Instagram Post of The Month - March
Back at it again with another Instagram Post of The Month, hitting you with a post from March 7th. This shoot was not associated with any brands, just for personal pleasure, but it ended as one of our best product shoots to date. So without further adieu, let’s dive behind the scenes on this series of bangers!
To start off this story, we enter an antique shop, a photographer's favourite place. While many things were rustic and interesting, the one thing that really stuck out was a stunning Damascus steel skinning knife along with a leather sheath. The beautiful patterns in the steel, intricately designed sheath, and antler handle really set this knife apart from others, it has a very unique look. The series of photos taken of this blade was crafted to have a wartime sailor aesthetic. To complete this look, we compiled thick gauge rope, burlap, a gold compass, and a blue and gold-trimmed book from 1921 about WWI. All the props keep the colours within a brown, yellow, and blue colour palette to compliment the knife, with the gold trim of the book and gold compass adding some highlights to the background, as well as texture. Each of the five photos exclusively uses the props mentioned above, however the gear changed throughout the shoot.
As always, all of the photos were shot on a Nikon Z7 (we still support old, reliable Nikon over at JD Clark Media), but more than one lens was used for the shoot. The first, wide photo of the entire knife and sheath was shot with a Nikon 50mm f1.4. The classic look of 50mm for overhead shots is perfect for being just wide enough to set a full scene while being tight enough to still see details and create depth of field. The remaining four photos were taken using a Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro lens, as it’s great at getting detail shots of smaller objects like a knife. The long focal length creates a very slim depth of field, and macro capabilities to get even closer to your subject. All of the shots used natural, defused window light as the main light source, and a reflector used to highlight the knife in its various positions.
For a simple passion project, the final images from the shoot speak for themselves, as this stunning knife shines at its best. It is important to do shoots for yourself from time to time, as it can help bulk up your portfolio and work used to pitch your dream brand collaboration. Hopefully, you leave this read inspired for your next project and with more insight than you started with.