This is the third installment of our SPECIAL ISSUE project. As mentioned previously, we hope to carry on with a new magazine cover 'study' each month. The topic must be timely and unique and of course, it has to be a challenge! The challenge this month was a mix of planning, logistics and styling.
The options for this cover were limited. I had decided in advance that I wanted a cake....but it was the cake we were eating, not the cake I was making for a photoshoot. For this cover-photo, the cake was cut and ready to be served to hungry guests...the lighting was rotten and the cake's middle ice cream layer was threatening to melt. In short, there was not time for styling or planning the 'shot' needed except to make sure there was something that could be used for this purpose. I had about 4 minutes and only one chance and time to dash off a few quick shots of the cake uncut, cut, and some of the slice, the cake and the slice....you get the picture. Photojournalism meets food-styling.
The basic layout was already set (based on the cover studies) and I wanted a quick turnaround and the pressure of a deadline. The cake was devoured immediately after the photos were taken but for a few chocolately crumbs; the chance to re-shoot has passed. From a dozen or so images this one worked the best. Others were better photos but with the layout, this was the most suitable.
For any photoshoot it is so important to have the final product in mind. If the final product is not yet known, you really have to be sure to cover your bases: get landscape and portrait shots that you love, pay attention to details, and commit to using photos in their most 'natural' state. Photoshop can do magic but the best photos are ones that are very carefully composed, where the photographer has done everything with the camera to get it press ready with just a few touchups - or ideally, none at all.
The photographer must pay attention to all the technical details as well as the aesthetic. They must compose an image that draws attention away from the things they can't change. This is as true for a cake as it is for a person....it's easier to sweep up a stray crumb (for the cake) or brush a few unruly hairs (for the person) than is it so try to 'clean up' a messy photo after the fact. And truth be told, if I've extensively photoshopped an image of my own, I rarely like the final product. Technically it could look just fine but as the photographer I'll know the things that were corrected, covered up, wiped away... changed.
I remain committed to the advice given by photographer Michael Wang: take a good photo....don't crop, don't photoshop...just take a good photo. And in his memory, I carry on. I also can't leave things well enough alone, so I went back to the remaining slices this morning and put together this 'staged' and 'styled' version of the same magazine. Same project but a totally different challenge.
