Medals

[Mike Buckley]

A month ago I made some test shots of medals donated for the local American Heart Association's charity races and we discussed them in this thread. My contact liked the concepts but when this year's medals arrived they were a completely different color and shape. So, I went with the simple style and changed the background to blue. That's because it makes the red part of the medals pop and because the donor's main branding color is blue.

Setup
The background and tabletop are a single sheet of vinyl printed with a blue gradient. I altered the color of the blue during post-processing to better match the sponsor's branding color. A medium continuous-light lamp was above and to the left of the medals.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mike The colors are nice but IMO the shadows seem to compete with the medals a bit.

[ST1]

Hi Mike The colors are nice but IMO the shadows seem to compete with the medals a bit.

I agree with Binnur wrt the shadows Mike the remaining elements of the image work well together

[Ziggy]

I agree about the shadows being a little too much.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments! It's interesting to see the reaction to the shadows. I like the drama they bring to the scene. I of course could have made them less dramatic but prefer this style.

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

Just to say that I love this image... Gorgeous! I also adore the shadows... They remind me of a runners legs..

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina!

They remind me of a runners legs..

I'm not big into symbolism, so I must admit that I never thought of that. Now that you mention it, even I can make the connection, though just barely so.

[Donald]

Excellent demonstration of thinking about the audience/market - making an image that reflects the sponsors brand/colours along with having their name prominently displayed. Good one.

I like the shadows. I think the add depth and character to the image. If you try and 'see' the image without the shadows, I think it looks rather bland.

[Dave Humphries]

Hmmm,

I'll try not to go 'off on one' about symbolism

I do find the shadows a little overpowering, I agree they should be there (bland indeed, without), I just wonder if the camera left shadow wasn't quite as dense as it is - perhaps more the contrast of the right hand one - it might not be so affecting.

On symbolism, I'll just say that I wondered why the medals overlap, but the shadows do not - and does that signify anything?
(apart form the obvious cause of the light angle vs camera angle differing)

Doubt that'll help, but you never know

Cheers, Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Donald and Dave!

On symbolism, I'll just say that I wondered why the medals overlap, but the shadows do not - and does that signify anything?

Nope, no symbolism. I simply felt with regard to the composition that each medal should have its own distinct shadow. Sorry to use such boring reasoning.

[TonyW]

This is very well conceived. I like the shadows in this case - there is just enough separation from the medals to not interfere. The colours are good.