The day after Pie Day 2022. I decided to do a little different post for Pie Day and show the aftermath.
Tag: Photography
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Product Photography Silos
When most people think of product shots, they think of a silhouetted product on a white background. Some people call these silos. We called them C.O.B., cut-out background, at the agency I worked for 15 years. For e-commerce applications, these work fine. But they don’t be that way. Here are three examples of how you could present your product. I used this beer can from New Province Brewing Co. because I love their label design.
The first photo is pretty much straight out of the camera. I lit the can and the background to be popped right onto the website with minimal retouching. This is a good option if you have items that would be hard to C.O.B. However, in most cases, you will have more versatility if you C.O.B. your product.
I C.O.B.ed the can in the second photo, made a fake curved background, and added a shadowed and reduced natural reflection. This is usually the best option because you control the background color.
In the third photo, I took the same can photo and spiced up the background by replicating the label design. Again, with a little more work, the results can be very eye-catching.
Companies have a greater need for quality photography, from websites to social media to print. So give me a call if you want your products to stand out from the rest. -
Granny’s Cookbook – Pancakes
As a kid, we loved my granny’s pancakes. It could have been how she cooked them, the fact that she buttered each pancake in the stack, the fact that she cut them up for us, or all the syrup we would pour on them. We loved them so much that early one Saturday morning, at the age of 8 and 5, my brother and I called her up and asked for her recipe so Mom could cook them.
When I made them, I realized how few ingredients were in her recipe. No butter, no baking soda, and a lot less sugar than the recipe I’ve been using. I’ve wondered if her recipes don’t include certain items because of the time period she grew up in.The first photo is her recipe, and the second is the one I use. The main difference is I add butter, baking soda, and more sugar. Below is the recipe as it appears in her cookbook.
GRANNY’S PANCAKES
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour
Mix all the ingredients together and add flour until mixture is thick enough to pour into hot skillet and hold shape of pancakes. Cook until bubbles form on top of pancakes. Then flip and cook on the other side. -
The Twelve Posts of Christmas
Over the Holiday, I was having trouble coming up with a photo for Christmas. Then Kate suggested I do twelve Christmas posts. This was, of course, a much better idea. I was trying to create one photo that encompassed the whole Christmas experience, which is nearly impossible. But a series could focus on the different aspects of the Holiday. Much easier. I hope you had a fantastic holiday season.
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To dress or not to dress.
People have different opinions about how they like their beer. But I’m not talking about the taste; I’m talking about the way it looks.
I know people who prefer to have a soft, gradient highlight on their bottles. A few others prefer a nice hard highlight. Then there are the beer bottles that are fully dressed with ice and water droplets. It gives the beer that ice-cold look. Me? I think there are good things about all of them. I used to like a softer highlight, but lately, I love that sharp highlight. It looks so crisp and clean. And there is nothing quite as nice as a beer bottle dressed with ice and water droplets. But my favorite is when the shoot is over, and I can pop one open. Santé!
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Thanksgiving Pies
I’ve always believed that people who cook can be separated into two different groups, chefs or bakers. I enjoy cooking and grilling but when it comes down to it, I’m a baker and I think that is something that runs on my Mom’s side of the family. Most years we go to my hometown for Thanksgiving and my mom makes two to four pies. But this 2020 and nothing is normal. It was the year of staying at home, so we had Thanksgiving at our house which meant I was making the pies this year.
There are a few things I enjoy about baking. I enjoy following recipes and making sure I use the exact amounts that are called for in the recipe. I hate the phrase “a pinch of salt.” I also enjoy making my own crust. When I make crusts from scratch, I feel like I have a connection to my grandmothers. There wasn’t remade crust back then. I can remember sitting in my Granny’s kitchen while she was baking. She would make take the leftover crust and make little mini pies for us.
The recipe I used for my crust came from the Food Network. It makes a wonderful crust but the real reason I like it is you make it in the food processor. Just because I’m making it from scratch doesn’t mean I like to do it the hard way. I tried that, cutting in the butter with that weird knife thing, no thank you.
