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02/08/2010 06:24:03 PM · #1
So prior to getting DQ'd this image was getting slammed (4.3 or something like that) in the Still Life With Fruit challenge. In fact I was contemplating self-dqing the image when I was told it was DQ'd.


Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Message edited by author 2010-02-08 18:24:19.
02/08/2010 06:29:48 PM · #2
Originally posted by Citadel:

In fact I was contemplating self-dqing the image when I was told it was DQ'd.


Worked out well for you then :)

I like the image, I think it has really nice light, good soft tones and the colours are subtle which is also nice.

I'm not 100% keen on the arrangement of one on top of the other, and the whole thing feels a little "front on". I can imagine people who were just taking a quick look and voting would only see that and think it was a hastily erected snapshot, that could be why you were scoring so low.

Overall, I would probably have given you a 7 had I voted.
02/08/2010 06:42:14 PM · #3
I am no expert in lighting but I will just offer my own thoughts. I think the flash at the rear of the subject was too bright, or maybe too close. I think the light from the rear flash washed out the lighting from the front flash giving you that really flat color. I would like to see the colors more bright and saturated. Judging by the nice catch light you have on the apples, the front flash bounced off the umbrella was nicely muted.

I would try moving the subject away from the background flash and maybe switching the flashes to bounce the uncontrolled flash off the umbrella and tone down the controllable flash if that's possible. Also, perhaps you can try to lower your iso value and raise your shutter speed to about 1/100 in order to clamp down on the amount of light allowed in.

Just a few thoughts... let me know if you agree or disagree.
02/08/2010 09:46:18 PM · #4
A more or less straight from camera version can be found here
//farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4290656612_0e192a4901_b.jpg

I had another version which had more depth (such as what cover_oddity suggested) here as well //farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4289910353_31a0178534_b.jpg

The problem with it was that it was taken before the challenge times. Then again, according to the EXIF info they all were so I guess that's a moot point.

In terms of what EL-ROI is saying. I had the flash on full auto so it kept bumping the output up everytime I stopped down. (If you want to let less light in for flash its aperture you need to change. Shutter speed will allow you to control ambient light...at least that's what they tell me). That being said I should have put the flash on manual and adjusted it myself. The problem with that is you can't use a histogram (because I was intentionally blowing out the background with the backlighting) and eyeballing it isn't the best way to go. (On second thought, I was kinda eyeballing it anyways).

And as for the setup? Yeah, it was pretty vanilla. Strangely I can see it working better with a third apple. (Some one once told me its best to work with odd numbers of subjects rather than even)

Thanks again guys for your comments. It helped me think about my image in new ways and more critically. If anyone else has advice it will be appreciated as well.

Message edited by author 2010-02-08 22:11:27.
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