Peeling lady Clementine

[Dave A]

Two versions of Clementine in color. I've never photographed fruit before today so CC is welcome. If the sun ever shows itself again here I will certainly take advantage and get some shootin in out doors.
These look better once you enlarge them.

Dave



#1




#2

[Manfred M]

I definitely prefer #1, but find that your crop is a bit too tight. A bit more room all the way around, but especially at the top and left, would probably improve the shot.

I think you should play around with more "negative space" to see what this does for your composition.

[Dave A]

Unfortunately I didn't leave myself enough room when shooting to be able to widen the crop....rookie mistake.

Dave

[Loose Canon]

I’m with #1 as well Dave and I’m also with the too tight crop top.

#2 has a whopping color cast and could use a rotation if you look at the horizon line of demarkation. Correct those and I think the image would be the better of the two. Of course, if memory serves (and it never does since I don't have one!) you are anti-post production?

Did you shoot these on a piece of glass Dave?

[Dave A]

Terry, yes was shot on a smoked glass table. I'm not anti-PP so will make a few changes and re-post #2

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nice, first one for me.

[Manfred M]

Dave - One of my favourite photographic quotes is by Robert Capa, the renowned photojournalist and war photographer who said "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough".

Capa died in Vietnam, following his own advice. He stepped on a landmine; so I have added a posthumous addition to what he said by suggesting that getting too close can be dangerous.

Most experienced photographers leave some margin around their work so that the image can be cropped. This can be important if you are looking to print. The image recorded by your camera is usually not a good match to standard paper sizes. Leaving room around the edges (especially the long edge), gives you the flexibility to make adjustments in post-processing. When you are trying out something new; leaving yourself this extra space makes playing around with adjustments far easier. Adding more space around an impage in post is a pain...

[Urbanflyer]

Agree on the comments on cropping. Love the subject matter and the color. Think the reflection in # 2 competes too much with the subject. Same with #1 though to a lesser degree since the reflection is more muted on the dark. But it is all a matter of personal taste!

[Dave A]

Thank you Manfred that is certainly good advice I will do my best to follow.

Made a few adjustments to #2, this image had room for a wider crop that #1 did not. Also adjusted the color for a more natural look. The background which was about 5 feet away also reflected onto the surface of the table.

Dave

[Loose Canon]

I apologize Dave. Had you mixed up with another still life shooter who is posting his cool stuff!

Latest version looks way better Dave. The color cast had your colors off.

The reason I asked about your surface?

A glass surface will give you, well, what you have with a glass surface! Beautiful reflection but a double “ghosting” reflection as opposed to a nice sharp reflection.

Visible in the edges of the reflections shot on a glass surface!

Just something in case you wondered!

The horizon line looks way better on your latest Dave!

A nice shot Dave.

[Dave A]

Thanks Terry. I noticed the double reflection after shooting and figured it was from the bottom surface of the glass. Another lesson learned .
Experimenting with table top photography is a great way to pass the dull dreary days that have been the norm here lately.

Dave

[Loose Canon]

Experimenting with table top photography is a great way to pass the dull dreary days that have been the norm here lately.

No doubt Dave! Be careful though! It can be habit-forming!

I like plexiglass to shoot on. You won’t get those double reflections with that. It does have its own issues though. It’s expensive, scratches easily, and is a dust magnet.

But I also like a much cheaper alternative. You can go up to your local hobby/whatever shop where they sell picture frame glass. It’s cheap and you can get it in a lot of sizes. The local big-box hardware stores here sell it too and will cut it for whatever size you want. Shoot a coat of black (insert color of your choice) spray paint on one side. This will help with the double reflections. If you want to change colors all you have to do is scrape off the paint with a razor blade and hit it again. If the paint side gets scratched just touch it up and you’re good to go!

It’s a great alternative for wet work, too! I built my bigger "wet table" out of it.

[mknittle]

Unfortunately I didn't leave myself enough room when shooting to be able to widen the crop....rookie mistake.

Dave

I hate it when I do that.

[mknittle]

No doubt Dave! Be careful though! It can be habit-forming!

I like plexiglass to shoot on. You won’t get those double reflections with that. It does have its own issues though. It’s expensive, scratches easily, and is a dust magnet.

But I also like a much cheaper alternative. You can go up to your local hobby/whatever shop where they sell picture frame glass. It’s cheap and you can get it in a lot of sizes. The local big-box hardware stores here sell it too and will cut it for whatever size you want. Shoot a coat of black (insert color of your choice) spray paint on one side. This will help with the double reflections. If you want to change colors all you have to do is scrape off the paint with a razor blade and hit it again. If the paint side gets scratched just touch it up and you’re good to go!

It’s a great alternative for wet work, too! I built my bigger "wet table" out of it.

Thanks Terry, that is just what I was looking for and super easy to do. Now ifi can find a place to put it where my wife wont break it

An after thought, my wife loves the dollar store. Some times they have some big ugly picture frames for a ......dollar. now I know where I an going when she drags me to one of those stores.

[mknittle]

Hi Dave,
I like both but # best. We are in line for a wet winter here and I have been wanting to try some of this type of work. It looks like fun.

[Loose Canon]

An after thought, my wife loves the dollar store. Some times they have some big ugly picture frames for a ......dollar. now I know where I an going when she drags me to one of those stores.

My favorite places aren’t the camera shops Mark!

I can spend hours in the hobby stores finding interesting stuff to shoot, or use to shoot! Things to use for reflectors, flags, diffusion, on and on and very cost effective! My studio set-up is full of foam core, black foam, white foam, glass, clips, clothspins, you wouldn’t believe the stuff I have used for this work!

[mknittle]

My favorite places aren’t the camera shops Mark!

I can spend hours in the hobby stores finding interesting stuff to shoot, or use to shoot! Things to use for reflectors, flags, diffusion, on and on and very cost effective! My studio set-up is full of foam core, black foam, white foam, glass, clips, clothspins, you wouldn’t believe the stuff I have used for this work!
We spend lots of time in craft stores and thrift stores. Like you say lots of cool stuff

[rtbaum]

Unfortunately I didn't leave myself enough room when shooting to be able to widen the crop....rookie mistake.

Dave

I, also, suffer from this malady.

[IzzieK]

Nice experiment Randy-- I learned some more from this post...Thanks.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Dave, your last version looks very nice and natural. And I like those reflections a lot