Dark Field

[DaveRob]

My attempt at the illuminated bottle shot....... Those clear bottles are something special tho..... will have to give that one a try.

CC Welcome

[Mike Buckley]

The bottles are really gorgeous and your concept enhances their beauty. Your lighting and composition define the shape, color and texture very nicely.

You've got some uneven characteristics in the sides of the background and tabletop that are so blatant that I wonder if they are intentional. (I'm not creative enough to know.) I sense that at least part of that is the result of flare, which shows up in itself and also reduces contrast. If you explain your setup, I might be able to explain precisely how to eliminate the flare.

Notice that you can barely distinguish between the front and rear parts of the rim of the bottle on the right. Displaying that helps imply display of the third dimension. If you want to emphasize that more when displaying the image at such a small size, position your camera higher. If you plan to display the image at a significantly larger size such as in a print, the current perspective may work just fine with no need for change.

I like that you overlapped the edges of the two bottles and wonder if just a little more overlap would be even nicer. After seeing the change, I might prefer your current version.

[Shadowman]

Nice effort.

[DaveRob]

The bottles are really gorgeous and your concept enhances their beauty. Your lighting and composition define the shape, color and texture very nicely.

You've got some uneven characteristics in the sides of the background and tabletop that are so blatant that I wonder if they are intentional. (I'm not creative enough to know.) I sense that at least part of that is the result of flare, which shows up in itself and also reduces contrast. If you explain your setup, I might be able to explain precisely how to eliminate the flare.

Notice that you can barely distinguish between the front and rear parts of the rim of the bottle on the right. Displaying that helps imply display of the third dimension. If you want to emphasize that more when displaying the image at such a small size, position your camera higher. If you plan to display the image at a significantly larger size such as in a print, the current perspective may work just fine with no need for change.

I like that you overlapped the edges of the two bottles and wonder if just a little more overlap would be even nicer. After seeing the change, I might prefer your current version.

Thank you for the critique.... To explain .... these 2 bottles were made at the National glass center in Sunderland ... they are hand made by a craftsman in glass blowing and part of the artistry in this is his depiction of flow in the form. Believe me he could have made them with perfect uniform wall thicknesses if he wanted to, but these are demonstrating colour and flow in a recognisable form. They are uneven externally and internally. The detail in the foreground is intentional.... a reflection of the form.... maybe without it might have worked better?.... Personally I did think I should have taken these at a lower angle as they do seem to lean in from the top slightly but I wanted the top rims in shot.... but maybe its me, anyway a first attempt at Dark Field.... must try harder.... thanks once again. DaveR

[Mike Buckley]

I'm surprised to learn that this is your first attempt at making a dark field image. It looks much, much better than my first attempts.

They are uneven externally and internally.

It might help you to know that your image makes that very appealing characteristic immediately apparent.

The detail in the foreground is intentional.... a reflection of the form.... maybe without it might have worked better?

Not better. Just different. Personally, I really like the use of reflections in images made in this style.

I don't notice the "lean in from the top" that you mentioned. Even if there is a small amount of perspective distortion, it might be disguised by the interesting, asymmetric shapes of the bottles. If whatever you are seeing about that bothers you, it would be easy to correct in post-processing.

You didn't address the stuff I mentioned about the sides of the background and tabletop. I'm referring to tonal variation sometimes accompanied by strong lines of change rather than smooth transitions. Is all of that intentional or did you intend to produce the classic look of a plain background also reflected plainly in the tabletop?

[DaveRob]

You didn't address the stuff I mentioned about the sides of the background and tabletop. I'm referring to tonal variation sometimes accompanied by strong lines of change rather than smooth transitions. Is all of that intentional or did you intend to produce the classic look of a plain background also reflected plainly in the tabletop?

Ahhh... yes their is a degree of variation from the flagged lighting... but just a little.... I had hoped this gave the image some 'depth', rather than it being completely plain which looked a bit flat. The intention was to give the reflection in the top some depth at the sides.... if you know what I mean.
Thanks DaveR

[Mike Buckley]

I had hoped this gave the image some 'depth', rather than it being completely plain which looked a bit flat.

To address that characteristic, consider lighting the background separately to frame the subject, most easily done in my tiny makeshift studio by lighting it from the bottom. The bottles are so dramatic that a dramatic lighting of the background whether done with a white light or a colored light could complement the subjects very nicely.

I look forward to seeing more of your studio images and am especially glad to see that you have joined the very small ranks of those of us who are crazy enough to photograph glass.

[bnnrcn]

I really like the image, lovely colors and composition The bottom part of the one on the RHS seems a bit too white to me, I would darken it a bit.

[TonyW]

They look like lovely bottles well photographed. I don't feel the need to change anything except that they seem to lean to the left a little, which I find disconcerting. Is that just my imagination?

[IzzieK]

I am in awe at your first attempt. Beautiful. And red is my favourite colour too, along with orange of course.