Philip Nealey Omaha Photographer -unsharpmasked » Stock Photo: Think Summer

As I look out my window here in Omaha Nebraska there is very beautiful softly falling snow. The trouble is, although I like snow, I think I’ve had enough this year. So this stock photo is for everyone (like me) who needs a few minutes to think thoughts of summer.

Notes on the Photography: This was a pretty simple set-up. Soft box and fill card. It did require some post processing to get the saturated colors I wanted. I used little egg-white to get the salt to stick to the rim nicely. One of the enjoyable aspects of stock photography is the ability to experiment with the shots. On this shot I liked the limited depth of field– I intentionally let the salt on the front of the glass go soft and kept the focus on the rear rim and the stem. If this were shot for a client, I might have had to hold the focus from front to back, and it would have changed the dynamics of the entire shot for me. When I am working with a client on an advertising assignment I take an entirely different approach. Rather than experimentation, the shot is driven by the clients objectives. My job is to produce a final image that combines the aesthetic the art director wants with the technical requirements of the client. To get to the desired result, it may take a combination of multiple shots and post-production work in photoshop. In the end my job is not only to make my client happy, but to make their job easier too.

This shot along with a similar take was used for a piece on many NBC affiliates web sties : NBC Summer drinks It can be licensed from Corbis here: Margarita on Corbis