Trying to be creative!

[JemC]

Found these little things, approx 2in long and seeing that the weather is very windy and raining and the fact that i was bored i thought i would try and be creative,something i might add i am not an expert in
the only problem i had was they were on a white background but couldn't get white to come out and play??? What do you think.... c+c as always welcome

[jamn4ex]

Those little things used to be used to turn the screw. I am no expert, But their is a grainy characteristic to 1 that makes me not like the highlights, whereas they dont bother me at all in 2.
Are the differences in post prod., lighting, or camera settings?
I look at this photo and think " yup something is about to be screwed"
The composition of 2 makes me want to reach over and roll the yellow screwdriver one click left.

[ggt]

Wow, now I want to play too!

The only way I know how in PSE to keep the background is to mask it in it's own layer. I'd put in the headphones and do it pixel by pixel around the screwdrivers, then save it in it's own layer. You'd lose the reflections tho. Unless you gave them their own layer as well. Maybe you could reduce the opacity on one layer and put a bright white layer at the bottom? i don't know for sure, but it gives me a lot of ideas for playing. MIght give some unexpected, but pleasant results.

Which, afterall, how we learn-right? Trying to stave off boredom.

The detail in the reflections on #1 are very nice. and the reflection of the reflection is nice too!

While it might bother most people, I like the position of the yellow in the 2nd photo. But, that is me.

Thanks for posting.

[Geoff F]

White backgrounds can be surprising tricky. I find that doing a Custom White Balance beforehand can help. Or be prepared to do some colour balancing during Raw conversion.

Also, I often have to add a bit of positive exposure compensation, camera or flash settings, at the time of shooting to keep the white a true white.

[Mike Buckley]

The particularly tricky situation here is to keep the metal bright and shiny while also keeping the background white during the capture. I recommend Light: Science & Magic for an in-depth discussion about the principles of lighting metal, keeping your background white, etc.

This thread explains an exercise I conducted that is taken from the book: Lighting really makes a difference! The exercise was extraordinarily helpful, as I had never appreciated that changing the position of the light source (and nothing else) makes an incredible difference in how both the subject and the background appear.