When last we spoke, I was patting myself on the back over an
advertisement that featured my photographs. I also promised a closer look at the photos that were featured and what I was thinking about during the whole process. I won't spend much time on the first picture you see here at the top of the page. It was
already discussed back in April, but feel free to follow that link and step back in time. Since the managerial staff was already taken care of, I was asked to take some photographs of a couple of departments in the store. Specifically, the
Meat, Bakery and Fruits & Vegetables departments. It's important to take a moment to mention the hard work put in by the staff in those departments who went out of their way to make sure that there departments were well stocked for the photographs. Up first, the Bakery. I wanted to make sure that the logo for the store would be seen, which was against the far wall. It was also important for the motto to be in the photograph as well. Also, what better product to use for a bakery than some fresh croissants. Luckily, they happened to be the Product of the Day. Along with the store manager, we removed some price stickers and he did some re-arranging of the tables to make sure that everything would be nice and clean. For lighting, the only option I had was to use the available lights in the store. Not the best option, but as I mentioned, it was the only one I had. I shot the photograph at f/7.1, 1/60sec, ISO 800 at
24mm. In order to make sure that the logo and motto would be clear, I focused on them, but used a smaller aperture so as not to blur out all of the products at the front of the photo. Up next was the Meat Department. For this one, the manager only wanted a shot of the service counter, which proved to be an adventure as there was a ceiling light just over the display case which cause all kinds of nasty reflections. The manager was ready to have the neon bulbs removed from the ceiling, but I asked them to simply raise the glass windows that covered the counter, which proved to do the trick. Get rid of the glass, get rid of the reflection. This one was shot at f/7.1, 1/30sec, ISO 400 at 30mm. I was able to
shoot at a lower ISO due to the lights that were in the counter. The final photograph in the set comes from the Fruits & Vegetables Department. As you can see in the photograph, there were this pillars all over the floor, blocking out the signs in the back. While the manager was trying to arrange the boxes you see in the front, I was trying to position myself where I would get both the red and green signs with the motto of the company on them in the photograph. I shot this photograph at f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 800 at 24mm. Back to the wide open floor, back to a higher ISO so I could use a smaller aperture. After that, a little bit of cropping was done and the photos were sent off to the magazine. I next saw them two months later in the pages of the Guide St. Lambert 2014. So there you have it, a little look into what was going through my mind while I was taking these photographs. As you can see, it's a little bit more than stand back, point and click. There are several things that needed to be taken into consideration. The amount/quality of light that was available to me, making sure that the corporate motto and logo were visible, and the presentation of the food as well. Everybody seems to be real happy with the photographs, which makes me real happy as a photographer.
Meat, Bakery and Fruits & Vegetables departments. It's important to take a moment to mention the hard work put in by the staff in those departments who went out of their way to make sure that there departments were well stocked for the photographs. Up first, the Bakery. I wanted to make sure that the logo for the store would be seen, which was against the far wall. It was also important for the motto to be in the photograph as well. Also, what better product to use for a bakery than some fresh croissants. Luckily, they happened to be the Product of the Day. Along with the store manager, we removed some price stickers and he did some re-arranging of the tables to make sure that everything would be nice and clean. For lighting, the only option I had was to use the available lights in the store. Not the best option, but as I mentioned, it was the only one I had. I shot the photograph at f/7.1, 1/60sec, ISO 800 at 
24mm. In order to make sure that the logo and motto would be clear, I focused on them, but used a smaller aperture so as not to blur out all of the products at the front of the photo. Up next was the Meat Department. For this one, the manager only wanted a shot of the service counter, which proved to be an adventure as there was a ceiling light just over the display case which cause all kinds of nasty reflections. The manager was ready to have the neon bulbs removed from the ceiling, but I asked them to simply raise the glass windows that covered the counter, which proved to do the trick. Get rid of the glass, get rid of the reflection. This one was shot at f/7.1, 1/30sec, ISO 400 at 30mm. I was able to 
shoot at a lower ISO due to the lights that were in the counter. The final photograph in the set comes from the Fruits & Vegetables Department. As you can see in the photograph, there were this pillars all over the floor, blocking out the signs in the back. While the manager was trying to arrange the boxes you see in the front, I was trying to position myself where I would get both the red and green signs with the motto of the company on them in the photograph. I shot this photograph at f/8, 1/30sec, ISO 800 at 24mm. Back to the wide open floor, back to a higher ISO so I could use a smaller aperture. After that, a little bit of cropping was done and the photos were sent off to the magazine. I next saw them two months later in the pages of the Guide St. Lambert 2014. So there you have it, a little look into what was going through my mind while I was taking these photographs. As you can see, it's a little bit more than stand back, point and click. There are several things that needed to be taken into consideration. The amount/quality of light that was available to me, making sure that the corporate motto and logo were visible, and the presentation of the food as well. Everybody seems to be real happy with the photographs, which makes me real happy as a photographer.
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