Experiment: Product Photography
I got to work in a photography studio as an intern for a visual communications and media technology company. Besides learning about lighting and studio settings, mostly in product photography but also for people photography, I had the chance to use all their equipment in their studio to play around and conduct different experiments. Something that I found to be extremely fascinating was how water created different shapes and structures, so I decided to take photos of fruit for an imaginative refreshment drink company, while also playing around with a perfume bottle on the side as I realised how elegant water can look.
My beautiful collaborators for this project were Lily Demeulemeester and Chiara Nardon. Many of the pieces that were used in the styling are handmade items from Chiara’s upcoming brand MAHA (instagram: @mahastu.dio). While I did the concept, we collectively did the styling and general creative direction which made it even more beautiful as you see three creative minds melt together to create art.
To me, especially with this Chanel perfume bottle, the water looks like crystal bubbles moulding around the bottle. The light reflections are so special and it looks like liquid gold and silver.
The choice of an industrial looking location felt fitting with the goal to reflect on the harsh and cold circumstances that women on this earth have faced for years. The reason I chose to take most of the images from a low angle is to highlight the fact of an emancipated uprising through generations. Doing this with the intention to leave room for the star of the show, the beauty of our collective strength from within and outside. Corsets as a clear indication for the ways women have and had to adjust and mould themselves into fitting the gender norms. Being well mannered, being visually beautiful and ultimately: being quite and obedient. In general the breathtaking fear we experience often in everyday life. Highlighting the fact that the corset is also found in the white look to showcase that the situation is in fact not perfect yet, far from it. Yet the choice of flowing fabrics for the white look was very intentional to show how much work has been done and how much we have achieved already. The round pearls as accessories for the white look play into this perfectly as they are a symbol for wealth, femininity, purity, wisdom, patience and peace, while the black look was accessorised with raw unshaped pearls, yet they are still pearls;).
