Camping Studio Photography

Photography is my hobby. I'm currently re-reading the Time-Life series from 1980 on photography. I carry a bunch of (mostly) old cameras in the motorhome for sentimental purposes. I not only have a 35mm film camera, I am carrying an old Polaroid camera, too. I have 3 digital cameras, and I use them all at least occasionally.

So, I guess it's not too surprising that when I bumped into a couple out here in RV land that was trying to create a business opportunity for themselves on the road, and needed some pictures taken, that I might take a shot at it. The results are on the left.

I would not recommend that professional photographers try to make a living doing studio type shots on the road. Lighting is the key to getting good product pics, I think, and I was definitely shooting from the hip with the lighting on this one. All in all, though, I thought I was pretty creative.

I set up a table outside in the sun. The sun was too bright, so I took a piece of plastic screening, the type that folks use for windshield covers, and clamped it onto the awning arm between the sun and the table.

For a highlight, I added a high intensity reading lamp. It show up in the photo as the second yellowish light on the left. And to soften the shadows (which were still strong in the shot at left) I added Consuelo's Ott light on the right.

Clearly, this was ad hoc, but the folks were quite happy with the shots, and will put them on their web site.

And I got my first "commercial" photo shoot. What fun!

And the product? Well, the one pictured is a spray on for pain relief. Consuelo tried some of it on the evening before the shoot, on a knee that was troubling her, and she said it worked pretty well. When I have a need, I'll try it, too.