Julia’s Kitchen CASE STUDY #41
CAMERA:
Hasselblad 503cw LENS: FILM:
EXPOSURE:
50mm
Fuji RDP
f/8 at 1/125 second
LIGHTING:
medium Plume softbox for main light; two background lights through rice paper screen (one with red gel, one with blue gel)
Assignment
Tips
I photographed Julia Child at her home in Santa Bar-
Although travel can be fun, it can also be physically
bara for the cover of Modern Maturity magazine.
exhausting and costly. In years past, photographers could tip the sky cap $20 and curbside their luggage,
Visual Objective
avoiding excess baggage charges. Today, having a pro-
I wanted to capture the famous chef’s flamboyant per-
fessional rental house like Calumet ship the equipment
sonality and a simple indication of her vocation.
to the shoot is a better option and often cheaper than paying for excess baggage—especially if you are trav-
Posing
eling solo. Just make sure you clear the extra expense
Although the publication used another image for the
with the client. That said, I never check my cameras;
cover (showing more of the kitchen), I have always
I always carry them on board. That way, if the airline
liked this one. She is turned to the camera with her
loses my luggage—and they have—I always have my
left shoulder dropped, simply paring a garlic clove.
cameras. Worst-case scenario? I shoot natural light.
Julia put on her charm and was great in front of the camera, striking a different pose in almost every frame. background light with blue gel
background light with red gel
Story
I flew to California, where I met up with an assistant hired via the American Society of Media Photograrice paper screen
phers (ASMP) resource list. We packed a rental car and drove to Santa Barbara where Julia greeted us with all her warmth and charm. The kitchen was the obvious backdrop for the portrait, but it was (ironically) small. So, while we placed our lights, I set up a partition to hide the kitchen mess. I then used my wide-angle lens to capture more of the
medium softbox
environment and the six-foot chef. At the end, Julia invited us to stay for dinner—one of the best on-the-road meals I had ever eaten. LIGHTING CASE STUDIES
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