When Stephen Segal approached me to put the Nikon Z6 mirrorless through its paces, I thought that the various requirements of the day-to-day creation of media for a hotel, spa, bar, and restaurant would be the ideal testing ground.
Everything needs to happen fast, from production to publication. All the deadlines are “last week, Tuesday” and it’s a myriad of scenarios with various lighting conditions.
So… this is how we do it.
What is the value of “unprofessional” pics?
Remember Shabby Chic? or Stylishly Battered Furniture? Same concept, different application…
Except for viral marketing campaigns, it is generally accepted that the most effective conversion rates are achieved when the share is horizontal. In other words, I will buy the same coffee maker my friend buys because he said it’s a good coffee maker. This is what we are after.
I am not sure about the actual stats, but the bulk of social media scrollers will react to an image more than to the actual text that accompanies the post, and many will only read the post if they need specific info, and then generally only skim it.
So sometimes we want to take advantage of that behaviour by posting images that could have been taken by a buddy but still looks great and appetizing. Something to get you thinking that maybe it is time for coffee… or a pizza… or Ribs-&-Chips!
Key points:
You can’t just point-&-shoot your way to a stylishly battered photo. Stick to the rules…
- Thirds for placement in composition, or thirds for colour tones.
- Make sure the key item is sharp
- Good light…
(That doesn’t mean a lot of light or bright light, just that the light needs to make sense. Moody is fine, Bright s fine… just let it match) - Good Colour – Chill on the Insta filters unless it makes sense for the product
Set-up:
The camera setting was simple. Nikon Z6 set to anything from ISO200 to ISO800 (gotta love the fact that ISO is basically just a setting these days, noise isn’t a factor anymore) and shot wide to tele on the 24-70 f/4 from f/5.6 to f/9.
I shot all the food straight from the kitchen, onto the table.
Pro Tip: Change the direction of your light to change the depth of shadows and enhance the texture. Backlight often makes food look “fresher” as it creates more specular highlights… sidelight for the “Woolies Food” look…
Take-away:
Adapt and Overcome!
Never give up on your “Pro” imaging, but adapt to what and how your target market consumes information. Keep experimenting and follow your results to adapt your styles.
