This image has always been one of my favorites, so simple yet so full of character.
Another reason why I like this shot is because of the simplicity of how this was shot. It's actually an out take from a resto shoot and was one of those oh-i'll-take-this-shot-anyway kind of shot. The shoot was already done when I spotted these charming little cupcakes in the showcase. The way the colors played was what caught my attention. I knew that my editors didn't need a dessert shot so I took this one for my own consumption only.
The thing is, I didn't set up any lights here but instead just used the flourescent light above the shelf inside the showcase which created those very nice highlights. I switched to flourescent on my cam's white balance, steadied it on a tripod and shot this from the back of the showcase to avoid glass reflection. I wanted very minimal depth of field and concentrate focus on the cherry so I opened up to f2.8. The first test shot was good but I still wanted more selective focusing. I popped on a close-up attachement on my lens and the result was this shot.
In my opinion, what's good to remember here is that one should always be quick to recognize a good lighting situation. This, of course, takes a lot of practice and discipline and it's something that I am also teaching myself to always do. Just because we know how to light doesn't necessarily mean that we would light everything every time. If it works perfectly, don't fix it. Improve, but don't complicate.
Hope this helps, happy shooting!
