An Apple a Day

[Rita]

I have decided to give myself a theme to work on and it is to take images of ordinary things and try to make them extraordinary. Turns out it is not as simple as I thought it would be. So, I am posting 2 of my attempt here for your feedback. The first image is a lady sitting in a lawn chair eating an apple, the background was full of other people so this is what I did to it. The second image is an abstract that I played with, I will keep you guessing, for now, on what the original image was

Any feedback, good or bad, is most appreciated.

1.


2.

[Wandjina]

I won't even attempt to guess as to what the second one is, Rita.
I like the first photo and I can see the challenge that confronted you. I love the balance of the red watchband with the redness of the apple.
However, being very picky, my eye becomes a little frustrated at the softness of the outline of the hand, particularly along the top of the thumb, yet the pores of the skin are much sharper. I tried justifying this softness as a depth of field issue, but distant parts of the apple seem sharper, belying this theory. It is probably more an issue with the softness of the edge of the mask you used during PP.

[Mike Buckley]

take images of ordinary things and try to make them extraordinary.

That's a great concept and you've got an admirable start on it.

Both images look like they were shot in a studio setting though you explained at least the first one wasn't. I encourage you to consider doing studio work as one way of accomplishing your thematic goal.

I've become less and less interested in trying to guess what an abstract image was created from. For me, that defeats the purpose of enjoying an abstract image. So, I'll only mention that your bold abstraction is very appealing.

The softness in parts of the apple and hand in the other image are as troubling for me as for Martin. I also wonder if the image would be more extraordinary (that's your stated goal) if the position of the hand was more compelling in a more assertive way, perhaps with the hand above the apple rather than in the relaxed position in the image. Seeing that you were shooting with a 200mm focal length, you might not have been in a position to control that aspect of the image. Even so, you can always shoot the image again with someone who is willing to follow your instructions, whether in a studio situation or otherwise.

[Rita]

Martin, thanks for the feedback and for being picky. Looking at my edit again I see what you mean by the softness around the hand. I think you are right that it is a result of the softness of the brush I used. Tomorrow I will take another look at it with a hard brush.

[Rita]

Hi Mike, as always I appreciate your feedback. See my comment to Martin about the softness. I am sure that I can find someone to pose with an apple in their hand for me for a re-try Just as a quick attempt I have flipped the image so the hand is on top to see what it would look like.


I haven't tried any studio type shooting yet. For this type of image is it possible to get away with using something like a desk lamp or 2 or 3? Or, are studio lights a necessity? My only lighting at this point in time is my flash. I have been considering doing some studio type shooting this winter when the weather is lousy.

[IzzieK]

I like the abstract better even though I will not ID it. The hand's position just do not appeal to me whether the apple is up or the hand is positioned the other way. Sorry Rita...this is the very first of your image that the composition do not appeal to me. There must be a better way to show this apple??? just thinking out loud....

[bnnrcn]

Hi Rita I like both images.

I'm seeing some dark brush strokes around the apple and the hand I think they need fixing If you didn't leave them intentionally . The red colors of the apple and the strap of the watch go very well with each other and make the composition stronger.

I can't make a guess about #2 but very nice abstract with lovely red color

[FootLoose]

I prefer the first shot, Rita. Flipping it turns the left hand into a right hand. But the left is the sinister side (female) and the half-eaten apple has obvious biblical connotations which - for me - are problematised by the engagement and wedding rings.

I like the abstract, too and I really don't want to know what it is

[TonyW]

I like both of these. The relationship of hand, apple and watch is good. I love the texture of the skin on the hand. I wonder whether it would look better if the hand was rotated so that the rings and watch were not on the edge. The inverted version looks wrong because of the lighting.

The second makes a good abstract. My only guess is that it is a pile of table napkins held together at the centre but I have no confidence in that guess. The simplicity and regularity of the geometry is attractive.

[Shadowman]

I like what you've done on both, red is a great color to work with, keep in my mind that the red is going to dominate the composition unless you use it in very small amounts. There's some editing strokes visible in the first image and a slight red tinge in the background. Second image background is a bit cleaner. Keep at it.

[Mike Buckley]

Agreed with the others explaining that turning the left hand into a right hand doesn't work all that well, especially for people whose cultures recognize that the wedding ring is traditionally worn on the left hand.

For this type of image is it possible to get away with using something like a desk lamp or 2 or 3? Or, are studio lights a necessity? My only lighting at this point in time is my flash.

My guess is that the model will have a hard time holding her arm and hand still enough to shoot the image at a reasonably low ISO using the light from a typical desk lamp if the ambient light is really dark. (Ideally, you will want to shoot the subject with a black background to avoid the hassle of making it black during post-processing.) You will be more successful lighting the scene using your flash off-camera to stop the action of the hand along with perhaps one or two reflectors if necessary. You might want to place diffusion material and/or a snoot over the flash, depending on the look you want to achieve.

You could use a table lamp as a modeling lamp to light the scene as you want it and then switch to using the off-camera flash to capture the image. To make the flash work off-camera, you will need to use a cable connected to the camera if your camera does not have the capability of controlling the flash wirelessly.

When beginning studio work, it's always a good idea to learn how to light a scene effectively using just one light source and possibly a couple reflectors. Once you get the hang of that, add a second light source, a third light source, etc.

By the way, when I was looking through the EXIF data I noticed that the photo's color space is Adobe RGB. You will be far safer when it comes to hoping others view approximately the same colors you see if you use the sRGB color space when posting images on the Internet. The people who are using browsers that are not color-managed (though I realize that would be rare these days) or are poorly color-managed (that is common) have no hope of seeing the colors as you intend unless you use sRGB.

[Rita]

Izzie, you never have to be sorry for not liking something that I post. I really do appreciate all feedback and hearing how others view things

[Rita]

Binnur, thanks for commenting. Yes, I need to re-do some of the editing. Seems I became a little careless near the end but I will work on it again

[Rita]

Greg, flipping it was just a quick way for me to see what the hand would look like on top. I appreciate your thoughts on the images. You have thought more in depth than I did

[Rita]

Hi Tony, I will keep in mind the rotation of the hand/arm when I get a chance to re-shoot.

No, the second image is not napkins.

[Rita]

John, thanks for the feedback. Please see my previous comments about the editing.

[Rita]

Mike thanks for taking the time to explain. I predict that I will be doing some homework this afternoon to look into some of the lighting. Along the way I will figure out how to change the colour space too. Your help is much appreciated.

[Mike Buckley]

The latest edition of Light: Science and Magic concisely explains the basic options regarding lighting equipment including their primary advantages and disadvantages. I highly recommend the book to anyone contemplating any form of studio photography.

[Jimr1961]

When I scroll up and down on the second shot using my LED screen, there is an explosion of like, but offset pattern emanating from the center that is very cool. The faster I scroll, the farther out from the center it travels.

I think it's half of a small table fan wire casing, half cut away and the other half mirrored in post.

[dem]

If you rotate 180 degrees rather than flip horizontally, the left hands remains left.