Photographing a Stainless steel Kitchen

[strawbs77]

Hi everyone,

I have been asked if I would be willing to photograph a stainless steel commercial kitchen.

Here are some current pics of it (not taken by me)

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?i...d=302033595373

Can anyone please give me some hints and tips about the best way to approach this? I just don't know where to start.

[David]

Hi Strawbs77 - Colin Southern and GUI are the two guys I know on this site who do this sort of thing, and do it very well. Perhaps they'll chip in. My approach would be via HDR imaging to get a good tonal range. There are plenty of posts re HDR imaging here and else where. The other two points that I would look out for are getting the white balance correct and not having flash reflections and shadows in the images. So bounce flash with a diffuser, and shot in RAW format to easily alter white balance.

Just some ideas.

Cheers

David

[Colin Southern]

Hi Cherie,

Personally, I wouldn't worry about HDR - there's nothing in the scene that looks like it can't be captured in a single exposure. Lighting is critical though; what lighting equipment do you have access to?

You'll need a fairly wide-angle lens - and a tripod (you'll need to shoot stopped down to get the right depth of field). Turn on all the lights and try to shoot it when the most natural light is in there - apart from that, you'll need to use flashes and or hot lights which is where the fun will start

Definately shoot RAW - and set aside as much time as you can to experiment on the day.

[Shadowman]

Kohler has done some interesting ideas with kitchen accessories. Try kohler.com to get a few ideas but go with your own ideas after you have seen what is out there. Remember, it is the client who is paying for the job.

[carregwen]

Could be worse - they could have asked you to do the cooking

Avoid direct flash - use a diffuser or bounce. You could try a polarizer to reduce any reflective glare from the steel surfaces. The shots may look a little bland with large areas of steel, so introduce some splashes of vibrant colour such as bright coloured cookware for contrast. God! I'm beginning to sound like a kitchen designer

You could try something freaky as well - like this...

[Colin Southern]

introduce some splashes of vibrant colour such as bright coloured cookware for contrast.

Or perhaps some colourful food?

[carregwen]

Or perhaps some colourful food?

Sorry, Colin, I just added a shot. I think you missed it.