shooting for BVLGARI
Last month I was contacted by the art buyer at Bulgari in Rome to shoot some pictures of their new line of chocolate for a brochure to be distributed at the new Bulgari Cafe and Chocolatier in Tokyo. Needless to say, shooting directly for the brand requires more attention to the details than say, shooting for an editorial article about the chocolates. So, after many international phone calls talking to the art director, and trying to understand exactly what is required, I set up a studio in one of their conference rooms at the Tokyo office. I work mostly on location these days since letting go of my photo studio five years ago. Not having my own studio allows me to work more efficiently to get the most out of the location, so that's not too bad. And as you can see from the finished brochure above, I got the job done and the folks at Bulgari were very happy.
One of the interesting things I noted during this shoot is that, the chocolates look great to the eye but when it's blown up to 100% size on the computer, you see all kinds of mar and lint on the surface that needs to be cleaned up before you can say "yummy."
posted by yasooo at 4:22 PM
4 Comments:
Yasu,
Did you shoot the chocolate over the background or was that added later?
Just as a practical matter; when you tell an art buyer that you don't have a studio and you need to use their space - what is their reaction? Do they take you less seriously? Do you have to explain?
How did the art buyer find you? Do you place info in sourcebooks?
James
Hi James, the shot was made from 3 parts. The chocolate on a piece of raised glass, the gold back ground with shadow. and the gradated gold background. The art director wanted me to try to get it done in one shot if possible to reduce the post comp work, but that's impossible when you have a highly refelective gold surface which needs special attention to while trying to light for the chocolate w/ a shadow as well. I guess in the film days, it would've been a double exposure, but with digital you can layer it in. They didn't seem to mind that I didn't have a studio, as long as I got what they wanted done however it takes within the very limited time. I think I was more worried that the place might be difficult to shoot at. I took about twice as much equipment in my car than I actually used, but better to cover my ass than not. They found me through the web, and they took me seriously from the samples I showed them, so there was never any doubt in their mind about me pullling it off. If they didn't have a suitable shooting space, I probably would've found some other way.
Hi Yasu,
It's good to know that good work carries the day. It sounds like they had a very specific need that you delivered.
Now two more questions jump to mind, and one may be considered a taboo question, but please forgive my impertinence:
First, did they provide a food stylist?
Second, what is a photograph like that worth? Do they approach you with a budget or do you provide them with a quote?
James
One of the first things that came to my mind was the need for a food stylist since there was a pour shot where someone had to play around with the thickness of the chocolate to match the image on the layout. However, we were pressed for time (we shot during a holiday that fell on monday), and it was going to be hard to find someone on a short notice. Fortunately, I worked with the chef who made the chocolates, and he was an experienced man who can whip chocolate to any thickness. He was the person who personally designed the chocolates, so there was no need for a food stylist afterall.
I don't want to disclose prices here, but they had a budget which easily covered my dayrate. Although I'm happy to get paid more,I also don't believe in overcharging my clients. I just like to get paid a fair price for what I do, and I quoted what I thought is a decent price for a day's studio shooting on location plus extra hours in front of the computer for the post work. Plus, expenses for supply and parking. On the same token, I would've asked for more if the budget fell considerably lower than what I beleive is a fair price.
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