Fresh strawberries

[cosmogirl]

Bought some strawberries, and they looked so delicious! I didn't know how to convey this feeling of freshness, though. Anyway, the results below, C&C welcome!

1.


2.


3.

[Geoff F]

This type of subject is surprisingly difficult to shoot well.

With the first two you seem to be struggling to get good focus even at F11. For me, you need the subjects to be a mix of totally in focus and totally blurred.

Or a gradual fading from sharp to blurred on the same strawberry to show distance.

I find the slightly out of focus areas to be distracting. Stacking a number of focus points may be worth trying, if you have suitable software.

So possibly, a little rearranging of the subject material may create a different result.

The last one has good all round focus but the background is somewhat distracting. Maybe a plain background.

The lighting is good on all three shots.

And where is the clotted cream? Or did that get eaten!

[Mike Buckley]

Geoff is absolutely correct that your subject is difficult to photograph. I like your exposure and soft shadows. A few other things to consider:

Photo #1: Is the subject the only strawberry that has a portion of it in focus? If so, make more of it in focus. Is the subject the green leaves on that same strawberry? If so, perhaps move it just a bit more to the right so it's not so close to the edge of the frame. Whatever the subject is intended to be, notice the very distracting circle of reflection on the right side of the frame; you could eliminate it using different lighting or during post-processing.

Photo #2: At first glance, the strong positioning and color of the green leaves make me think they are the subject. That's until I realize that they're out of focus. The only part of the image that is in focus is the top of the strawberry in front of the leaves. Yet I'm sure that's not intended to be your subject. As in the first photo, regardless of the subject, notice the many reflections that are distracting.

Photo #3: For me, this is the overall best image of the three. However, the background has a strong line smack dab in the middle of the image that is distracting. The empty space in the top left and right corners needs to be filled with something out of focus that complements the rest of the image, perhaps some cheese, a stack of small serving plates, etc.

[cosmogirl]

Geoff and Mike, thanks a lot for very helpful comments!

Indeed I wasn't sure - all along this shoot - where to place the focus and which parts to blur. The second photo with the out-of-focus leaves is a mistake, of course, but in the first one I think now that the front strawberry should have been completely in focus. Also, I didn't realize the reflections were such a distraction. Probably rearranging the strawberries would've solved some of the problems. Anyway, now is too late for it, since they're all eaten!

[shreds]

Irina,

I would firstly think about my background and get that set up, then add the strawberries, I like the way you seem to have been trying to get in amongst the strawberries, which as an idea works very well, but it needs the depth of field and focus sorting out. It is difficult to achieve well, so I would consider using focus stacking techniques to get the required depth. Finally, think about how you want to light the subject, go ahead and experiment a bit, maybe even have some water droplets on the strawberries (care with the electrics though if spraying!), and as is usual here, let us see your results and the progression. I am sure you can get some more strawberries for such an experiment. We are waiting....