Recently I conducted a new photography workshop for Olympus Malaysia, dealing with casual and lifestyle product and food shots. In that workshop I have shared several interesting tips and the one that got everyone chuckled in disbelief was this particular figurine shot in a simple plain white background with side lighting. When I revealed that the shot was nothing more than a simple, straight to the point image taken on a white chair by the window with no other tricks, I could hear some people gasped.
I think improvisation is important. Of course it would have been better if there was a proper studio setup with professionally done background and wireless flash or strobes for better control of light and a more polished finish. If you are a working professional photographer you do what you have to do to get the shot. However, I was not speaking to a crowd of pro photographers. I was speaking to hobbyists, amateurs and also social media users, who were looking to improve their shots. Simple messages like these go a long, long way: 1) Watch your background, keep it plain and simple, 2) Utilize effective and beautiful lighting, opt for abundant natural light, windows work wonders and of course some basic camera settings and fundamentals of how to get sharp and well composed images.
Observing the local photography crowd in general, sometimes I feel that people are trying too hard, and stressing out at all the wrong reasons. The best images come from the simplest of setup but with a lot of heart and soul poured into the shooting process. It is not the grade of your lens or the size of your camera that makes or break the shot, but your understanding and control over even the most fundamentals of photography: lighting and of course, simplicity always work.
