Photographing David Oscarson Pens for the Day Job

by dav.d

Check out these David Oscarson pens! I had the responsibility to photograph these pens for an email campaign for Nu Skin. If you’re not familiar with the name, David Oscarson pens are high end collectibles and can cost thousands of dollars. Made from ceramic and white gold these bad boys are pretty slick. White gold can also be a bit soft so care had to be taken to not dent or scratch them. They come in a wooden case and everything shows luxury.

David Oscarson Pen in black

David Oscarson Pen in black

Photographing these pens came with their own challenges. They are shiny and reflective. So I have to avoid unwanted reflections and I want highlights, but we still want to see the details of the pens. The ceramics have a lot of detail in them.

David Oscarson Pen and Case

David Oscarson Pen and Case

I was using strip lights to highlight the long side of the pens. And I wore black so I don’t cast reflections on the pens. Next time I’ll be sure to take some behind the scenes photos.

David Oscarson Pen in black

David Oscarson Pen in black

David Oscarson Pen in white

David Oscarson Pen in white

And I did the retouching myself. Our in-house retouched was swamped.

David Oscarson Pen and Case

David Oscarson Pen and Case

The client didn’t give too much direction. I asked if they had any preferences on the position of the pens. They didn’t have said preferences. So I photographed the different sides of the pen. One side shows more of the ceramic design. One side shows the gold clip. I also photographed the pen inside of the case. We needed a little more light on the black velvet… because that just sucks in light. I also photographed the cases by themselves.

This gives the client a lot of options when the email is sent. And what client doesn’t like options?! I know designers love options. It does require more retouching in Photoshop. But it helps to dust and clean everything throughly before photographing.

David Oscarson Pen in white

David Oscarson Pen in white

David Oscarson Pen in white

David Oscarson Pen in white

2 David Oscarson Pens

2 David Oscarson Pens

David Oscarson Pen Case

David Oscarson Pen Case

David Oscarson Pen Case

David Oscarson Pen Case

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