Brief 1 - Design Is About Doing: Cigarette Idea Photos

I began looking at an idea which can be found here on my design context blog. Below are some photos I've taken to try and supply a good basis of photos when it comes to creating an outcome for this concept. 

First I tried to take a photo of it on a plate, I wanted to use a non flammable white object which would act as a good background. However I found the flashes were too much so I tried it on a chopping board - as you can see below. I found that when I zoomed in on the cigarette you could see the cutting lines, so it was not as smooth as I wanted it to be. 

Paper acted as a good surface for when it was being taken but having it alight on paper just seemed like a stupid idea so I went back to the plate and decided I could crop out the flash.

I experimenting with using a mini lamp to get rid of the shadow however, I think it is best just to leave it with normal light because the yellow is distracting and makes it look unclear. 

I played around with using a camera tripod but found it was hard for the camera to take the photo so I then decided to take them myself. The first time I took it from above but slightly from the an angle so it was more the side of the cigarette than the birds eye view. The second time I took it from a birds eye view and just let the cigarette burn out. This way I will have a range of photos to work with when it comes to making my final piece.