Presented by: GPPA Member Michael Pucciarelli, Cr.Photog.

Article by: Ali Payne

As a portrait photographer, I tend to focus on everything related to my own craft, often forgetting that portraiture isn’t the only genre of photography out there.  I see beautiful work in magazines and in ads, but photographs of people are not the only images we see.  Product photography is a hugely visible brand of photography that we often don’t give a lot of thought to - that is, until you have the opportunity to participate in a GPPA workshop given by Michael Pucciarelli on Still Life Product Photography.

One of my first take-aways from Michael’s class is that you truly don’t need much in the way of equipment to create fantastic product images that look classy and engaging.  A simple set up for him would be two lights, a white background, and piece of white plexiglass.  I learned that you don’t need an elaborate setup to produce excellent tabletop images and much of what you may use in this type of setup can be found at your local craft or hardware store!

Another take-away from this workshop was that you don’t need to keep adding lights, lights, and more lights.  You can do amazing things just be simply adding a white or silver reflector.  As with portrait photography, move the lights and reflectors around in order to get the “look” you’re going for.  When photographing products, you don’t just shine a light in front of the item and shoot away.  Shift the light to the left, to the right, above, and even from below the object to acquire the desired effect.

Lastly, I learned that workflow and image editing are exercises in experimentation on what works best for you.  Michael clearly enjoys the editing process and has created many of his own actions to help bring his vision to fruition.  Seeing how another photographer creates and processes images can be enlightening.  It’s important to both acknowledge and remember that photographers aren’t just artists with the camera, but also in creative editing.

Overall, Michael Pucciarelli has created a style of product photography that is unique and powerful.  I will certainly apply the techniques I learned and maybe, in time, I can come close to producing work as beautiful as Michael’s.

To participate in these engaging and informative webinars throughout the year, become a member of GPPA! Members receive free access to many of the webinars, classes, and weekly roundtable discussions.

Michael’s website: www.michaelpucciarelli.com

To become of member of GPPA, click here: https://www.gppa.com/Membership