SHOOTING STEPS
1 LAYOUT PROPS Arrange your items to create layers of detail, leaving minimal gaps. If you want a sparse frame, use only two or three objects for intentional space. Otherwise, cover all of the foreground to avoid uncomfortable empty areas. Consider the colour distribution too, for balance.
2 SET COMPRESSION Use focal lengths of 70mm and above to bring the scene together. To achieve the feeling of the drink being created from the environment, we needed to reduce stretching of the foreground which would have emphasised gaps. Adjust lens pitch to control background visibility.
3 METER THE SCENE Start by setting the overall ambient exposure for the scene. With TTL metering in-camera, this will not account for the off-camera flash, but we need to set a baseline exposure that contains a good range of tones. Don’t worry about some blocked shadows at this stage.
4 CALCULATE FLASH RATIO Switch on your background flash, starting at the lowest power output. Move the flash position until you are happy with the subject, back or rim lighting. Next, activate the fill flash, position it and then alter the output of both lights until the balance looks about right.
5 ADJUST EXPOSURE We had the flashes zoomed to their maximum focal length, which has created some tight beams of direct lighting. We liked the intensity of the backlight since it is a sunlight substitute, so didn’t mind a few blown rim lights. A slight exposure decrease kept this locally limited.
6 ADD FINISHING TOUCHES With the lighting fixed and the camera in Manual mode, finalise the prop arrangement. We waited until this stage to make the coffee and add the toppings, as this meant it looked its freshest. Some resetting of the drink was required after each frame.