Four Crystal Spheres

[Manfred M]

I often use crystal glass spheres in my work to complement the glassware and water.

Today I decided that I would try to create a work that consists purely of these spheres; a 150mm, 100mm, 80mm and 30mm diameter ones.

[BobGilbody]

Heello Manfred, Nice image. Just wondering why you cut off the shadows of the two spheres?

[Manfred M]

Heello Manfred, Nice image. Just wondering why you cut off the shadows of the two spheres?

The reason is both practical and aesthetic. First of all the front edge of the black piece of Plexiglas I use as a base / reflector is just out of view on the bottom edge of the image.

The second reason is aesthetic / compositional. A perfectly mirrored reflection puts the "horizon line" in the centre of the frame and that generally leads to a weaker image. The bottom (reflected) part competes with the upper (non-reflected) part of the image and the overall image is compromised (in my opinion).

This is very much something we see a lot in landscapes as well. The novice photographers try for a perfect reflection where the upper part of the landscape is perfectly mirrored in the water. The more advanced photographer gets enough of the reflection to get a strong effect, but knows where to crop to get a strong composition.

I have shot some scenes where I do not use reflections or minimal reflections, but they tend to not have as high an impact, for example.

[Manfred M]

I had played around with other crops, for instance this one:





I'm just not sure about the visual balance.

[escape]

I'm just not sure about the visual balance.

The first image draws the eyes to the clipped reflections and leaves the viewer wondering why. I think the visual balance is fine in this image. I like it.