Beer Goggles
by csb

Comment:
Thanks for all the comments... kept me entertained during the voting week.

This image was recommended for disqualification. Good thing I had the original with EXIF data available ;) Thanks to those that recommended it... I enjoy being kept on my toes.

Here's how it was done... the bottle is actually sitting on a glass table covered with an off-white colored cloth. Beneath the table are 3 low powered lights to evenly disperse the light. There is a cardboard cutout of a female figure taped to the bottom of the table beneath the cloth. The effect is that of a shadow puppet.

The image was shot from above, using a black leather jacket for the background. There are a few bright spotlights from above to help diffuse unwanted shadows and balance the light coming from beneath the table. There was a yellow-shaded spotlight from the back, which resulted in the bottle shadow in the foreground. The critics are still deciding whether or not it distracts from the photo... I did it on purpose to add a little extra confusion and give an effect of multiple lighting angles.

This was an extremely fun photo to set up. By far, its the most complex photo I've ever made in a staged setting. It took about 50 shots to get it right and I experimented with 3 completely different setups. The biggest challenge was making sure the lights beneath the table didn't blead through the white cloth causing a washout, which looked horrible.

Moonlight Sonata
by jmsetzler

Comment:
very provocative ;)

"Alien" or "Dad, are we done yet?"
by liltool

Comment:
upside down? good effect

Concrete Grill
by Patella

Comment:
horizontal orientation and allowing the snail to fill the picture would have made this a great photo

Champagne for my Shadow
by Froober

Comment:
good shadow effect. Perhaps a little more light would really make this stand out

In the Shadows
by pjangel

Comment:
this would be cool if the subject (you?) were barefoot

Watch Out
by daysez

Comment:
good FOV

Rorschach #11
by Gordon

Comment:
interesting

Don't Tread on Me
by rebeccaleidy

Comment:
excellent photo, but not much for shadows

Mini-chase
by svaleda

Comment:
big cop!