Saturday, January 24, 2009

Odd Product Photography

As I said yesterday, I've been scanning my collection of vintage books and ephemera and uploading them to Flickr. It's a blast to look through all these and to laugh at the unappetizing food and out of date fashions. It's also interesting to note the changes in product photography as time goes on.




But some just defy all tradition. Take these photos from a Kerr Home Canning booklet, 1958. It's just bizarre. Ok, I get the scripture/bounty reference but what's with the ferns and cherries? And how about this one below. Mauve walls, well ok, that's just the era, but what's with the "framed" fake roses? And the way the shot is set up the flowers almost steal the focal point of the photo.



This is by far my favorite. Porcelain deer figurine, pine boughs, strawberry shortcake and a frosty jar of preserves!


If any of you have ever taken basic drawing classes you know that you always get stuck doing still-life arrangements for a while. They are usually a random collection of objects - a bottle, shell, pillow, steer skull and bicycle wheel. These photos remind me of those objects. Totally random and thrown in for visual interest.

I'm just not sure how on earth it's supposed to encourage you to can your own goods!