Creating a high-concept Valentine’s Day image in Photoshop, Artistic post-production workshop
This is a product photography tutorial for the Professional Interactive Education Program, Workshop #78
Tired of the same old chocolates and flowers for Valentine’s Day? Well, so were we!

In this advanced workshop, the emphasis is on turning a simple product shot into a stunning and original high-concept image that grabs people’s attention. When you shoot products commercially, there is somewhat of a spectrum of styles and composition approaches used by professional photographers depending on the needs of the client. Sometimes, you need simple, but functional pack shots that clearly depict a product’s shape, texture, and color. Other times, you need to capture a product’s utility. And then on the other end of the spectrum, you may need to shoot the product in such a way as to make it irresistible or so visually compelling that it stops viewers in their tracks.

High-concept images in advertising do just that. They often play with themes or motifs, sometimes subverting them or putting a twist on an old theme that causes viewers to stop and think or better yet, react emotionally–whether that’s by eliciting an unexpected laugh, plucking at the heartstrings, or challenging preconceived notions.

For this month’s workshop, we wanted to explore this area of product imagery and decided to go with a familiar motif: Love and Original Sin–Valentine’s Day heart imagery with a twist, if you will.

You will learn how to shoot a seemingly simple apple in the studio and see some of the challenges this piece of fruit presents. Then we’re going to turn your imaginations loose on creating your own version of this high-concept artistic image using the magic of Photoshop.

When you’re finished, we hope you will have a great new image to add to your portfolio that showcases your creative talents and vision, and leaves you excited to try your hand at exploring ever more challenging high-concept visuals.

As a professional photographer, you can reap great benefits from our workshops that you can immediately apply to your own commercial work. As a student of photography looking to expand your technical and creative skills, you’ll find our workshops are the perfect way to gain hands-on experience across the spectrum of product photography.