Hand Soap Dispensers

[Mike Buckley]

One convenience of enjoying making tabletop photos is the nearly endless number of subjects available in one's household. I was in the mood to make a photo that is reminiscent of a white-on-white scene, so I chose these well-worn hand soap dispensers from our home.

Setup
The tabletop and background are a single sheet of translucent vellum. The tabletop is made opaque by a piece of white foam core (though its color probably doesn't matter) placed underneath the vellum. A medium continuous-light lamp behind the background and below the scene is shining toward the subjects and camera. That creates the slight horizon established where the rear edge of the opaque tabletop meets the translucent background. A small continuous-light lamp high in the left front area is the main light, which also creates the direct reflections in the metal on the left side of the forward dispenser. A strip soft box fitted with a flash unit lights a diffusion panel, both on the right side. That combination adds the reflections in the right side of the metal on both dispensers. All of the reflections add interest and help define the shape of the subjects.

[PhilMain]

Two ordinary household items turned into a work of light and tones. Simple but effective. I would be pleased to have taken that shot.


Phil

[Wavelength]

Very nice; but i was also thinking about a black /grey background....

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, guys!

i was also thinking about a black /grey background....

That would work well also. Outlining the subjects in bright tones would be especially appealing to me.

[bnnrcn]

Because I'm used to seeing a lot of different approachs in your photography, although I like the image I think I find it a bit too normal. I hope you understand what I mean Mike, not a bad criticism A nice image

[Mike Buckley]

although I like the image I think I find it a bit too normal.

I wonder if that's at least partly the result of product photography made for display on the Internet and its impact on our way of thinking. There are so many advertising product photos displayed on our monitors even when we don't ask for them to be displayed and possibly don't even want them to be displayed, and almost all of them seem to have a bright background.

Ironically, one reason I made this photo was to challenge myself; photographing white opaque objects on a bright background is particularly difficult for me, partly because I make that kind of photo so rarely. Of the nearly 900 photos I've made in my makeshift studio in the last five years, I've made only 16 photos of a white subject on a bright background and 12 of those photos were of the exact same subject.

[bnnrcn]

Your reply made me think Mike. Yes , those product photos on the internet might have an impact on me . Your image looks similar to them and because I'm used to seeing such images everywhere yours doesn't excite me as much as your other images

I wonder if that's at least partly the result of product photography made for display on the Internet and its impact on our way of thinking. There are so many advertising product photos displayed on our monitors even when we don't ask for them to be displayed and possibly don't even want them to be displayed, and almost all of them seem to have a bright background.