Shiraz Athens Wine Boutique Shoot

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to shoot some interior shots for a local wine Merchant. We try to support local growers and businesses as much as possible and Shiraz Athens is one of the places we like to frequent.  The owner had mentioned she needed to update her website photography so we worked out a deal.  It had been a while since I had done any interior work, so I was looking forward to the challenge.  While the store specializes in small label quality wines, they have recently expanded into craft beers, cheeses and other food items such as fresh fish.  They needed some photography to showcase their new products in local print media.  I am certainly not a food stylist, so luckily they only wanted a few simple setups with beer examples and different oils and spreads.  The store las a loft over one half and the rest is open to the ceiling.  There is quite a bit of ambient light, so I came armed with a WL3200  and an SB800.  I mounted both on light stands with shoot through umbrellas and wired them with radio slaves.  The WL3200 I stuck in a corner and aimed at the center of the ceiling and I carried the SB800 around on a Cheeta stand for side fill.  The SB800 was on very low manual power, usually around 1/4 to 1/8th.  I was mainly using it to open up the low shadows a bit.  The main obstacle in the room is a giant light the casts huge shadows unless you pay attention.  The room is mostly wood and brick, so I had no problem maintaining the warm toned feel I wanted.  It was a fun shoot that offered enough challenges to make me think, but no major obstacles to keep me from quickly remembering how to light a room for effect.  If you need a good bottle of wine, make sure to check out Shiraz Athens.