Hej hello friend!
Welcome back to a year-end review….again! If you missed the first one, you can find it just below this post on my blog. This second post will be focused on food photography, and still-life photography (product photography? I’m not sure what people are calling it, honestly).
In a couple months I’ll have been in my current studio space for a year now!!! Studio photography was always a bit of an Moby Dick to me before now, both in terms of the financial aspect of paying for it, as well as the nitty gritty of having enough stuff to shoot to warrant a space to begin with! Admittedly, the first few months of having access to it were a bit wibbly wobbly. It was super exciting to get in there and try things out. Every single session was teaching me something new. But at the same time, I’d been so used to shooting in these crazy little cramped spaces that it felt like a waste to drive all the way to the studio sometimes.
Back when I first started experimenting with food, the very first “set” I created was literally a piece of foam core from Michaels on top of a Krispy Kreme box just haphazardly placed in the center of my bedroom floor. The shooting situation after that didn’t really improve much though. It went from shooting on a floor, to using a discarded white IKEA shelf on top of cardboard crates (still in my bedroom), to somehow having not enough floor space and shooting within the the square of real estate created by my L-shaped desk….HAHA. That last setup was probably one of the tightest I’ve ever had to shoot in, being a room that was about 2-3 steps wall to wall. We’re gonna omit what happened when I moved into an apartment and basically used all of it as glorified studio space though. That was really some peak bachelor living that I’d rather not share online haha…
And now we’re here! In 2024! With access to a studio! When the year was starting, there was this sense of decision paralysis for what to do. Obviously you can do almost whatever you want, given the space to do so. There’s almost this preemptive fear that I wouldn’t be able to create anything good? That there were too many things to photograph? But as time went on, (and the monthly rent continued to leave my wallet) I realized that there’s not only nothing to fear, but that there are so many things out there isn’t just one way to bring an idea to fruition. In the previous review, I mentioned my love of shooting on alternative cameras for the love of photography, and for the purpose of keeping my vision honed. Using curiosity to try new gear helped make the prospect of creating in a studio environment a bit less daunting, and a bit more exciting.
The photos in this review are going to be from January 2023 to December 2023. My hope is that this is a fun little start to the new year, but without all of the hubbub that comes with the Gregorian new year! As fun as it would be to include photos shot in January 2024, we’re going to save them for the next year-end review just for consistency’s sake :) This year I was really fortunate to have been able to work with some really incredible people. I’m grateful for the projects that came to fruition, and the ones that got put on the back burner. I really am.
If you’d like to make something awesome with me, call me beep me if you wanna reach me. Shoot me a message via instagram, email at winstonqzhou@gmail.com, or through my contact page.
As always, thank you to everyone who’s supported me, worked with me, or been a part of this year. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to be able to continue this journey. Please enjoy this selection of photos from this year.
-Winston
Shown above is a small collection of images from my very first time shooting inside Prop Up Shop by Limonata Creative! I’ve gathered some experience art directing and prop styling over the past few years, but being given the opportunity to create my own project from scratch in a prop wonderland was something next level. I’m incredibly grateful for Giulietta and Nate for giving me this opportunity! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention NIM/Liam for the camera assist on this project.
For this project I knew that I wanted to use something I’d be able to handle with relative logistical ease (since I didn’t have a food stylist friend at the time. Honestly, if you’re seeing this as a food stylist and you’re looking to do some test shoots….please hit me up!), and something that wouldn’t be found anywhere else in the city. The natural choice was Henry from Hyde Handmade Knives.
While the majority of my work is shot on my normal A7iii kit — the set of 12 above were all shot on the Ricoh GRiii.
So much of my time is spent tweaking the lighting, and styling in the studio, that I didn’t want to lose the instinct to create images on the fly too. For almost all of these images, with the exception of the pizza images where I used a pocket flashlight, were shot with natural/environmental light. Nonexistent lighting equipment, minimal styling beyond light poking and prodding.
There’s so much beauty to be seen just out and about in the world - I’m glad I bought this EDC staple camera. Let’s keep going.
This final set was a really fun series I did with a few different rings I’ve found over the years. Exploring different lighting setups, color palettes, and figuring out how those things play into the physical form of the ring. In my mind, they taste like the juiciest Starburst, don’t you think?
From left to right: Square ring and pair of stainless steel rings from Chaz / @Object History, glass ring by Echo / @zaoglass, Sirius ring by Tyrak Moore / @39superorange
Thank you for taking the time to explore my 2023 with me. I’m grateful for your presence! There’s so much talent in Baltimore, I’d love nothing more than to be able to bring it forward in a new and exciting light.
I’d love to work with you in 2024 — shoot me a message via my contact page / winstonqzhou@gmail.com.
Drink some water, and peace out.
Thank you