One of the huge differences between film and digital is sharpness. Combined with an ultra-sharp lens like a macro, it’s almost unnatural the way digital records life. I often laugh as I soften portraits or headshots, undoing what engineers have spent countless hours designing into the camera system. It is much better, however, to soften a sharp image than to try and sharpen a soft one.
Although sharpness can also be an issue with film, especially when photographing people – hence softening and blurring filters – it certainly is not to the extent of digital capture.
Often, however, the sharpness of digital works to our advantage.
For example, you expect a razor to be sharp. And yet there can be much more than just the blade involved in a razor product, presenting a challenge. You have to show the sophistication of what is essentially a shaving system yet convey sharpness of where razor meets face – the blade. This is where a digital image can be a friend.
For this image of a fancy razor the sophistication of the handle, with all of its high tech engineering, is as important as the blade. The purpose is to get a close shave, so the image needs to highlight the device and its purpose. The idea of sharpness needs to be implicit in the image itself to convey the idea that the blades are sharp and you can get that close shave using the system.
Lighting was also important (as always) to bring out the textures and the type of materials used, as well as branding and color. I chose the background to add a sense of movement and to play on the high tech theme of the product.