D’Artagnan Gourmet Foods: Photo of the Week

A sampling of the products available from D'Artagnan.

From Shutter:  This week’s photo of the week is from a shoot I recently did with D’Artagnan  Gourmet Foods.  For those (few) that are not aware of D’Artagnan, they are one of the leading importers and suppliers of “gourmet” food products.  Often known thought of as the “all things duck” company, their product line, as shown above, is much more diverse.  Although they continue to sell premier quality foie gras and duck breast, the products line has expanded and includes, charcuterie, beef, lamb, pork, game meats, all types of fowl, wild mushrooms and truffles, quail eggs, and on and on and on.

During the process of shooting a series of images to update the website for D’Artagnan I was asked to create an “Identity” shot.  An image that would convey the breadth of product that is sold without having to include every last item.  I decided, and they agreed, that instead of trying to shoot the items in a kitchen, or some other restaurant or home setting, we would shoot from above using a somewhat distressed wood rustic background as the foundation for the shot.

Once we agreed on the basic concept and on the background surface, next came the challenge of how we would style the shot and how would I pull off the shot.  Photographically my concerns were keeping the natural light feel we had been using for the product photographs.  I also wanted to be sure to get overhead without any camera angle, control glare and reflection as best as possible, and keep the image sharp with no distortion side to side.  I was also limited to space as we were shooting in the area of my studio (a.k.a. my home) that is full of great available light, but is only 12 feet wide and 8 feet high.  Having various shooting areas in my home always works out great.  As readers of our blog know, Susan (Spoon) and I are avid cooks so our kitchen is designed for serious cooks with high output 6 burner stove, lots of counter space, and just about every cooking utensil we ever need.  Including 2 outdoor grills,  One gas, one charcoal smoker.

Back to how the shot was done: First we found an area with the most even daylight and put an old door that I like to use on the floor.  Next we gathered all sorts of cutting boards, slates, bowls, napkins, and other props from the prop room and kitchen.  Then the food started to come out.  Massive amounts of food.  First we roughly blocked out the location of each food item while it was still wrapped so none of the meat would start to change colors from oxygenation.   After that was done, Lily Hodge from D’Artagnan took the lead in arranging and styling the food.  After about 2 hours from the start of the process the shot was now ready.

From a photography standpoint this is how I handled the challenge.  I mounted my camera onto my  Gitzo tripod with a Manfrotto arm mounted so the camera could be placed directly over the food. Two quick pieces of added advice.  If you do use an arm, be sure to also use a sandbag so your tripod does not tip over.  I actually tie a rope to the end of the arm down to a sandbag on the ground.  Secondly secure you camera to the arm in some fashion, just in case it should come free from the tripod head.  I was shooting tethered into Lightroom 2 ( I know I need to upgrade) via Camera Control Pro 2.  Once my camera was placed roughly in position, I used live view to position my camera properly for the shot.  Once the camera was positioned and the framing set I turned off live view so I did not drain my battery. However I continued to use the remote capacity. I could now control everything from the comfort of a desk.  After some trial and error with diffusion panels to cut down on glare we finally got a shot that worked and will need minimal retouching.  The above photograph is the image out of the camera.  The only thing done to the photo before posting was quick color correction and cropping  in Lightroom.

Shooting Data

Camera: Nikon D700

Lens: Nikon 24 – 70 f/2.8 set at 30 mm

ISO: 500

Exposure: f/13 @ 1/2 second

Final camera height: approximately 7 feet

White Balance : 4300K and a +3 magenta