Record Tables at Johnny Rockets

This morning I did a shoot for Johnny Rockets in the Sawgrass Mills Mall. The client wanted overall shots of the restaurant and detail shots of their cool, phonograph record tables. The lighting was a little tricky because of the many existing fixtures in the ceiling of the restaurant. I wanted to combine the ambient light with a light source I could control. I used a Nikon SB-800 strobe on a light stand, with an umbrella. I used a wireless transmitter to trigger the strobe. My goal was to minimize the reflections from the light fixtures in the restaurant, while emphasizing the design of the table. I took pictures of the table from several different angles, with the table empty and as you see it here. I felt the reflections from the items on the table added to the image.

The camera was on a tripod so I could use a small aperture, a slow shutter speed, and a low ISO. The small aperture increased the depth of field so the entire table is in focus. The slow shutter speed let me mix the ambient light in the restaurant with the light from my strobe. A low ISO keeps the details sharp and noise to a minimum. The D7000 is really good when it comes to noise however. I probably could have used ISO 400 or 800 without much of a noticeable difference.

Nikon D7000 with Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens. Exposure: f/8 1/2 ISO 200. Nikon SB-800, manual mode.