Crown

[Kyle]

Playing around with lights and lighting. My better half won this beautiful bottle of Crown Royal so I figured it would be a good subject to test with. Had a single light directly behind the bottle. Used an on camera flash that I bounced with a gold reflector to give it a bit more of the glow. The only table is my house is scratched up so I had to cover it otherwise I was getting nice reflections. Turns out I've got nothing suitable for a backdrop so I had to use a black towel that I made sure to try to keep out of the scene. Also had some black fabric I threw over the table. First time really using lights and a flash. I like the results but I'm definitely looking for feedback.



Second one with my favourite glass and some whisky stones. Not as happy with this one.




Also messing around with the flash. I'm not sold on the lighting with these ones but I was learning photoshop so I had fun with them. I do envision a more dramatic scene once I figure out how to use my lights more. Something dark with lights just where I need them. Also going to use a black robe or something from halloween. I am hoping to get my flash off camera before attempting that. And I need a better backdrop. (Also, yes that is me in the photos).





C&C is always welcome.

[Manfred M]

Interesting shots. I'm sure Mike Buckley will pop in to give you some advice on the bottle shot. In the mean time Google Dark Field lighting. As for materials, I use black foam core (get that at your local Office Depot / Staples. black seamless paper (a bit of a PITA as it sometimes causes reflections.

For your levitating shots, absolutely don't use direct light from your speedlight. Direct light is really harsh (look at the shadows). Next time try bouncing your light off the ceiling behind the camera to see what that buys you. If you have a bit of money, look at getting a light stand, a clamp and an umbrella. This is probably going to set you back less that $100. I prefer convertible umbrellas (can be used as reflective or shoot through) and would probably suggest around a 42" model. Start at the standard 45º/45º configuration (45º from your subject pointing down at a 45º angle) and see where that takes you. Get some white foam core and use it as a reflector for a fill light.

As for triggering the flashes, there are all types of approaches. I don't know what you are using, but I started off on my Nikons with their CLS system that allowed me to use the pop-up flash on my camera to fire the off camera speedlight without influencing the image. I now use PocketWizard triggers, but these are a high end product. There are less expensive options out there too.

[Shadowman]

Nice concepts.

[Kyle]

Interesting shots. I'm sure Mike Buckley will pop in to give you some advice on the bottle shot. In the mean time Google Dark Field lighting. As for materials, I use black foam core (get that at your local Office Depot / Staples. black seamless paper (a bit of a PITA as it sometimes causes reflections.

I've ordered some muslin to work with for now. I looked at the seamless paper but I'm on a very limited budget so I went with the muslin since it can't rip as easy and I'll be used for a variety of situations. I'll definitely look for the black foam and check out dark field lighting. For these shots I just tried to use what I had in the house. They were more of a test of using the lights and reflector but I liked the results.

For your levitating shots, absolutely don't use direct light from your speedlight. Direct light is really harsh (look at the shadows). Next time try bouncing your light off the ceiling behind the camera to see what that buys you. If you have a bit of money, look at getting a light stand, a clamp and an umbrella. This is probably going to set you back less that $100. I prefer convertible umbrellas (can be used as reflective or shoot through) and would probably suggest around a 42" model. Start at the standard 45º/45º configuration (45º from your subject pointing down at a 45º angle) and see where that takes you. Get some white foam core and use it as a reflector for a fill light...

With the levitation shots I didn't use direct light even though it looks like it. I think what happened with them is that I'm in a very small room so when I used the reflector it bounced off the walls, floor and ceiling to eliminate most of the shadows. The reflector was also right beside the speedlight which wasn't very far from me. I think my speedlight was set a little high as well. Also, since it was a self portrait, I had my fiancée hold the reflector and trigger the camera. By the time I could review the shots, she was done with holding the reflector so I had to move on.

Last night I ordered a stand for my speedlight. It also comes with 3 umbrellas. Since my 6D does not have a pop-up flash I also ordered the Yongnuo YN-622C-TX and a receiver. Once I have the ability to get my flash off camera I'll be using that to practice with single light setups.
My other lights are continuous lights with shoot-through umbrellas. They're a little weak but they should do for now as fill lights. I'll eventually get another speedlight to work with.

Once I get my trigger and stand for my speedlight I'll definitely revist these shots and see what I can do to get better lighting.

Thanks for the comments and advice!

[Manfred M]

I've never used muslin, but the people that I know that have curse it because it wrinkles and getting them out is a PITA. If you don't get them out, they catch the light and you have a lot of work in PP to fix that problem. I heard somewhere that those clothes steamers do a decent job fixing that problem...

I find that one speedlight is plenty for a lot of shots and use a white reflector as a fill light. This is an early shot I did with the setup / angles I was suggesting. The flash and white umbrella (bounce configuration) are camera left and the reflector is on a chair, angled up and camera right. The background is just a blackboard in a classroom. Both the umbrella and reflector are just out of frame to give me soft light.

[Kyle]

Do you find the paper hard to work with? Are you able to reuse it often or do you purchase new rolls often?
One of my other issues is I don't actually have a background support for a backdrop. After spending the money on the items for my speedlight I don't have a big budget for a stand. I was hoping to hang the cloth from my ceiling with some hooks. I'm not sure how well that would work with paper.

This is what I ordered: http://www.amazon.ca/Neewer-Collapsi...paper+backdrop
It's on the cheap side and people have said it can be thin.

I'm starting to think it'd probably be better just to cancel the order and wait until I can purchase a stand with some paper.

[Loose Canon]

Hi Kyle!

The link you provided to your backdrop doesn’t look too promising really. If the advert shot is showing that many wrinkles (folds) I think I would steer clear of it.

I find paper kind of a PITA quite honestly, but I have it and use it on occasion. But there are a lot of considerations as to BG’s. You can control the color (white/gray/black) with your lighting. Similarly, you can also not have a dead white background with simply a white sheet of paper. You have to light it or it will be gray, or maybe even black depending on what subject you are lighting and how you are lighting it. Also subject to BG distance plays a big role. One thing I do like about paper though is that you can use it for a "sweep" giving a seamless surface-BG transition.

For a black BG I use a black fleece blanket I picked up on the cheap. But I also have the room in my studio space to get the BG 10+ feet away from the subject if I need to. This distance helps keep the light spill to a minimum, or even none off the subject lighting. Further, if you are using flash as opposed to continuous, you can get a shutter speed that will kill all ambient as long as the room isn’t too bright to begin with (such as a large window with a lot of sunlight beaming through). This is a huge advantage to using flash because you can absolutely control all the lighting all of the time.

If I want a white BG I use white translucent material. A lot of times I will light this from behind. But the point is unless you want to deal with making a white BG white in post you will have to light it.

I find a BG stand a must, but no reason you couldn’t hang something from hooks. Another idea is PVC pipe. I have a number of DIY frames, stands, etc. I built myself. If you don’t glue the pipe together it will also break down for storing. You could also run a length of pipe from your hooks for more support without building a self-standing stand.

Hobby/craft shops and home improvement (hardware) stores are a studio photographer’s dream. Lots of fun stuff to use for surfaces/BG’s that can be had relatively cost effectively.

And I gotta tell you. I find your thread just darn near uncanny! We must be related in some way (except you a lot better looking than I am!)!

[Manfred M]

I can't comment on the quality of the stand in the image, but at a high level it looks very much like what I use for the rolls of seamless. I've got the Manfrotto model, so it is fairly robust. With respect to the seamless, I bought them at the same time as the stand and I am still on the original rolls, so if you are gentle with them, they last a long time. I use the 52" stuff.

As I mentioned before, I have not used muslin, just heard from others. The important part is that you can pull a sweep to give you a nice blend down to floor level.

[Mike Buckley]

Congratulations, Kyle! I see that you too have decided to take on the difficulty of photographing glass. You've done an excellent job as a first try.

I'll comment only about your images of the Crown Royal.

Though you're on a limited budget, I highly recommend that you purchase Light: Science and Magic. You'll not only learn specific lighting setups for situations including this exact situation, much more important is that you'll learn the guiding principles behind the lighting setups and their infinite variations. To save money, consider looking for a used copy of the fourth edition rather than the current fifth edition. The text is exactly the same word-for-word except for one page and except that the fifth edition has an additional chapter about setting up your first studio. Though the fifth edition might be more expensive, that last chapter might be of particular interest to you.

The attributes:
Great texture in the cap and the embossed glass in both images

Very pleasing shadows of the subject(s) on the tabletop in both images

Attractive color of the liquid in both images. I prefer the tonalities and contrast of the bottle in the second image but I would not have objected to that aspect of the first image if I hadn't seen the second image.

Nice display of the entirety of the front and rear rims of the drinking glass (much easier said than done!)

Nice display of the ice cubes

The characteristics that could be improved:
An unappealing glow that conforms to the shape of the bottle and glass that I think was probably introduced during post-processing, though perhaps it's the glow you mentioned created by a bounced flash. It's less of an issue in the second image around the bottle but still an issue. Perhaps this is simply a situation in which you prefer that look and I don't. If you want to display tonal variation around the subject, consider lighting the background separately to make that happen, which can be a very attractive look.

The lighting of the tabletop is uneven in both images. In the first one, there is a splotchy quality on the left rear corner. Though the treatment of the subject is crisp, treatment of the left and right sides of the tabletop isn't. In the second one, the angle where the tabletop fades into darkness is very different on the left and right sides.

When displaying a subject and drinking glass, consider that you're telling a story. In this case, the bottle is full yet the drink is also poured into the glass. Other alternatives that more effectively tell the story in my mind are to display a bottle that is not full because some of the drink has been poured into the glass or to display an empty glass awaiting the pour.

I don't drink hard liquor but my impression is that the drinking glass is overly full. On a related note, one way to put a nice touch on the display of the ice is to present part of it rising above the level of the liquid. If at least one of the cubes is on a diagonal, diagonals will usually strengthen images.

Direct reflections are mirror-like reflections of the light source. When photographing glass, they are intentionally used to define the shape of the glass by highlighting its edges. Excellent examples are the two direct reflections in the top of the bottleneck and the bright reflections that define the shape of the drinking glass, especially at or near the top of it. However, direct reflections in areas of glass that are not the edges are to be avoided unless you do it to such an extreme that the image is made in an obviously edgy style (your images clearly are not edgy). They're to be avoided because those areas of glass are designed to appear transparent and the introduction of a direct reflection makes the glass appear white. You've got small direct reflections in both images in the top left and bottom left areas of the bottle and the front of the drinking glass displays a particularly distracting direct reflection. (If you want to intentionally add a reflection to glass to help define shape or add appealing interest, use a reflector to throw light onto the glass; reflected light is much more appealing than a direct reflection.)

The bubbles in the drinking glass get in the way of displaying the name on the glass and vice versa. Consider using a drinking glass with no name to display the bubbles. If it's important to use this drinking glass, consider letting the bubbles disappear at least somewhat if not entirely before releasing the shutter.

[Wavelength]

Kyle, great images.....

[Kyle]

The link you provided to your backdrop doesn’t look too promising really. If the advert shot is showing that many wrinkles (folds) I think I would steer clear of it.

I've already cancelled the order. I was unsure of it when I ordered it but it really does seem like a waster of money. After googling diy background support I've already found quite a few plans people have thrown on the net using PVC pipe. I'm not very handy with that sort of thing but I'm happy to learn and give it a try.

Wow looking at your photos and then looking at mine all I can see are those 'memes' of "nailed it" with the good photo, then my photo beside it!
I will be using your photos are inspiration for where I need to get my photo quality to!
Thanks for the advice.

[Loose Canon]

Thank you Kyle. But I think your shots are pretty dad-gone good myself. It depends a lot on what you are going for. I also want to congratulate you on your choice of shooting these. Not a lot of folks here on this particular forum will even touch shots like you have produced.

A couple of thoughts come to mind with your shots. The first one that comes to mind is that it really doesn’t appear to me that the rear label of the bottle has been removed. Correct me if I’m off on that. For having the bottle lit directly from behind there are far too many dark areas and I’m guessing that can only be because there is a label flagging your light. Hitting the bottle from behind is a great way to bring out the liquid’s characteristics but in pretty much every case that rear label has to go for it to be effective.

When I shot the bottle of Crown (or any other glass bottle) I asked myself what are the most interesting aspects I would want to see. With the Crown bottle there is the label, which is probably the most important in most cases, the interesting shape, the embossing, the cap. Further, it is usually going to be important to make sure the bottle is not getting lost in the black BG. In your shots some parts of the bottle are losing to the BG. In other words the edges of the glass are not visible (defined). Most noticeably the neck, but also below the shoulders. There are a couple of ways to do this and lighting the bottle directly from behind is one way. Another way is to maybe supplement the back-lighting with some side lighting.

But direct lighting of glass isn’t a very successful way to do it. So you need to modify the flash. I use strip boxes and these can also be built DIY cost effectively. However the Whiskey Police will not come to the door to take your first-born if you don’t use strip boxes. You can shoot bare flash but fire it through translucent material. The material could be a white sheet, shower curtain, tracing paper, vellum paper, any number of things. What happens by firing through this material is now you are lighting the subject with a bigger area (the diffusion material) instead of the small flash. Cool! Now you are starting to “shape” your light and this is an awesome step in your studio work because this is what it’s all about. You can move your flash back from the diffuser, closer, forward, backward, to get different lighting effects.

One of my favorite aspects of the Crown bottle is the embossing and I consider it very important. For this, side lighting. That will produce highlights on the raised parts of the embossing on side of the light, and shadow on the side away from the light defining the embossing and causing it to jump off the bottle in a photograph. Remember, light illuminates and shadow defines.

Your label looks good but if I were the Art Director for Crown and you were shooting this for me I would want the label a bit more prominent. Well, really the label is what I would want seen first and foremost! I would probably want it to be accurate color-wise as well (no gelled or colored light) but that would be subjective. Since I mentioned it I like you choice of gold reflector. In my Crown shot I used a blue gel for the backlighting of the surface and you can see that in some of the reflections (ice cube, top of the cap, bottom part of the drinking glass.

I’m not sure about the stones. I don’t know how popular these are or how recognizable. It could be that I’m not used to seeing these in a glass of whiskey but rather used to seeing ice instead. I think they may be a bit too dark at any rate.

The bubbles don’t look right in a glass of whiskey. I don’t think the bottle needs to have some liquid poured out of it if there is a glass of it next to it necessarily. Maybe if you shot it with the cap off and sitting on the tabletop possibly, but if you are going to shoot it with some liquid missing, than I would shoot it with a substantial amount missing so it looks like it is “on purpose”. And here is a prop tip if you are going to shoot the bottle again (and I really hope you do Kyle). Water and soy sauce makes a great theatrical whiskey. Just mix it slowly until it matches!

So whatever is in the glass you can wait until the bubbles disperse, or you can use your finger, a paint brush, or the like to run across the inside of the glass to disperse them. Be careful not to smudge the outside of the glass and for that matter, make absolutely sure all of your subject matter is squeaky clean before the shoot. Glass is notorious for showing fingerprints in a photograph.

If you are going to shoot a drinking glass, especially your fave, with lettering, the lettering should pop off the glass. You can see its there, but you can’t see what it is and that’s a problem.

If you bring your camera angle down just a bit, you will be getting a “hero” shot! A bit lower angle makes the subject seem “larger than life”! Just be aware of possible distortion and correct in post as needed.

So how do you bring about all the lighting tips you are getting with two flashes? You have already shown you have better than average skills in Photoshop with the Magic Levitation shots, so you composite! Shoot off a tripod,light each zone separately with the lights you have, get each exactly how you want it, than put it all together in post. Obviously, every one of the shots I did are composited.

Okay, so this is getting a bit long-winded Kyle and since I like your shots so much, they are making me want to go and have a bit of a dram for myself! Again congratulations on your choice and your choice was very well done!

I still can’t get over it! Its just uncanny!

[Kyle]

Congratulations, Kyle! I see that you too have decided to take on the difficulty of photographing glass. You've done an excellent job as a first try.

Thanks Mike! It's really great to hear such feedback, especially from someone who has so much experience in this particular form of photography.

Though you're on a limited budget, I highly recommend that you purchase Light: Science and Magic.

I've added it to my wishlist and I'll be trying to purchase it as soon as possible. In the mean time I'll definitely search out as much info online as possible.

An unappealing glow that conforms to the shape of the bottle and glass that I think was probably introduced during post-processing, though perhaps it's the glow you mentioned created by a bounced flash.

I believe this was introduced in post. There was probably a hint of it before but with my backdrop being a towel and my limited space, I had to try hard to get completely rid of the background in lightroom. With a proper size background and some space I can probably start to fix this up. I'll take another shot at it in lightroom to see if I can clean it up some more.

The lighting of the tabletop is uneven in both images.

I think this was related to the above comment as well. I had to get rid of different spots in the background and on my table.

When displaying a subject and drinking glass, consider that you're telling a story. In this case, the bottle is full yet the drink is also poured into the glass. Other alternatives that more effectively tell the story in my mind are to display a bottle that is not full because some of the drink has been poured into the glass or to display an empty glass awaiting the pour.

I had this thought when taking the photo but I had a smaller bottle of crown I wanted to use (drink) first. I found that the empty glass with only the whisky stones did not add as much to the photo, especially with the large colorful bottle beside it. Maybe next time I will try a smaller bottle beside the glass. I don't drink often so I'll likely have the big bottle around for a long time to keep practicing on.

Direct reflections are mirror-like reflections of the light source. ... They're to be avoided because those areas of glass are designed to appear transparent and the introduction of a direct reflection makes the glass appear white. You've got small direct reflections in both images in the top left and bottom left areas of the bottle and the front of the drinking glass displays a particularly distracting direct reflection. (If you want to intentionally add a reflection to glass to help define shape or add appealing interest, use a reflector to throw light onto the glass; reflected light is much more appealing than a direct reflection.)

Those reflections are from my speedlight which was on camera and pointed to camera left. I was holding a 32' gold reflector quite close to the camera as I was trying to operate both the camera (with a wired trigger) and the reflector. I've got a stand for a speedlight along with 3 umbrellas and a wireless trigger on the way. I'm hoping that with those I can get the speedlight off camera and I'll be able to have more maneuverability in where the light is vs the camera. I'll be looking up dark field lighting as Manfred suggested to get some ideas on proper lighting setups.

Thanks for all of the advice and comments Mike! I definitely have a ton to work on to get my photos looking more professional but I have good ideas on where to start now.

[Mike Buckley]

Kyle,

You mentioned a couple details in response to my post that are related to the limitations of your shooting situation. Nobody understands that better than I do, as my makeshift studio is far more makeshift than studio.

When you get into situations that seem overly difficult whether due to lighting technique or the amount of time required to get it right in the capture, by all means look for ways to produce an image by making corrections during post-processing. As examples, I regularly clone, paint a background black to ensure that it uniformly displays one tonality, and/or take several captures with a plan to merge parts of them to make a final composite image. As another example, the unwanted direct reflections from your speed light are so small that I have planned far larger (far more offensive) direct reflections in parts of my image because I know in advance how easy it will be to use a clone or brush tool to eliminate them. Indeed, I'm confident that the direct reflections I mentioned in both of your images could be relatively easily eliminated during post-processing.

As a reminder, my perspective is that you did a really nice job for a first attempt; whereas I very much enjoying seeing yours, I'm very confident you do NOT want to see my first image made in the same style.

[Mike Buckley]

I forgot to mention the issue that you were simultaneously holding a reflector and releasing the shutter. You might get into situations when doing that will ruin your photo because you will be reflected in the glass.

There are lots of cheap and easy ways to get a reflector to stand up on its own as a means of giving you more flexibility. Simply buy an inexpensive piece of foam core. I recommend white because you can so often use it as a reflector. Cut a small piece of it and score it in whatever configuration that makes it possible to stand up on its own. (I have several configurations between my white foam core and white presentation paper.) Another method is to buy a pack of cheap A-clamps at your hardware store -- and I mean "cheap," not "inexpensive." Use the A-clamp as the base resting on your tabletop to position a single, flat piece of anything. In this case, simply paper clip your reflective material to the foam core that stands on its own. Voila! You have a hands-free gold reflector!

Keep in mind that the mantra of studio work is improvise, improvise, improvise! And if you don't have a roll of gaffer's tape, you can't possibly improvise enough.

[Kyle]

Wow, thanks again for the great response and kind words Terry!

You are correct and there is a back label still on that bottle. I thought of removing it but I didn't want to ruin the bottle. I'll make sure to have that gone before I take the next shots.

However the Whiskey Police will not come to the door to take your first-born if you don’t use strip boxes.

Damn Whisky Police. Leave my whisky alone! I'm going to try to DIY a backdrop. If I can manage to not break anything while doing that then I am sure can manage strip lighting.

I’m not sure about the stones. I don’t know how popular these are or how recognizable. It could be that I’m not used to seeing these in a glass of whiskey but rather used to seeing ice instead. I think they may be a bit too dark at any rate.

I'm not sold on the stones either. I love them for keeping my drink cold without diluting it but they don't photography well. At least, with only the two in that glass. I did try to prop the one up on an angle to add a bit of variety to the shot.

You're right, the bubbles don't look right at all. That's ginger-ale, by the way. The glass + bottle shot was more of an after-thought that I wanted to test out quickly to get an idea of how it would look. When I was done I wanted to actually have a drink. I did take a first shot with the glass before I added any ginger-ale. The shot seemed unbalanced with a small glass that was mostly clear beside this massive bottle.
I will try these shots again and when I do I'll make sure to use up the soy sauce that's sitting in my fridge never getting used.

Be careful not to smudge the outside of the glass and for that matter, make absolutely sure all of your subject matter is squeaky clean before the shoot. Glass is notorious for showing fingerprints in a photograph.

I've got a ton of microfiber clothes left over from when I wore glasses. I was kept one at hand for both the glass and bottle.

If you bring your camera angle down just a bit, you will be getting a “hero” shot! A bit lower angle makes the subject seem “larger than life”! Just be aware of possible distortion and correct in post as needed

I actually struggle a ton with the angle. The table used is a coffee table and one of the only actual tables I own. Because I live in a basement apartment I still live like a student with crappy hand-me-down furniture. The table is so low to the ground I struggled to get my trip that low while staying level. I don't think it would go down any further.
I do have plans now to DIY a simple table that would work with the background I create. I've now got quite the list of stuff I need to build.

So how do you bring about all the lighting tips you are getting with two flashes? You have already shown you have better than average skills in Photoshop with the Magic Levitation shots, so you composite!

I've just started learning photoshop but I do learn quickly. I took the levitation shots so I could go through the tutorials.


Thanks again for all the advice and kind words. I think I've got a good base to start from and I've got a ton of great advice on where to go from here.
My light stand and flash triggers should be here this week. I'm going to be looking up the materials for a background which I will try to build in the next few days. If that works out well I'll start on a table and eventually make my way to different lights. I've got a single off camera flash and a couple of continuous light so I'll have to learn how to best take advantage of the mixed lighting types.

I'll make sure to keep posting with my progress as I make more attempts at refining these shots.

[Mike Buckley]

the soy sauce that's sitting in my fridge never getting used.

That's two no-no's! Soy sauce will last forever without taking up valuable refrigerator space. And it's so good that it should be used to tone down lots of sauces such as raspberry sauce, not to mention that it should be used in Chinese sauces! Low-salt soy sauce is preferred and it's more healthy than the standard stuff.

[Manfred M]

Kyle - you've used the word "flashes", so I assume you have at least two?

Let me make a few suggestions.

1. Start with one (plus any light modifiers you are using) and master shooting with the single light before adding additional lights. This really speeds up the learning curve. Shooting with two lights adds a second variable and unless you understand how a single light works it's difficult to understanding the interaction of more than one light source.

2. Cutters, flags, gobos, scrims, etc. i.e. devices you put between the flash and the subject are very important tools in the type of photography. As Mike has stated, home made ones are the best and are generally what I use as well. I do use a commercial scrim (something that softens the light) because I was afraid of introducing a colour cast into the shots.

You will need these, especially if you are shooting with umbrellas, which do have a fair bit of light spill.

3. There is only one key light (the technical term for main light). This is generally the light that contributes largest amount of light to the scene. Other lights will be used for fill light, accent lights, light the background, etc. Lots of good books and videos on line dealing with this subject.

4. One reason you use light modifiers like umbrellas is to increase the size of the light source. A large light source = soft diffuse light. A small light source gives you hard and harsh light. In my experience getting the light source close to the subject gives the best quality light. If you were to look at my shooting setup you would find that my light sources are often just outside of the frame (occasionally I blow it and need to Photoshop out out a bit of lighting gear that got into the shot). I generally try to keep my lights to within 2x the diameter or diagonal of the light source to ensure nice quality lighting.

[Kyle]

Keep in mind that the mantra of studio work is improvise, improvise, improvise! And if you don't have a roll of gaffer's tape, you can't possibly improvise enough.

I actually don't have any gaffer's tape. I've heard it mentioned enough that it feels like I can't possibly be a proper photographer without it!

I've never been that handy or good at DIY so it's not often what I go to. This first attempt was sort of a 'use what's available' try to see if I even like taking shots of still life. I've been learning wildlife and landscape photography so this was my first shot at anything different. I had a ton of fun attempting the shots and I really like being able to control the light. I can craft a shot without going out in -20 with 10 feet of snow while waiting for a tiny bird to fly close enough to get a shot of (okay maybe I'm being a bit dramatic there).

I really appreciate your kind words about my shots and the direction on how to improve.

I do want to mention that I did prop the reflector up on different objects for a few shots but I just couldn't get that perfect angle that way. I really hope my response did not come across as a 'my studio sucks so I can't get a good shot' complaint. It's more of an explanation for why I took the shots the way I did.
I've got a growing list of items I can start working on to build myself a nice little studio in my crappy basement.

I'm still learning lightroom and especially photoshop. I think I have a good handle on lightroom and how to make basic edits but things such as cloning the reflection out are still a bit daunting. I am going to take another stab at the editing and see where I end up with it.

Again, I really do have to thank you for all the direction and comments.

[Kyle]

That's two no-no's! Soy sauce will last forever without taking up valuable refrigerator space. And it's so good that it should be used to done down lots of sauces such as raspberry sauce, not to mention that it should be used in Chinese sauces! Low-salt soy sauce is preferred and it's more healthy than the standard stuff.

It's not low-salt and I made the mistake of actually reading the back label. Haven't touched it since!
Maybe I'll remove it from the fridge. Though it's not really comforting if it lasts that long at room temp.