'New Objectivity' blowlamp

[xpatUSA]

Following a recent sub-discussion here about Deadpan Photography and a recently-read article where I read:

"There is also a theory that this style of photography originated in Germany, from the notion of New Objectivity, or Neue Sachlichkeit. It is a German art movement from the 20s that influenced a famous photographer, August Sander.

Deadpan photography has been of interest to many contemporary artists and photographers, subtly dominating the styles of young artists. If you’re interested in creating your own collection in this style, most of the time the subject is in the middle of the frame (faux pas in modern photography), and you shoot the subject straight on. No angles, no clever compositions, no dramatic lighting — just your subject or object. The image should end up just as if you walked up to it in real life and took a quick shot."

Not quite per that last sentence, but:



I confess to angling it slightly so as to less obscure the air pump. Should I have?

I've got a barn-full of tools collected over some 60 years, so plenty of subjects to go yet!

Comments sincerely invited - both about the style and the shot.

[Wavelength]

I really liked this; it has a 3D look; i also liked the notion of suspending the object in space...

[ST1]

I’m not sure about this Ted, I’m seeing some form of artefacts between the background and the handle, plus a dark line on the background on the left of the object. The blow torch certainly stands out from the background giving it a suspended in fresh air look.


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[xpatUSA]

I’m not sure about this Ted, I’m seeing some form of artefacts between the background and the handle,

Yes, a lack of thoroughness when making the selection mask. Well spotted, Peter.

plus a dark line on the background on the left of the object.

Dang! I had deleted that but then I made a new mask and forgot. It's the join between sheets of paper in the background.

The blow torch certainly stands out from the background giving it a suspended in fresh air look.

Thanks for commenting.

[xpatUSA]

I really liked this; it has a 3D look; I also liked the notion of suspending the object in space...

Thank you, Nandakumar!

[Manfred M]

+1 to Peter's comments. The artifacts from cutting out the torch are definitely something that struck me too. I am not a fan of object that appear to be suspended in mid-air (unless they are aircraft, of course). I prefer some level of anchoring in most images and that tends to be done through ensuring that there is a shadow that links to the ground.

The type of picture you have here would work well if you are trying to sell the torch online (although plain white is usually used in those shots). I would prefer to see some context in the background. In the past, I would send people to the Lee Valley Tools catalogues to show how tools should be photographed. Back in the day of print catalogues, their tool catalogues were considered to be "collectors items"; they stills how some of that old flair, but not as much anymore in the digital world.

The link to their online catalogues can be found here: https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/catalogs

[xpatUSA]

+1 to Peter's comments. The artifacts from cutting out the torch are definitely something that struck me too. I am not a fan of object that appear to be suspended in mid-air (unless they are aircraft, of course). I prefer some level of anchoring in most images and that tends to be done through ensuring that there is a shadow that links to the ground.

There was a nice soft shadow on the plain white paper "ground". I'll give it try, thanks.

[xpatUSA]

Originally Posted by Manfred M +1 to Peter's comments. The artifacts from cutting out the torch are definitely something that struck me too. I am not a fan of object that appear to be suspended in mid-air (unless they are aircraft, of course). I prefer some level of anchoring in most images and that tends to be done through ensuring that there is a shadow that links to the ground.

There was a nice soft shadow on the plain white paper "ground". I'll give it try, thanks.

Here we go, Manfred:



No artifacts and shadow left as-is. I would still be inclined to colorize the paper ...

Better for you?

[ST1]

The shadow give you a much stronger image Ted. Rather than trying to colourise the paper have you considered adding a texture/grain to the white paper.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Manfred M]

+1 to Peter's comment. This is a much stronger image. I would not colorize the paper. The problem with that approach is that the background acts as a bit of a reflector and we would expect some of the background colours to bleed around some of the edges. When they don't we often notice that something doesn't look quite right. To manage what you were trying to do properly can be done, but one has to also make minor adjustments on the subject with the new background to get it to look right.

What I might work on is removing the seam between where the horizontal and vertical papers meet.

[xpatUSA]

Thanks for the further input, Gents.

By "colorize the paper", Manfred, I really meant the application of a slight tint in post. Peter, applying texture/grain would mean masking and, as you have seen in the OP, I'm still not real good at that.

A quick FastStone blue tint and a clone-out of the paper joins, slightly messed-up at right:

[xpatUSA]

It seems the style I'm looking at for my tools is called "Object Photography", for now the sub-type of "isolated" mentioned in the link below rather than "specific context", see:

https://www.dreamstime.com/blog/obje...y-basics-30087

Lots of examples of various types of "object photographs" here:

https://unsplash.com/s/photos/object-photography
.

[pschlute]

Agree, the final image is much stronger Ted.

[Chataignier]

Thanks for the further input, Gents.

By "colorize the paper", Manfred, I really meant the application of a slight tint in post. Peter, applying texture/grain would mean masking and, as you have seen in the OP, I'm still not real good at that.

A quick FastStone blue tint and a clone-out of the paper joins, slightly messed-up at right:

Not sure about removing the line between the horizontal and the vertical sheets.... there is a perspective change where the shadow passes from horizontal to vertical and without a sense of "why" provided by the join, it looks odd to me. Better still would be to have large enough horizontal surface to avoid the perspective change altogether.

[xpatUSA]

Not sure about removing the line between the horizontal and the vertical sheets.... there is a perspective change where the shadow passes from horizontal to vertical and without a sense of "why" provided by the join, it looks odd to me.

David: an interesting point of view, thanks for the comment.

If the background were not pieces of paper but, instead, the shadow were of a tree against a wall and pavement, then a "perspective change" would look correct. The original aim was to have no background at all, as seen in post #1, but others have guided me to this image version by firstly suggesting the inclusion of shadows and secondly suggesting the deletion of the joins, so perhaps they would kindly comment about shadow "perspective". I tend to agree with your good self in that a bent shadow should have a visible reason for so being.

Better still would be to have large enough horizontal surface to avoid the perspective change altogether.

Being lazy, my current "studio" for trying out Object Photography is the end of a long but only 2ft (61cm) wide table in the kitchen with an overhead LED warehouse-style lamp casting about 200 lux at about 30 degrees from the vertical. Said lighting position is invariant. Still, with most tools/smaller objects, a bit more horizontal surface is indeed possible ...

At my less than comfortable shooting bench elsewhere on the property, with no A/C and normally around 100F (38C) with 90+ %RH, there are still pieces of paper to be joined just by placing them, so the issue remains ...

[xpatUSA]

Some "Isolated Object" photos here, mostly without shadows or joins:

https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/isolated.html

[pschlute]

Some "Isolated Object" photos here, mostly without shadows or joins:

https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/isolated.html

The cheese and spinach pies got my attention.

[xpatUSA]

the cheese and spinach pies got my attention.

Great quip