Shabbat Shalom Sushi: Behind The Scenes
It turns out that getting Sushi to stand atop a candlestick isn't as easy as it sounds. It kept falling over; obviously, it needed support.
But I digress. After a morning of photographing the latest creations at Sushiana, a unique Kosher Sushi restaurant in Highland Park, NJ, I took home something called the Chanukah Roll, with the intention of doing something interesting, a bit silly, but certainly seasonal with it.
Walking into my house with the Chanukah Roll, something caught my attention: our brass candlesticks, used for lighting the candles before the Jewish Sabbath every Friday at sundown. The wheels started turning. Yes, I would do the Chanukah-related photo, but wouldn't it be cool to create an image that would get peoples' attention year round? Hmmm...
And so I set about the task of sticking the sushi, with its candle-shaped design, into the candlesticks. They refused to stay still. And so I tapped into my inner MacGuyver and found a solution, using toothpicks and rolled up gaffer tape (we photographers loooove gaffer tape!) to prop up the recalcitrant raw fish rolls.
I set up a black backdrop, two flashes, one front and one as a side/backlight, with orange gel, and got to work. I roped my daughter into "lighting" the candles. First, we tried it all in one shot but because the matches were short and burned fast, we didn't really have much time to do it right.
So, I decided to shoot my daughter's hand holding a lit candle and the sushi/candles separately, then, using a technique I learned from Gavin Hoey, would put them together in Photoshop. I used the unsuccessful all-in-one images to guide me as far as making sure the hand was the right size in relation to the candles.
A bit of fine-tuning in Photoshop, and the rest is history. Check out the end result here!
If you REALLY like this photo, You can also purchase a print at Fine Art America.
But I digress. After a morning of photographing the latest creations at Sushiana, a unique Kosher Sushi restaurant in Highland Park, NJ, I took home something called the Chanukah Roll, with the intention of doing something interesting, a bit silly, but certainly seasonal with it.
Walking into my house with the Chanukah Roll, something caught my attention: our brass candlesticks, used for lighting the candles before the Jewish Sabbath every Friday at sundown. The wheels started turning. Yes, I would do the Chanukah-related photo, but wouldn't it be cool to create an image that would get peoples' attention year round? Hmmm...
And so I set about the task of sticking the sushi, with its candle-shaped design, into the candlesticks. They refused to stay still. And so I tapped into my inner MacGuyver and found a solution, using toothpicks and rolled up gaffer tape (we photographers loooove gaffer tape!) to prop up the recalcitrant raw fish rolls.
So, I decided to shoot my daughter's hand holding a lit candle and the sushi/candles separately, then, using a technique I learned from Gavin Hoey, would put them together in Photoshop. I used the unsuccessful all-in-one images to guide me as far as making sure the hand was the right size in relation to the candles.
If you REALLY like this photo, You can also purchase a print at Fine Art America.
I really like the hand with the match. Nice job and explanation, Mason. Do you have back drops in a variety of colors?
ReplyDeleteHi Leora! I have a white and black background, and have a rainbow of colored gels so I can basically light the white background to be any color.
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