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The more pictures I take the more I realize how much I have unknowingly been wasting the potential of my camera AND the more determined I am to learn to use it well. I feel overwhelmed, and I have so far to go, but when I look back at some of the first pictures I posted on this blog, two years ago, I see that the learning curve is at least moving forward, even if it has been slow movement.
Our new baby. She hasn't been named, yet, so I suppose the floor is officially open for suggestions. The sun was brighter for this picture, though it had started going down. It still created more "glow" than I had wanted on the stainless steel. Maybe those are the unflattering "specular highlights" our instructor referred to, in class. Sorry, Stewart. :( I would have liked to lighten the picture, but then the steel looked eerily extra-terrestrial, all "burn out your retinas" kinda glowing.
This shot was done in softer, but also natural, light. It made it a little easier to show the details in the stainless steel instead of having them washed out in brightness. I still have not mastered this "lighting" business, but I am much more pleased with THIS picture.
In my Sears Grilling Photography Class, this week, we have been learning about my photographic nemesis – light – or at least ways to utilize and alter it to create the best shots. I am so incredibly intimidated by this skill and am weary from the struggle to master it, but I have finally completed my lesson for week 3. I hope as the lessons progress, I gain a better understanding of how to apply the use of aperture settings in my own camera. I experimented a little bit with a bounce board this week, too, attempting to bounce light into the shadows of my subjects. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress, when it comes to achieving a good result with that. I did take all these shots with natural light — no flash. Some were done a couple hours before sundown. Some were done in the bright sunlight, which I found to be too much against the shiny stainless steel of the grill. Oh! The grill. Let me tell you about our new baby!
This one was just for fun. I wanted to dress her up a little, but this is a good example of too much in the picture. It's feeling a little cluttered to me, now.
I've become so indecisive in trying to achieve the best lighting for a shot. This is a little lighter than the one above and I think the details are more distinct.
Here's the same shot, slightly over-exposed. What do you think?
Sears provided a new grill and accessories for our family; and for me to use in this photography class. We are over-the-top excited and so incredibly grateful for their generosity! I used the gift card they provided to purchase a Kenmore 4-Burner Gas Grill; and is it ever gorgeous! I love the open storage shelves on the side and am so excited about the side burner. David is in “grill-king heaven”! The hardest part has been that he suffered an injury on the 4th of July that has knocked him off his feet – literally. He is only now beginning to stand on his own occasionally, and sort of shuffle-step, with help. He is dreaming of the day he can fire up the smoker box in the grill and prepare a feast for the entire family. In the meantime, I’ll be manning the new grill tools and preparing the first delicious bites from our new Kenmore grill. (It should also be noted that I am THE most blessed mother-in-law ever. He doesn’t like his picture taken, but my son-in-law, Jason, is responsible for the assembly of my beautiful new grill! And, he was excited to do it.)
The side burner.
Our new veggie grilling basket!
The open storage shelving is perfect for the hickory and apple wood chips David uses in the smoker box.
For this lesson, I needed to take pictures of my new grill and accessories, using what I’ve learned about photo editing and lighting in the first three lessons. Some of the new tips that were shared this week were:
- Make sure the product is the main focus of the shot, using props with caution, so as not to distract from the product.
- Standing back and using an optical (not digital) zoom will allow me to fill the frame with my subject and create a softer, out of focus background.
- Photographing in natural light and “natural” settings makes better pictures. Photographing a grill on the deck or patio will be a better image than in the dining room or on a showroom floor.
- Soft lighting can be more flattering, and in the case of the stainless steel on the grill, it was almost essential in order to pick up any details instead of just harsh reflections.
- Fill light can be added to a picture using a bounce card. Bounce cards create fill light to bring out detail in the shadow of the subject. Hold white poster board or a tri-fold board just out of the frame of the camera, and you can notice the amount of light that is reflected. Be sure to keep the bounce card out of the photograph!
- I like that these are split grates and easy to move and clean!
Snazzy new grilling tools!
Yes, Ma'am. That meat fork DOES have a built-in digital thermometer!
Nope, this is not a strainer or a burger flipper, though it is sold in the grilling department at Sears and is Kenmore brand. I couldn't pass it up after I saw it hanging there. All I can say is those squirrels that have been digging up my flowers had better watch their backsides! 
This ladies and gentlemen, is a Kenmore Bug Zapper or as I like to call it, my electric fly swatter! No barbecue or picnic should be without one!
It’s a good thing digital photography was invented! I can just take pictures and erase them with no worry about cost. -lol- I’m enjoying practicing all the tips and techniques that are being shared in my class and I hope you will enjoy the photos and watching my progress. I appreciate all the tips and advice I can get, so be sure to chime in with your help. Thanks so much to Sears for sponsoring this fun class and providing the grill to use in my assignments, and to our fearless instructor, for being so patient with a novice!
Okay, now I know I'm just getting weird, but I have developed a crazy fascination with taking pictures of the grill knobs. No explanation. Sorry. Oh and that cool gadget on the grill handle, (with the big red dot), that's a swivel light for seeing inside the grill. Sweet!
I know. I need help.
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness. All photos and opinions are my own.
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Great pictures! And OK, I’m so glad to know I’m not the only with a fascination for grilling knobs now…
lol – Thanks, Tiffany! Maybe we can start a support group.
That’s a beauty of a grill and your knobs are looking mighty fine.
Thanks, Mallery!
Loving your knobs Glenda! Awesome pictures too
lol – I’m kinda partial, too. Thanks for stopping by Trish!
I’m learning so much just from this article..I can’t imagine all that you are learning at the classes. I do like how you staged the grill. I didn’t even think of doing that with mine. Dude. Electric fly swatter????
Christine, thank you. I’m so glad you stopped by. I know, right — no bugs for me!
Glenda, I love your pictures! The knobs are great!
Thank you, Chrissy! You’re a peach! Those knobs are getting a lot of press, lately.
The knob shot and the one with the bowl / veggies are really nicely done. I think you are doing a great job!
Thank you, Amanda! I’m so glad you could stop by!
Great pictures and what an awesome BBQ!! The fly swatter makes me giggle, I may need to go back and get one.
Jess, that’s exactly what I did in the store.
I just couldn’t leave it hanging there. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Glenda
Your pictures turned out great. I love the first one of your knobs! That’s a great looking grill!
Thank you, Arlene! Glad you could visit, today!
Glenda, super post! I love how much work you always put into them.
Dagmar, I sure appreciate that. Thank you!
Your photos look very nice!
Hi Beeb! Thanks so much and I’m glad you could stop by!
Love the pictures with details – so awesome looking
Thanks, Lena! It’s fun, isn’t it, looking at an entire object in bits and pieces. Photography makes me see things in completely different ways.
LOL I so took a picture of my grill knobs as well!!! Also the fly swatter is amazing!!!!
I like the photos that have the little extras in them. They don’t look cluttered to me and the extras add a fun little touch of color. Great job!
Thanks, so much, Randi! It’s great you could come by!
I really like that grill. The hubs informed me the other day that he’s ready to shop for a newer updated one. This would be awesome on our huge new back porch. I think your pictures look awesome. I’m jealous, and I need to break out my camera and learn how to use it correctly.
Thank you, Amy! We are loving the grill and have already “put quite a few miles” on it. I love not heating up the house to cook, in the summer and this fab new grill, makes it a pleasure to create some tasty dishes outdoors. Thanks for stopping by!
[...] If you’ve been following me through this process and keeping track of all the tips, so you can practice them at home, my first three posts are at: SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 1 SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 2 SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 3 [...]
[...] at: SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 1 SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 2 SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson 3 SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class: Lesson [...]