Dramatic Tomatoes

Three red tomatoes with garlic and a planter pot of fresh, live basil.

A case study in speculative advertising product photography.

Project Goals:

Premise - Create a series of styled product photographs depicting tomatoes in dramatic, moody lighting. Format the images for social media posts and stories as well as magazine and poster sized print ads. Leave negative space where appropriate for the addition of text.

Keywords - Dark, moody, wood, tomatoes, garlic, basil, earthy, warm, bold, classic, vintage, rustic, low-key, morning light

Scene Setup:

Props - Mahogany flooring planks laid out on a table top provided the working surface and set the overall dark and earthy mood. Black foam board flags were used in the background contributing to overall lighting control. A small planter of fresh basil provided complementary color contrast and interest in several scene setups. Additionally, a small wooden crate contributed an analogous color scheme and thematic element in a few scene setups. Garlic and onion was included in a few the scenes as thematic elements and to provide contrast. Otherwise it was simply a matter of arranging the produce in interesting ways.

Lighting - Vegetables are not particularly reflective so a simple two strobe lighting setup was used with minimal diffusion. The key light was configured to output relatively hard light and tinted with a CTO gel through a large rectangular softbox to simulate morning sunlight from a window. Placing the key light at an angle behind the scene to achieve short lighting put shadows out front for a dramatic look. The fill light, placed directly across from the key light, was configured for soft light, tinted with a CTO gel and turned up only enough to make sure that the subject of the photos was adequately visible.

Photography Techniques:

Camera placement was arranged to avoid perfectly horizontal or vertical lines where possible to increase visual interest.

Focus stacking was used to ensure sharp focus across the entire frame in all but a couple of the macro shots. This technique photographs the same scene multiple times, changing the focal point incrementally in each image. The collection of images is then stacked together in post production to achieve a depth of field that could not otherwise be accomplished with standard photography practices.

Image composition was varied from scene to scene, leaving negative space in some for text overlays. Pictures intended for social media use were generally arranged in a portrait orientation, while pictures intended for print advertising used a combination of portrait and landscape layouts.

Negative Space Examples:

Photographic instances showing negative space in the original image composition and how text can be overlayed to produce an advertisement. Many of the image aspect ratios are suitable for both social media posts and print advertising.

Three red tomatoes with garlic and basil on mahogany wood.

Several red tomatoes with garlic bulbs and basil leaves on mahogany wood.

Four red tomatoes and fresh basil leaves in moody lighting.

Three red heirloom tomatoes on mahogany wood.

The same photo of three red tomatoes with garlic and basil including a text overlay.

The same photograph of several red tomatoes with garlic bulbs and basil but now including an advertising text overlay.

Derivative image of the shot on the left with the addition of a text overlay.

The same image of three red heirloom tomatoes with a text overlay.

Social Media Post Images:

Square and portrait orientation images for social media posts.

Two on the vine red tomatoes with a text overlay.

Macro shot of yellow and red cocktail tomatoes on the vine with basil leaves.

Several red tomatoes and garlic on mahogany wood.

Moody scene of various types of tomatoes and garlic in a wooden crate.

Social Media Stories:

16:9 aspect ratio portrait layout for Instagram and Facebook stories.

Macro shot of two on the vine tomatoes with a text overlay.

Focus stacked image of various types of tomatoes.

An assortment of tomatoes garlic, onion and fresh basil spilling out of a wooden crate.

Print Advertising

Primarily 11:17 aspect ratio images for poster sized print advertisements.

An assortment of various tomatoes in a wooden crate with garlic and fresh basil.

Macro image of on the vine, red tomatoes with an advertising text overlay.

Assortment of fresh produce spilling from a wooden crate with an advertising call to action text overlay.

An assortment of tomatoes with a call to action text overlay.

Macro image of on the vine yellow and red cocktail tomatoes.

Assortment of fresh produce spilling from a wooden crate in moody lighting.

Macro image of yellow cocktail tomatoes on mahogany wood.

Moody scene of three red tomatoes with garlic and live basil on mahogany wood.

Challenges:

Focus stacking, by nature of how it is accomplished, produces unsightly halos around high contrast areas. The only real solution to this is meticulous manual editing. Aside from that this project ran smoothly.