For this shoot, I wanted the photos to be minimalistic and sleek. It all started with this idea of showing parts of the knife, like a teaser shot that makes you want to see more. From there I decided I wanted a background with a metal finish and a similar structure to the knife handle. I came across a metal sheet and decided to go with it.

For the set-up, the first thing I needed to address was the reflectivity of the surfaces I was photographing. Both were quite shiny. For this, I first placed a large diffusor above the setup. I then positioned a Siros 800S with an L40 standard reflector & honeycomb grid behind it. The small honeycomb narrowed the light down to a spot and helped to create a smooth gradient from light to dark on the underground. Plus, it also helped in creating a soft reflection on the knife.

To highlight the details of the knife, I used the Scoro 1600 S WiFi with Picolites. This was the obvious choice as the Picolites are small & lightweight, yet a powerful light source. For the handle of the knife, I wanted the reflection to be smooth. Therefore, I decided to use the broncolor Picobox on one of the Picolites and placed it parallel to the handle of the knife to get the reflection just right.

To further enhance the structure of the handle, I used an additional Picolite in combination with the projector attachment. Here the metal templates were very handy, as it allowed me to focus the light on the handle alone, without affecting the rest of the shot. I then added another Picolite with a Fresnel Spot behind the diffusion panel to increase the reflection on the blade of the knife. I chose the Fresnel over a honeycomb grid as it allowed me to zoom in and out, thereby having better control of the radius and sharpness of the light.

With this, finally, the set up was done and shots were ready to be taken. The setup basically stayed the same for all shots with adjustments made in the positioning, depending on how the knife was lying.

Thanks again for taking the time and interest to read the blog. It is always fantastic for me to share the details of these shoots with you. I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.