OmoroShoot briefRoll 037Ser.05
Rebus aesthetic photography reference
RecTC 00:00:00:00

Rebus

Shoot the objects as words: flat, clean, the same light, ready to cut out

Roll 0375 frames0 / 5 shot
Frames00/05
rebus
SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[rebus         ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(rebus_______.BRF)

Rebus

01 LightSoft, even product light from above and in front, with a gentle shadow directly beneath. Every object in a sentence must share the same light direction and the same shadow, or the line looks assembled from stock.
02 WardrobeNone, usually. If a person appears they are an object too: cut out, cropped tight, and placed in the sentence like any other noun.
03 LocationA white product table or lightbox
04 Palette
DIR

Director's note

The photograph is a word, so it has to read as fast as one. Choose the most typical view of each object, the one a child would draw, and light the whole set identically. Keep silhouettes simple and unmistakable. Anything that needs a second look to identify should be reshot or replaced with the word.

All 151 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs, $8 →
VF

Viewfinder

Live

Four controls on the brief's own plate · the meter is real, so you can blow a frame

Rebus reference frame
Standby50mmf/5.6 · 1/125 · ISO 400

Running the list sets the camera for every shot in turn. Load your own photo to light and expose a frame you actually shot.

LGT

Light the set

3 lamps

Drag a lamp and watch the frame above change. The brief's own note is the preset

KeyThe light that makes the pictureSoft, farHung high
FillHow far into shadow you can seeSoft, farEye level
BackRound at the front, where it is just another fillOffEye level
On the brief
CS

Contact sheet

00 / 12

Nothing on the sheet yet. Set the camera, then take a frame.

SEQ

Shot list

00 / 05

Tap a pad to mark the frame shot · saved on this device

Each object alone on white, evenly lit, shot square on for a clean cut-outsetup50mm
The same object at three angles so the designer can pick the one that reads fastestsetup50mm
The finished poster pasted on a wall or billboard, shot straight and widewide24mm
A close crop where one image sits between two wordssetup50mm
A row of posters in a series, each with a different objectsetup50mm
Rolling
Take it to set: all 151 briefs as one PDF · $8
LOC

Locations

04
A white product table or lightboxA copy stand for small flat itemsA city wall or billboard site for the final posterA plain studio sweep for larger objects like furniture
REF

Explore the aesthetic

Style guideColor palette
DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Rebus aesthetic?

Shoot the objects as words: flat, clean, the same light, ready to cut out.

The photograph is a word, so it has to read as fast as one. Choose the most typical view of each object, the one a child would draw, and light the whole set identically. Keep silhouettes simple and unmistakable. Anything that needs a second look to identify should be reshot or replaced with the word.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Rebus photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

  1. Each object alone on white, evenly lit, shot square on for a clean cut-out
  2. The same object at three angles so the designer can pick the one that reads fastest
  3. The finished poster pasted on a wall or billboard, shot straight and wide
  4. A close crop where one image sits between two words
  5. A row of posters in a series, each with a different object
What lighting works for Rebus photography?

Soft, even product light from above and in front, with a gentle shadow directly beneath. Every object in a sentence must share the same light direction and the same shadow, or the line looks assembled from stock.

Light

Where should I shoot Rebus photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

  1. A white product table or lightbox
  2. A copy stand for small flat items
  3. A city wall or billboard site for the final poster
  4. A plain studio sweep for larger objects like furniture
What wardrobe works for Rebus photography?

None, usually. If a person appears they are an object too: cut out, cropped tight, and placed in the sentence like any other noun.

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Rebus style

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