JanuWednesfest - gregj1763

[gregj1763]

Mmmmm...Tullamore Dew!! Nice crisp shot Greg. Are you defusing the light sources or reflecting? The label has a bright spot about dead center, I would try for more even light(not that I know how to do that). I think that with a little bit of playing with light source and placement you will nail this one. I really like how you got the reflection, except for the fact that you used a little Devil for it. I hope you licked the table top to save it???

Lighting is with two led lights, the type you were looking at. Good for this sort of situation but not good for portrait shots. Not enough horse power.
Personally I liked the highlight on the label but it was more good luck than good management at achieving it.
I'm really struggling with coming to grips with lighting. Practise, practise ,practise.
No Devils Cut was harmed or wasted during the making of this image
Good luck with your work.
Cheers, Greg

[Mike Buckley]

I work so darned hard at getting glass to look good that I'm so impressed that you do such a nice job of it apparently comparatively easily. As an example, I don't see the lighting of the label as a hot spot; I see it as a gorgeous vignette that showcases the label. The natural warmth and the nearly missing horizon are two other examples. If you are interested in pursuing this type of photography, it already seems to come so naturally to you that I urge you to purchase either the ebook or the soft-cover version of the fourth edition of Light: Science & Magic.

Your image is so good that it deserves perhaps closer scrutiny than most, so...

You and Bobo mentioned that the bottle leans to the right. My software indicates that it leans to the left. I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it. Regardless, it doesn't bother me at all.

Two aspects of the composition don't work for me. The bottle seems to have never been opened though the glass has been poured. The spilled liquor indicates a certain amount of chaos that doesn't exist anywhere else in the image. Perhaps at least the bottle cap should be laying on the tabletop on its side. Maybe part of a dirty cigarette dish would add to the chaotic impression. (I'm terrible at designing images, so don't take those suggestions seriously without getting more informed advice.)

The glare on the right side of the bottle prevents the detail from being viewed. Though I like in this case that the glare helps create the 3D effect, that could be done without producing the glare.

The very bright reflection near the center shoulder of the bottle is probably the reflection of the light source. That reflection doesn't add anything and it is a little bit distracting.

Though the right side of the identification number embossed on the rear of the bottle is well lit, the emblem that is embossed on the front of the bottle is nearly invisible.

There seems to be a reflection of a person dressed in white sitting on a stool displayed in the rear of the glass. This seems to be incongruous with the rest of the composition.

And to get really nit picky, the top left area of the bottle cap is lost in the background.

Again, congratulations on a very nice shot. I'm jealous that you can do this stuff apparently without studying how to do it.

[gregj1763]

Mike I really appreciate your comments on my photo.
I think I should put this one down to beginners luck. I do have a lot of trouble trying to get lighting correct so I will get a copy of the book you mentioned.
If you google Tullamore Dew and select images you will see there is the one I based my photo on but they obviously have more room to get better back lighting and know what they are doing as well.
I think any more shots taken in my shed/studio will have to be a bit more thought out and I'm going to have to cover the walls and shelves with non-reflective fabric to stop unwanted reflections.
I am enjoying this type of photography so your comments have encouraged me to raise my efforts to the next level.
Many thanks, Greg

[Mike Buckley]

I bought black fabric from the store's bin of super cheap leftover remnants and strung them in front of the shelves. You'll also need to have a black ceiling. One method, which is far easier than the one that I used, would be to string nylon ropes and throw the fabric across them. You'll also want a black floor. I also throw black fabric over the sawhorses that I use to support a tabletop, which is especially important when I'm using a clear glass tabletop.

All of that provides a fully enclosed black cubicle that is about 5 feet x 8 feet (1 1/2 meters x 2 1/2 meters), which so far has been just barely large enough to include a tabletop that is 2 feet (2/3 meter) square, three continuous lights on light stands and a boom for holding a background and/or large circular diffuser. Absolutely nothing gets reflected that isn't intentional.

Surprisingly, my infrared remote that releases the shutter works when pointing it from outside the cubicle through the black fabric toward the camera.

Once I took the time to get all of that set up, it has been a joy to design and take shots in it. I use the area so often that I affectionately call it my cave. If you decide to create a similar area and have any questions about other details, don't hesitate to PM me.

[gregj1763]

Mike, Thanks for the studio design tips. I think I would be able to manage something like that in the area I have.
Looks like I will be busy over the weekend.
Ps, your earlier comments about the composition of the whiskey shot has sparked an idea, hopefully I will have something neat to show next week.
Cheers, Greg

[Bobobird]

A nice way to setup a home studio but way too elaborate for me.

Surely a diy table sized lightbox would be good enough. A bit larger could be a folding hide that birders use that you can line the insides with either black or white material.

You bottle guys might be interested in this one I just saw
http://500px.com/photo/23380671?from=popular

[Mike Buckley]

A nice way to setup a home studio but way too elaborate for me.

You apparently don't subscribe to the theory that anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.

Seriously, I am certain that many photographs of glass can be made using a tabletop tent. However, there will be limitations as to either what can be done or how much time will be required to do it. I used every inch of my 5 feet x 8 feet space making this photo tonight and honestly would not have tried it if I had been limited to the confines of a tabletop tent.

[allenlennon]

i do love the photo of the whisky and glass, but as Mike(a great source of info in his threads and on others) suggest the bottle is un opened and yet there is some in the glass and on the table which does ruin it for me. But i love the colours, contrast and the idea. Also i will add, my DIY studio is mainly my bedroom with whatever surface i can get, or if i want a complete black background I will do it at night outside weather permitting. But one day I am going to make a make shift studio like Mikes but not extansive as painting a part of the wall or a black bord(if memory serves) to hoist up.

[Bobobird]

You are probably right Mike, it was just ideas for being just enough to do something. I had no idea that you needed that much space for that shot though.

In excess is a hard thing to define. Normally it would be what you want to achieve and get to the point in preparation to get that result. What may be excess for one thing may not be enough for another.

Remember those ice crystals I did a while back? I was pretty certain I had all the stuff for it but in the end had to get a tabletop tripod. Including that I now have 4 plus a monopod, excess?

[gregj1763]

i do love the photo of the whisky and glass, but as Mike(a great source of info in his threads and on others) suggest the bottle is un opened and yet there is some in the glass and on the table which does ruin it for me. But i love the colours, contrast and the idea. Also i will add, my DIY studio is mainly my bedroom with whatever surface i can get, or if i want a complete black background I will do it at night outside weather permitting. But one day I am going to make a make shift studio like Mikes but not extansive as painting a part of the wall or a black bord(if memory serves) to hoist up.

Thanks for the comments Allen,
Check back to this thread next week, I hope to have something better then after taking everyones advice onboard.

Cheer, Greg

[gregj1763]

Right, before I start. I don't smoke it was just a prop and when I have finished posting this I'm off to have a shower.
This photo has taken a bit of putting together over the last few days.
Thanks Mike for the studio tips. I have lined the ceiling and walls with black fabric so no reflections now
The red fabric for the card table was from the same store.
Lighting was achieved with what we call a trouble light. (Basically a globe on the end of a handle.) I attached an old plastic light shade to direct the light in more of a downwards direction but it still spread and didn't give me the effect I wanted so I slipped an old black t-shirt down and around the light shade. Bingo, just what I was after.
Placed a few props on the table, put on a decent shirt and took a few shots until I arrived at this one.
The lighting is the part of the photo I am most happy with as it was pretty much exactly what I had imagined as I planned the photo in my head.
(Mike, I got a copy of the Light: Science & Magic. An interesting read so far. Thanks

Cheers everyone, Greg

[allenlennon]

I like it. It's dramatic. Did you get a good hand ? Lol

[gregj1763]

Well I beat the guy on the other side of the table. It was like he wasn't even there
Thanks Allen.
Ps, reckon I will play around with a B&W conversion tomorrow night and see how that goes.

[Plumcrak]

Well done Greg! I really like the lighting...and the whole set-up.
Maybe a big fat cigar would be more fitting than the cigarette?

[gregj1763]

No way Jon, I'm a lousy card player. Could never afford a cigar.
Im pleased you like the image
Cheers, Greg

[Plumcrak]

I look forward to a B&W conversion.

[Mike Buckley]

I just want to know whether you were bluffing. I promise that it will be kept a secret that only you, me and the other 20,000 participants at CiC will know.

All three glass objects look terrific! My guess is that the cards were shiny and would have produced glare if you hadn't positioned your light to avoid it. All of the coins are brightly lit, so they look great too; if the light had been positioned differently, I believe they would have been very dark even if the light had been shining directly on them. Notice also that the side label on the whiskey bottle doesn't have any offensive glare, unlike your previous photo. Those are a lot of details to handle that make this photo that perhaps seems rather simple to actually be very difficult. (Either that or you got lucky. ) Very well done!

You may not have gotten far enough into the book yet to realize the issue that you have a number of objects, some of which produce direct reflection and others that produce diffuse reflection. There are several ways to handle that to ensure that all of them are brightly lit. I suspect that your way was to use a large enough light source that it was positioned within the family of angles of the direct-reflection objects and outside the family of angles of the diffuse-reflection objects. Whatever method you used, well done!

I'd like to suggest a different crop for two reasons -- that I like tight crops and that, seriously, I think a tighter crop will help tell the story better. Try cropping on the left to show only part of the cigarette box. Crop on the right to show only a tiny part of the decorative band on the hat. (Nice hat, by the way!) Crop at the top to just above your forehead. Crop at the bottom to eliminate all foreground currency.

You might have intentionally wanted your dark hair and shirt to fade into the background. Even so, I think I would like the photo better if there was separation between you and the background. That could have easily been accomplished using a background light, whether it was continuous or a flash. You still might be able to accomplish it in post-processing.

How did you adhere the black fabric to the ceiling?

[Bobobird]

Excellent home studio job. You got what you had set out to do.

I can tell you are a non-smoker. A smoker would never let his drink glass block access to the ciggie.

No I don't smoke now, quit 15 years ago.

[Mike Buckley]

A smoker would never let his drink glass block access to the ciggie.

An interesting detail that I also would never have considered.

[gregj1763]

Thanks for the encouraging comments Mike and Bobo.
I will post a couple of photos of my studio set up when I get home from work today. (a picture tells a thousand words)
And thanks for the pp tips Mike I will give them a go tonight as well.
Cheers, Greg