Up until now all product photography had been handled in-house so it was quite the compliment that when it came to getting images for the companies newest line of products, company Director, Geoff Merrigan came to me to get the job done.
The brief was “premium feel”, “quality”, “exclusive”, to visually elevate the new line above the existing products. I knew from the images that I had worked with for Tellurium Q before that there was an easy way to set the new images apart. To use a totally different approach to the photography setup.
I chose to shoot the new products on black apposed to the traditional white light-box setup that had been used before. The second change was to shoot the products on top of a reflective surface. This would introduce extra symmetry to the final images that would work well with the products. Cables don’t make for the most interesting subject matter but they do have an inherent linear quality to them that can be moulded to form pleasing shapes. When coupled with the reflective surface the visual effect was quite striking. Suddenly, The raw materials for creating more interesting images was there. However, it wasn’t that simple. The introduction of a reflective stage introduced challenges. Lights above the products introduced unwanted reflections that had to be removed or avoided so careful placement of lights become more important than ever.
It was possible in most cases to shoot the products at favourable angles that worked without the need to manipulate the scene in Photoshop but in some cases a bit of digital trickery was required. Post process for these images was about highlighting the desired sections of an image, controlling the light in a scene and where it was brightest and darkest. I separated the foreground from the background in order to achieve that level of control.
The end results were well worth the effort and the chore made that much easier by Tellurium Q’s very own Ben Merrigan. It seems Tellurium Q make cups of tea as well as they make hi-end audio equipment, which is very well indeed.
The completed website with a responsive design for mobile devices and A5 flyer with Matt laminate 350gsm cover, Spot UV, inside 250gsm paper.
