How to do this advertising look?

[lunaxxxxxx]

Right on Rpo!!!! Couldnt put it better my self. Dont drown people with to much theory before they even get startet. Go a head and try. 2- 3 light setup and your 500 d. I recommend buying the lights first . You are not getting any effect like the images u link to with a expensive camera and no lights. For me photography is all about flashlight , learning where and how to use/place them ect..

[lunaxxxxxx]

Maybe i sounded alittel bit harsh here .. Sorry for that. I dont want to start a war here. I just got littel carried a way remembering when ii use to ask questions and still do about photography and sometimes get very complicated, technical , theoretical answers i cannot use in practical work. For me photography must not get to theoretic. Sorry my english sucks

[kav]

Originally Posted by r*po

you should check out the full posts before adding something thats just going to confuse the guy.

effect works just as good as any other question, you know what he means, and it s perfectly legitimate question for any image really.

Your links are good. The problem with the word "effect" is that there is a tendency to see these things as a combination of filters and moderately global adjustments which can really inhibit understanding them. That was my concern. You're right that hdr is amazing for backplates as it gives you a lot to work with. You can tune it any way you want. 32 bit support is still bleh in photoshop. They add in IBL on their weird 3d toolkit, yet hdr (which would typically be used for IBL) is still annoying to work with there. In the case of these comps, it looks like each element was shot separately. They were exposed for full details though. You don't really have some of the deeper shadow falloffs, and you see detail where it's not always expected. HDR is just a familiar term for this because so many people used it to create nearly shadowless scenes.

I wasn't trying to be confusing when it came to talking about reference. Your eyes are fooled easily, and they forget stuff. Having extra reference immediately available makes it easier, not more complicated. You could be staring at something going uhhhh what's wrong with the shadow, and you can refer back to initial shadow references. Obviously they won't always be what you want, but knowing how it would have looked can help identify problems and maintain good consistency. While it's obvious that much of this stuff is supposed to be a bit surreal, some things should be really deliberate, and you've got to consistently nail points to get it believable. Like you want some level of consistency between shadows and highlights across elements that you're using outside of areas of extreme lighting. There has to be somewhat of a connection there. You want things to be scaled correctly, and perspective needs to make sense. The main lighting should also be traceable to some degree. Like the sun is coming from this angle, so expect highlights here and here. There's obviously cheating, but you don't want something to be obviously missing.

[jphilsantos]

Yeah I am already trying different stuffs using the knowledge that I learned from reading books and watching videos from different people like scott kelby , gry garness, RC Conception , Matt Q, (photoshop guys)

I guess I just really need to buy some real lights.

here is my portfolio for retouching

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Retouching/3774988

can anyone critique it. Tell me my goods and bads.

Notes:
I did those shots with a
500D camera
kit lens 18-55mm
Ring light ( I used it in some photo and I didn't attach it to the camera I played with it by holding it and setting the camera for a timer)
Photoshop for retouching

[Steve Conway]

I have come pretty close to this look, depending on the image, using Topaz Adjust. Lots to work with there, with possible touch up using your graphics program.

Steve C

[jbedford]

I know Joel Grimes does a lot of this type of work - Google him and perhaps even see if you can find of copy of his bts video. he explains (or attempts to explain ;P) how he uses the 3 point lighting setup and composite and hdr fx.

[tomato1236]

You light it well and then hire me to retouch it. :P

[styleGIO]

Speedlights can be expensive...

Go with any of the below if you are on a budget and want to experiment before you spend the big bucks:

Light only: http://www.adorama.com/FPBF160.html
Light with stand: http://www.adorama.com/FPBKA.html
Light with stand and barndoors: http://www.adorama.com/FPBKB.html

The lights will work just take good care of them and they'll last. Use the modeling light for the test shots and turn it off when you nail it (saves the fuse) The color temperature is negligible from shot to shot (it does shift a bit) They do have built in slaves but you may want wireless triggers down the line.

Check the accessories button too for light modifiers. Plus other things like this: http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/de...dget+Monolight

You can learn how Joel Grimes does it here (more in-depth): http://kelbytraining.com/author/joelgrimes/

Best of luck to you.

[tarynunique]

hypothetically. if images were shot with the correct lighting and pro camera....

what would be the most likely steps in detail for post production of the images?

[styleGIO]

Joel Grimes explains in detail how he does it here: http://kelbytraining.com/author/joelgrimes/