Digital Imagery in photoshoots: Tabletop Mixed Reality Studio

Our new ‘Big’ digital Led screen heralds an exciting new era and endless creative possibilities for tabletop studio photography!

Here at Giles Christopher Photography, we love to innovate. Giles is forever trying out new technology and playing with the latest tools and equipment so that we can enhance our offering and develop our creative commercial photography service.

Case in point, in 2021, Giles was commissioned to photograph a series of panoramic images to complement ARRI’s mixed-reality virtual studio.  This was a state-of-the-art feature film studio based in Uxbridge, here in the U.K., combining real and virtual worlds – a very exciting project to be part of!

The images he created for ARRI were to be projected on 343 square meters of LED wall as part of their demonstration to show how physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time.

It went so well that Giles was subsequently invited back to help write the guidelines for photographing stills in this environment.

Related reading: Virtual Mixed Reality Studio in London

An experiment using digital screens in our photoshoots

Inspired by the potential of the ARRI screens, and excited about this new approach of using digital imagery as photoshoot backdrops, we started wondering about the possibilities of incorporating a background monitor into some of our studio photography set ups.   

At first, there were a few questions we needed to be able to answer:

1) Could we make this work on a smaller scale for stills and short-form video content?

2) Would clients be interested to try it?

3) Will it look real and not fake on a lower budget?

While we didn’t know the answers to these questions, or whether we would be able to make a success of it or not, we knew what we wanted to achieve.

The aim was to create a unique and creative digital backdrop - something theatrical and with depth - that would truly enhance our photography and help to set us apart.

So, in February 2022, we started experimenting! It was time to see what could be achieved with Giles’ technical knowledge.

There was much to play for and, if it failed, well… there would be a large Monitor and stand for sale on eBay!

Testing out our new digital screen

After months of researching digital monitors, brightness nits (the industry standard for measuring brightness) and screen ratios, we had bought the kit we needed and were ready to try the system out.

We settled on a very bright 2000 nits Samsang 65” LED display. Once it was set up, then came the testing, finessing, calibrating and tweaking, which all had to happen long before we could feel confident enough to throw it out there as a serious option for our clients.

Unlimited digital backgrounds for photoshoots

Thankfully, our efforts were not wasted!

With great perseverance and Giles’ unwavering commitment to testing and tweaking until the result was achieved, we finally got to the point where we were happy with the outcome.

The concept is a tricky one to explain until you see it with your own eyes, but I’ll try to explain….

Essentially, what we were offering our commercial photography and video clients were the usual 2D backgrounds to complement the setups of products.  All were, and still are fabulous, but a little restrictive.

Now, thanks to digital backgrounds that we can create using specialised software and our new screen, we can offer all of the above, plus the digital option. This effectively opens up a whole new selection of potential background images, colours, textures and even motion, to play with during our shoots!

As well as images, the digital screen enables us to incorporate video footage in the background. Plus, by clicking a couple of buttons, we can create simple, changeable coloured backgrounds to suit any brand.

The first client project to incorporate the new digital imagery and backdrops

The first to trust us with this new approach was the wonderful team at the London-based cocktail bar and restaurant group, Drake and Morgan. We are so grateful to them for humouring us, and for being our first client to try the new digital backdrops.

The first test shoot was done when we were still in the very early stages of our testing with the digital screen. We created a selection of digital backdrops using Adobe Stock images to enhance their campaign, and it worked well.

AI-generated images as creative photoshoot backdrops

By the second and third shoots with Drake and Morgan, later in the year, we were all feeling brave enough to really push what we could achieve with the digital screen and images.

Giles created bespoke backgrounds using AI-Generated Art (AI-generated images) to complement the campaign themes.  While the use of AI in art is a controversial subject and is associated with deep fakery and plagiarism, we are keen to embrace it for its potential rather than see it as a threat. In fact, it’s fast becoming an invaluable tool for us to enhance what we can create.

Related reading: Giles talks about AI in this interview with Director’y

Mastering the use of digital and computer-generated imagery in photoshoots

It’s become clear, through our trial and error with the digital screen, that there are certain elements required with the lighting, prop dressing, foreground elements, and camera settings to ensure the scene appears totally immersed and everything sits together properly.

The wonderful product and food stylists we work with have been amazing at helping us make this work - it really is such a team effort, and so exciting!

Is digital imagery and video the future?

In the space of just a few months, we’ve been able to incorporate digital imagery and computer-generated images and video into our photoshoots with great success.

From the comfort of our studio, we’ve created backdrops for folklore stories, snowy forests and circus scenes, even mountain tops… so far! I’d like to think the possibilities are only hindered by our imaginations.

It’s exciting to imagine what will come from this in the future as we get savvier with the technology, and as clients embrace the potential of this new approach.

We very much hope that they will continue to challenge us, and that we’ll be able to create more unique images and photoshoot backdrops to take their product photography to the next level.

Rest assured to anyone reading this who may be thinking that the use of digital imagery is a quick, easy, cheap fix though…it isn’t!

As with anything creative, it needs careful time and planning for the best results, and to create a quality of work that we are all proud of.  But it’s certainly worth it for the unique look it gives.

Contact us to discuss your next photography project

Whether you’re looking for a photographer who can offer cutting-edge digital photography backdrops for your next creative campaign, or something more traditional, we would love to help!

Contact us and speak to me (Abi) to discuss your ideas. I look forward to hearing from you.