I designed the artwork that is in the back of the trophy that you're able to see it through the glass. The background patterned texture the design is meant to give the trophy a rustic urban grunge-like feel. The gold light bulb with the ribbons and the glass light bulb inside as well with Hispanic flags decorating it, created in 3d then integrated into the design. The beautiful bright gold text stands out from the background that is very textural and colorless.

Since I didn't have an award to photograph, I took the challenge to recreate it in 3d. The creation of this 3D object was done using Blender (an open-source 3D computer graphics software). Making the glass had its challenges because the shape in the back is different from the front. It causes somewhat of a morphing effect, increasing the complexity in the geometry. In real life, it wouldn't have been an easy task to photograph this trophy due to the side edges pointing outward away from the camera. The side edges are in a twisted direction, reflecting away from the camera, causing a lack of reflections and highlights. Due to these same problems in 3D, I had to art direct some reflections then retouch them in Photoshop.

In-person, the uniqueness of the structure of the trophy makes for a visually exciting object as you hold it and interact with it. Seeing how the light and refraction from the glass interacts with the background makes for some cool effects.

The event is meant to celebrate the entrepreneurship empowerment in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts; awarding businesses that have been making an impact in the community. It's been happening since 2016 during Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration and a reminder that we can too.

Organized by EParaTodos (Emprendimiento Para Todos), a nonprofit organization focuses on helping entrepreneurs and people that aspire to be entrepreneurs make their dreams come true. EParaTodos comparison to their sister branch of EForAll (Entrepreneurship For All) focuses mainly on bilinguals and Spanish speakers.

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Find out more at eparatodos.org for Spanish and eforall.org for English.

Why is chrome surface hard to photograph? High gloss polished Stainless Steel with a mirror-like chrome surface. It reflects all of its surroundings and unwanted objects that may distract from the product as a whole.

As you can see in the original image, there's an overwhelming amount of details being reflected on the surface of the product. Even by having perfect lighting and a well set up the studio, the photo still needs editing clean up and retouching.

Here have circled the main conflicting areas that need to be edited out from the product. Removing all of these elements in the reflection, it's not easy to have a clear reflection. At this point that reflections themselves will need to be recreated for the most part. Before I start editing the image, I had to get good a sense of the space in which the product is in. Doing that allows me to know what do I want the reflections to be. I had to rebuild the wall the surface of the table in the lights while still keeping a sense of their high, mid, and dark tones. Keeping in mind that the sharp edges and lines within the reflection to keep it clean and not to lose the chrome feel.