The All-American Burger

All-American Burger
All-American Burger

The All-American burger.  A fresh bun. Juicy 100% beef. Look closer. It’s made of plastic.  And just so you know, this is not intended as commentary about the state of the fast food industry.  Although, I’ll admit, it’s not far off from the way I feel about it.  But that is for someone else’s blog. This one is about photography!

My initial goal with this burger (courtesy of Little Tikes) with this shot was to try to re-create a somewhat complex lighting setup with just a 2-light copy stand, a piece of white foam core, and the flash light on my cell phone.   I shot 6 different exposures but ended up having only 4 in the final image: a soft bounced light shot for even exposure, a specular highlight shot, a rim light or backlight shot, and the background.

Once I started to combine the images in Photoshop, I thought it would be cool to create a vintage / quirky photograph as sort of an homage to all of the burger advertisements we’ve seen for years and years.  And I thought adding the “steam” (it’s incense smoke) added a touch of whimsy.

Day 174 of my 365 photo a day project.

The All-American Burger
The All-American Burger
The Bessler copy stand.
The Bessler copy stand.
The setup.
The setup.

By Scott Norris

Emotion. Mood. Feelings. This is what I capture through my photographs. Whether it is landscapes, architectural elements, still life, or macros - it is a very personal journey as my own fears, triumphs, beliefs, and shortcomings are exposed with each photo. In the end, it is all about telling compelling stories.