Peter Belanger's Time-Lapse Macworld Cover
Photographer Peter Belanger did a soup-to-nuts video on the creation of a Macworld cover -- from studio shoot (including lighting) to post production to final layout. Fast, but way cool.
More info on it on his blog post, and you can see more of his work (mmm-mmm, humongous donuts ...) here.
Many thanks to all who sent this in!
-30-
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Posted at 12:00 PM.
55 Comments:
That was awesome, thanks. The photo set-up perhaps seemed a bit overkill to someone like me, but I guess these guys can charge more money when it looks like they're getting all Nasa with it :)
Great time lapse video but I must confess that I can do the same picture with so much less equipment and assistants therefore affordable for my clients. Don't get me wrong guys I do respect other photographers way of taking their pictures but hey this is just a couple of iphones and to make it worse, the images on the display are overlays in post production so too much time and effort to make the take. Still it is a Great time lapse video though
Thanks for posting David and very nice work Peter! Loved it. Fascinating, unique and educational. Loved the music, too. Now I know what I'll be practicing this weekend - product photography!
Who needs 24fps. I'm waiting for a timelapse feature film, its gotta happen!
Sorry that I mentioned as there were more than one assistant which I was wrong but still too much of equipment for a simple product shot like that.
This was very awesome. So insightful to how they do it...
I'm glad to see MacWorld didn't just drop $35 on a iStock photo for their cover. When you're spending more than Time Magazine, you've gotta be legit, right? ;-)
Don't think he got all "nasa" with it just to charge more. I remember doing assignments like this in school where we had to shoot highly reflective objects and those setups looked very similar, just no where near as good. I thought it would be cool to shoot a martini shaker. What a bad idea that was, not only was it like a mirror, it was round so I couldn't turn it to not reflect my lens and lights all around it.
Way cool, Dave - especially for someone who's both a photog and a designer. The BG song is cool, also!
It's interesting to see a photog and his team working to get a shot "just right." It would have been nice to see a real-time clock as part of the video. Wonder if someone is going to create a spoof? A 2-minute video reproducing approximately the same result in, say, fifteen minutes real time.
That was entertaining, informative, and fun. Just getting to see where they placed reflectors as the shot progressed was a big lesson in lighting.
I WANT HIS CAMERA STAND!!!!
It'd be interesting to know if they were trying to keep it simple and then went "NASA" to get the shot they wanted or if they knew they'd have to go "NASA" and were just checking the exposure/effect from each incremental addition.
If you shot it right, you wouldn't need that much post. If you're going to cut out the background, why not shoot it on an infinity table (pure white, backlit white plexiglass). Very cool though.
man that is insane amount of production for just 2 iphones! im kinda curious on all the PS work involved but it moved pretty quick. and what was up with that insane pillar thing that holds the camera!?
I find iphones boring (I have one, and stare at it constantly). I watched the video because you promised images of humongous donuts. Where are the donuts????!!! I want DONUTS!!! Grr…
Matt-
The huge donuts are in his portfolio on his website.
-D
I would have modeled the phones in Modo.
That was really cool. Almost cried, LOL.
And you know what, when they're getting jobs like that, they can go as "NASA" as they want. I mean, it's not like there are any rules in art or in photography.
Seriously, you can probably take almost any photo in the world and say, "AH HA!!! I could've shot that differently." So what? Those who we habitually criticize could probably dissect all of our work and find a "better way" for us to do it.
Bottom line, other photographers are always going to shoot based upon what's in their own mind, not based upon what's in ours, so we might as well let it go.
i dont get the people saying the setup is too complicated. it looks to me like he started real simple and kept adding to get the reflections just so.
nicely done.
Loved the BTS lighting. Reminds me of college. But I was bummed at just how much post production was done after. I can understand the screen display, but the background...that killed it for me. Guess I prefer the traditional methods of getting a blue background blue...
Pretty cool time lapse. I second Downtown Imagery, I want his camera stand too.
I think their are "other" ways it could have been done that would have worked as well or better, perhaps not even. But I think it just goes to show how much does go into a simple shoot sometimes.
I worked at a lab next door to a commercial studio in Phoenix and went over now and then to watch. They had complex things set up like this just to photograph brownies. Seriously.
Interesting to watch but with the huge amount of post-production I have to wonder if it wouldn't have been cheaper just to do the whole thing in Illustrator/Photoshop. Certainly there isn't a lot of the original image left by the end.
It is really interresting to see the amount of experimentation that goes in to this kind of work. The most important thing I learn from this, is that I need to really increase the number of different setups to test if I should hope for this quality in my pictures.
Although I'd have to agree with some of the above comments - as I was watching the film it seemed like a huge production for such a small product/tabletop shoot - the main thing I'll take away from this is how well this video was produced; it's a really nice promo and perfectly executed; Mr Belanger will have a fair few assignments roll in off the back of this I think.
*Chandler Bing voice* MAN could there BE any more equipment!
I've seen highly polished/reflective items shot with one or two lights assisted by gobos/flags/reflectors.
Here's a suggestion for the next BOOTCAMP: shoot a reflective item using just ONE light!
i loved that
I don't think he went NASA for the sake of it. Most of the tools used were simply white reflectors. Also, it's a studio so the equipment is there to be used.
Nice vid, interesting to see how these images are created.
That kind of made me want to kill myself... I could never spend that much time and post on photos of iphones... the final product was good... but less dynamic than some of the quickie one light SOOC shots I've seen.
@N:
Does Chris Marker's La Jetée count?
That's cool, thank you!
This was a very interesting video. I am quite surprised at some of the comments from people so far. The level of production and post production seems quite normal for this type of high end shoot.
Not everyone is interested in keeping it simple. There is a reason for all of those lights.
I saw his donuts...big mistake now I'm drooling. "ahhhhhhh,,drool. Doooonnuuutts."
Ha, after watching the film I see that everyone has problems with those little bits of junk that invade your product and have to be edited out no matter how new they are, how many times you clean them, or gloves used to keep them clean...
I used to think it was just me!?!
Nice to be the fly on the wall during his shoot!
There should be a factor for measuring the realness of a photo... like photography divided by photoshoppery equals realness.
In this case it's way below 1...
RobK - I am glad to see that MacWorld didn't use Photoshop to do this cover...meaning the whole thing in Photoshop. It makes me happy that they would use a real photographer to get the best possible cover. Keeps togs making money.....
Cool video.
Very nice!!!!
Can anyone tell me how he changed the background of the photos?? Thanks a lot!!
There are several lights and modifiers there for a reason, which most people probably don't understand the reason for being there - but it's necessary. Trust me.
I think the most important thing to notice about the video is at the end. Music by so-and-so used with permission. There are a lot of photographers who get pissed off when their images get ripped off and used without their permission. We should respect the copyrights of musicians when we do our little montages.
Pretty cool to see all the setup for the phones, curved chrome and glass are hard to shoot well, reflections everywhere. I've shot more than one pair of sunglasses that took probably three times this long trying to get liquid highlights to do what you want and trying to get the blacks to stay black at the same time.
@the NASA comments there is nothing really "NASA" about this, it's just basic studio shooting of reflective objects...
Great Post!
The best part about this was the end where he opens the UPS package and sees the final product. How rewarding it is to see your work either displayed on a client's living room wall, in publication, a billboard, or even a bus.
I worked on a farm as a young man and the farmer made us sit back and look at the harvest at the end of a day. It's good.
Nomming on a doughnut right now and reading that very issue of MacWorld that bounced onto my desk today.
Very cool to see the work behind the image.
Less photoshop than you'd think, flippin awsome
Very cool video. But as the photographer, it would have driven me crazy that they cut off the left side of the rear iPhone. Is it just me, or did anyone else notice that, too?
Best,
Adam
Wouldn't it be easier to 3D render it?
Still, good to see how the big boys play.
majority of that post was cleanup/spotting of the devices - yes the BG and the highlights were hit a bit - as far as lighting gear, diff. strokes for diff folks- reflective is a real PITA...
I don't see whats the point of this video. I guess no matter what camera and lighting you have you will still spend three hours retouching it in photoshop.
He could have draw that from scratch and spend less time.
I shot some jewelry for a girl one time silver balls on a string and earrings to match. It was a nightmare I would have loved to have a setup like that. But I used a box made from foam core or some such.
I would really like to know what he got paid for that shot, it would probably push me to do more studio work.
Mike
I am Peter's assistant. Thanks for viewing and all your comments, especially to those who understand that photographers do things their own way.
Doing this in 3D would take as much time and probably cost more. Also, if done with 3D rendering, means we wouldn't have work. I like having work.
Give it a shot and experiment shooting it with one light, no assistant or render it like you suggest and see the difficulties that arise. It's a humbling experience.
"I don't see whats the point of this video. I guess no matter what camera and lighting you have you will still spend three hours retouching it in photoshop.
He could have draw that from scratch and spend less time."
The point of the video was to show some of the behind the scenes work that goes into goes into developing a mainstream production (i.e., a magazine cover).
What actually makes you think he could draw that with equal quality [of the final result] in less time? I doubt he'd be proficient enough to draw that in less time. Because if he honestly could have, then he really would have. If you can, then let's see your results.
By the way, spotting, retouching, dodging, burning, and test printing has always been apart of photography, especially in the old darkroom days (before digital and Photoshop). I'd be willing to bet that there were times when people like Ansel Adams and company spent much more than three hours on their images in darkroom post-production.
And in all honesty, there are photographers out there who like to spend days on their images in order to get them just right. Yet, their copy-cats are left scratching their heads after only a few hours of trying to get the same look, wondering why their attempt looks nothing like the work of the original artist.
Cameras and lighting don't perfect images and they never will. People do.
If you, or anyone else, actually thinks they can not only do a better job with this type of work but do it quicker, too -- then, by all means, don't let any of us stop you. Let's see your results!
what a great time lapse video! to those who thought that it could be done better/faster, do you wonder why he is doing the shoot and you're not?
I do a lot of still life pictures for my own pleasure (flowers mostly). At home with limited space to work in and small flashguns it can be very hard to get the light just right. I completely appreciate the amount of work that went into the initial shot and why it was needed and picked up a few ideas. I really enjoyed this video - thanks for posting.
I was thinking 'What a great window for beautiful natural light!!' ...then the assistant closes the curtains. lol
Really cool video!
This realy makes you wonder.So much work for just taking a shot of two Iphones!!!
It is amazing how stuff progressed with the digital age.I remeber my mon had to take some photographes (20years ago) of the products she was selling back then,I photographer came with tons of equipment (we are talking the film age) and you had to waut about 2 weeks to see your results...
Today you get the shot done in 2 hours (exteremly high quality work) and you can get it one the magazin cover in about a 3 hours after the shootout began!
Amazing
@aaron re: timelapse feature length film
Check out Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio. made in 1982 and captivating.
great work peter...!! i would like to start new my own mini studio at home soon.
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