to give two options of mood lighting. Other shots were a grill shot, all available light, a drink shot, with a beauty dish from behind again with a grid and warming gel, a piece of key lime pie same lighting as the drinks, and a close up of a lobster with all available light.
GEAR:
Camera- Cannon 1Ds MK2 tethered to capture one pro
Lenses-50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, 24-70mm 2.8
Chimera large softbox
Profoto pro 7b power pack and light
profoto beauty dish w grid
warming gel
large white reflector
gold and silver checked reflector





the historic sponge docks

Sponge Boats

checking the light

set stylists and food stylists

the set

food stylist

styling

set stylist styling

shootin

shootin

the soft box and reflector as we shoot into the sun this is done to balance the fore ground and the background

shooting with sun behind using a reflector to kick a little light to lift the shadows and give the subject a little pop

shootin

set styling second location mid afternoon

stand in food

stand in food

hero food

a view of capture one pro showing our flaming grill shot.

testing lobster close up

better light and background

styling

second large table shot note the more even sunlight compared to the earlier shot.

great day
good times

Mar-a-Lago for Palm Beach Media Group

Today we shot at the world famous Mar-a-Lago. We shot fashion to run in they're exclusive magazine. Photographer Robert Adamo. Here are some production stills. forgive me as this is my first post, the pix came in reverse order.


your not shootin till you laying on the ground
models in high places with impossible heals

just chillin

stylist on the run

makeup standing by

just testing

art director reviewing shots as they come in

styling and art direction

yes that's a brand new Lamborghini just rolled of the truck

this is how they answer the door in Palm Beach

shootin shootin

the other side of the back of Rob's head

see he has a face. our photographer Mr. Adamo

the cables coming from the camera are a fire wire tether to the computer and power from the pack for the ring light.

shootin shootin

very windy

light sprinkling of rain sent us running for a tent. We took the opportunity to grab a few Beauty shots.

lots of wind rain threatening

art directer, hair and makeup, Rob, writer, and architectural photog.

Playin in the wind

if you look close Rob is in the lower corner doin tech scout.

so it was quite windy and dark clouds for most of the day. For this reason we decided to go with the profoto ring light and profoto beauty dish for lighting running off profoto pro 7b's as they are battery powered. We did need to scrim at one point for a tight beauty shot but fortunately the wind had died down by that point. we used just 6x6 foot scrim. We chose this set up because using soft boxes of any kind let alone the large ones Rob prefers is difficult if not dangerous in high wind. also when shooting on a large property with 8 to 10 shots in a day it's an easier to move set up.

Camera-Cannon 1ds mkII tethered to capture one pro.
Lenses-Cannon 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4

extra gear gas generator to keep all batteries charged.

Really the day went pretty smooth other than that little sprinkle. Nothin major to report. Fashion editor and art director were happy and fun was had by all

Introduction

Hello my name is Robert Kildoo.
I am a photographer and a freelance media production specialist. I have worked in many different jobs in the multimedia production field. Such as still photographer, video camera man, video asst, photo asst, sound, grip, asst directer, key set pa etc. This blog will serve as a discussion group for those in the business, particularly as it pertains to professional photo assistants and photographers. I will post mostly around shoot days, posting production stills, discussing challenges and how we solved them, as well as discussing the gear we chose, why and how. The types of shoots will be mostly commercial, fashion, environmental portraits, documentary, journalism and fine art. I have worked on shoots for such clients as Johnny Walker, Bonefish Grill, Sam Seltzers, Publix Supermarket, Celebrity Cruse line, The Atlantic Magazine, The New York Post, The St. Petersburg Times, Palm Beach Illustrated as well as feature films and high def commercials. Please join in the discussion, ask questions and if I can't answer them hopefully some one else can.