The concept was a prisoner in a dungeon trying vainly to reach the jailors keys, and failing. Leaving only a skeleton behind. I wanted to highlight the keys so the image would focus on the skeleton hand and leave the rest in the dark behind bars.
The final image looks like this:
The skeleton arm came from a Grim Reaper I bought several years ago (and has featured in several previous hunt photos). The keys are from a charm pack I bought at a craft store several months ago.
The majority of this shot was constructing the dungeon. I knew my framing was going to be low and tight so I didn't need to build an entire set. So I started by putting a chunk of foam in my lightbox, frame up the shot, and measure out the edges of the build.
The majority of this shot was constructing the dungeon. I knew my framing was going to be low and tight so I didn't need to build an entire set. So I started by putting a chunk of foam in my lightbox, frame up the shot, and measure out the edges of the build.
Once marked, I proceeded to build the dungeon. I used foam for the bricks, and straws for the bars.
Once everything was painted up, I figured the dungeon would be thick with dust, so I created some. My dust is a mix of sand from the kids sandbox, crushed up sidewalk chalk, and crushed up bits of dried drywall compound.
I then sprinkled the dust around, tossed in the keys and the skeleton arm, then moved it all to my light box to take the shot.
Post processing is just basic colour adjustments.
