So I have been rocking the almighty Converse Chucks consistently since 1994. Back then life was more simple I guess... I mean sure it had its difficulties being in middle school but it was all innocent. My other love was the OG Vans... my love for cheap and flat canvas shoes is deep...
Today I wanted to focus on creating a shot of a product that does not move but giving it some life to it. In order to achieve it, I had to do a composite of multiple shots to get the look I was aiming for.
Here's a shot of it from the side. It's straight and boring but the rear end is up... getting better.
Now with the angle as such, it is giving it some more life. With the bend in the front 1/3, it is showing an action. So let's push it further.
So I stuffed my hand deep into the shoe to give it the impression that it was being walked on but how do you that and still take the photo?
My answer is the Manfrotto Magic Arm... and it was clamped on to a secondary tripod. I put pressure down and I locked it in.
One of the final steps was to get the details in the soles. There are a lot of textures down there. I used a manual I found under my sofa as a bounce. It gave me just enough detail to get it where I needed it to.
Finished up by removing all of the stuff I didn't need and extending the shadow way out of the screen. Now it is much more of a dynamic shot... don't you think?
Hope you had fun reading about this shot
Andrew Manley
Product Photographer