We shoot chrome and grey references in the same light as the plate. HDRI is a start, not a finish: we rebuild key and edge in the renderer until the contact shadows sit.
If the physical product cannot be there, we still light an empty stand so the CG object inherits the same wrap. The test is simple — if a producer can point to the render in the first second, we go back.
Materials are photographed, not guessed. Polarisation, roughness, and a measured white help more than a downloadable ‘studio HDRI’ from a different room.
Grade happens with the composite, not before. A plate graded in isolation will fight the CG no matter how good the look-dev was.
We deliver layered files when the contract asks, and flattened masters when it does not. Either way the public image is one picture.
Digitwest produces commercial stills and branded films from Plzeň. Photography leads; motion follows the same key so a campaign does not split in public between a pack shot that looks like noon and a cut that looks like dusk. The rooms on Náměstí Republiky hold a north window, tabletop, and a colour desk. Clients review tethered stills and a calibrated picture in one visit. We travel in Czechia and nearby with a small crew; local support when a story needs more hands. Square light first. Bounce and a quiet key that match the sandstone, not a sunset someone remembered from a stock library. If the window dies we add a small key that mimics it. We do not start over with a second look. Finishing stays in the same building as the tabletop. Masters are named for the media plan. We keep a working project for the revision window written in the estimate, then an archive another team can open without a private scheme.