Sky is the LIMIT
by a_jhamb

Comment by levyj413:
Would be nicer if it were sharper and not so dead-center.

Sky is the LIMIT
by a_jhamb

Comment by atupdate:
These are very difficult lighting conditions to shoot under. The exposure for the sky is well done; however, the back lighting makes the main object look flat. The sharpest focus on the main object appears to be at the top of the image where it meets the clouds. The bright clouds makes it very difficult to look there for any length of time, which sends my eye back to the lower half of the structure which is not as sharp in focus.

Sky is the LIMIT
by a_jhamb

Comment by Simpa:
Some spots on the picture...

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by levyj413:
Reminds me of a mountain range with one peak in the middle. Very good title!

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by lauralink:
Colorful macro composition, but falls short of meeting the challenge for me. Wait! Is that writing paper in the distance?

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by shalrath:
Would've liked to see this with a little more DOF

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by yanko:
A little too soft for me. The leader is also not the main focal point as my eyes go to that bright shiny reflection on one of the subordinate pens. I do like the idea so here are some suggestions if you decide to reshoot in the future:

A.) Cleaner looking pens - too many specks on them and the "leader" pen could have looked more "brilliant". If the lighting was done differently (see below) I think that pen could have looked more shiny and stand out more.

B.) Cleaner looking background - The current one looks too muddy. Using a dedicated light source just for the background would help.

C.) Light the subjects from below and to the side and not from above or keep the above lighting but use it only as a fill light and not your main source. If that's your house lights then use a quicker shutter speed to reduce that lighting source or dim the lights a bit if you have that option but only if you are using other light sources like the ones mentioned above.

D.) Maybe use some more pens to fill the space on the left and right and perhaps make this a landscape shot? Including more pens would make it look more over the top which would help give this some added wow factor, IMO.

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by atupdate:
You need to play around with the lighting a little bit her to help give this image more definition and appeal. The background would improve considerably if it were a brighter white and the depth of focus is a bit too shallow on the pens.

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by Nobody:
Nice idea. More contrast between the foreground and background would be an improvement. 6.

THE LEADER
by a_jhamb

Comment by xuan768:
Was a fridge used as the background? The texture is kind of distracting and the reflections on the "leading pen" detract a little bit.