On Christmas Day I had the opportunity to attend an event in which the Mayor of Yerevan was set to attend. Prior to the event, I actually had no idea as to what I would be doing there. A few weeks before, the neighbour in the old Soviet era apartment building was interested in meeting me, due to me being a sudden Brit that appeared in the area. He invited me over for food one evening, and we talked a bit a bit about what I was doing here in Armenia. I told him I had the intentions of finding some photography work here and finding a way to ensure I could make money while pursuing my interests. To a bit coincidence, he replied with the fact that he was desperately in need of a photographer. I wanted to meet again and show him what I was capable of, but that day didn't come. Instead, a sudden doorbell ring did with the question of whether I'd be free or not.
The day came without any additional contact since. I was fairly used to this sort of behaviour from the film industry days, where I'd wake up early and have to run off to something I had pretty much no idea of what I'd be doing, sort of guessing along the way alongside others. No nerves, just content and ready. But the main concern I had was that I was relying on one lens: a Sony E mount 35mm F1.8. This wouldn't usually be an issue, but I had no idea what sort of lighting conditions I'd be shooting in, or even what I would be shooting still, even in the car on the drive to the event itself. I knew he wanted some product photography done, that he told me about some catering service he had. Though I wasn't sure this was that subject. I used a Sony A6000 APS-C camera for the images.
Since these are those photographs, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I had a little bit of worries about getting too close, that I wouldn't be handling the light well enough. I set all the camera settings to standard and hoped for the best, taking many different shots. Before the event had started, I was already 100 images in. I downloaded them to my phone during this moment, taking a quick glance at the JPG files in their low resolution, but this helped massively in what I was doing right and wrong, getting instant access to the general idea of what I was capturing. Compositions were perfect, and the 35mm focal length alongside the F1.8 aperture really added to the atmosphere. Shallow depth-of-field shots that distinguish the background from the foreground. Beautiful bokeh and sharpness on the products themselves.
Next time I'll ensure I ask and get the idea of where I'll be and what I'll be shooting. Funnily that same day another paid photography offer came in, and I instantly had those questions and got answers before accepting. Getting some general information with some limited gear is essential at the moment, as I get up on my feet and grow some money that I can use to scale the gear alongside the work that slowly comes in. With product photography, I already knew that light was something I had to really accept plenty of. Letting the image get quite exposed, slower shutter speeds and shallow depth-of-field to ensure focus is on the product. Utilising focus to ensure the viewer's eyes may move throughout the image, making things look appetising and fresh.
A super fun experience, and I'm sure I'll have more from this event to share!
For the best experience view this post on Liketu
