Tabletop Photography: Fundamentals
Learn how to create professional looking still life images using Tabletop Photography techniques developed by fotofoto gallery artist, Eileen Novack. This will be an immersive interactive experience in a hands-on environment to learn how to use the type of equipment that could be easily assembled at home. Everyone will have an opportunity to create so bring your cameras and something to shoot.
See examples of Novack’s photography on her website: http://studios.quillstone.com
Topics include:
- Tabletop is not Macro
- Properties and qualities of light.
- Color, Soft vs Hard, Falloff, Natural vs Artificial, Constant vs Flash or both
- Equipment – Camera, Lens, Lighting, Modifiers, fixtures
- Techniques – Backgrounds – Black, White, Dark Field
- White on White, mixed lighting, reflections
- Overhead, Flat layouts
Dates:
Thursday April 23, 7-10pm – One session only –
Prerequisite:
Attendees should have a familiarity with the basics of digital photography
Fee:
$50.00
Location:
fotofoto Gallery 14 West Carver Street, Huntington, NY 11743
Space limited to 12 students
Workshop Leader
Eileen Novack – Member of fotofoto gallery in Huntington and East End Arts in Riverhead. Recent exhibitions at East End Arts Townhall gallery in December 2019, and upcoming in July at fotofoto. Currently selected for Heckscher Museums 2020 emerging artist series.
Eileen started in photography shooting film back when it was the only option, many years ago. She had a very extensive darkroom in her parents’ home and spent many hours there honing her understanding of the craft. She was a commercial photographer, whose first client paid her with vegetables from their garden. Eileen did eventually find additional clients who did pay in non-vegetable currency. She also participated in a group show at a New York City gallery on 57th Street with work involving Kodachrome slide manipulation. When a fire destroyed most of her work in the late 80’s, she decided to pursue other career paths and spent the next twenty or so years in the software world and let her interest in photography fade. Retiring in 2012, she found a renewed interest in photography and started learning about this new digital imaging world and where she might fit in and to also have some fun.
Website: http://studios.quillstone.com
Additional Resources
If you would like to pursue tabletop or studio photography in general, these links provide great resources:
- Donald Giannatti’s excellent “Lighting Essentials” web site has a free course on studio lighting among his other excellent paid content:
https://www.lighting-essentials.com/lighting-essentials-online-lighting-workshop-photographers/ - Alex Koloskov runs a web site called “Photigy” that offers a wide variety of content on studio photography geared for products mainly but useful for most any tabletop photography: https://www.photigy.com/ He was a featured speaker on Google Talks a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__yx795fsSc&list=PLlSTfYUMgLn0yQ8aZoO1LdBEBzpeP9eZl&index=3&t=7s
- Steve Sint also created some excellent videos that are out on YouTube on the basics of tabletop photography. Steve was a very popular wedding and studio photographer here in NY. He passed a few years ago, but his knowledge is still out there and his video’s are hosted by “The Set Shop” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIElJ8aCsyo&list=PLRAtjcrqFm1XjrZ07SD_kBQSqe73dQwFS&index=2&t=0s