January - Project Orange

[Kaye Leggett]

One of my Christmas presents was a photo calendar from my Step-Daughter. Not your ordinary one though - this one challenges you each month to take different themed pictures. January is to take pictures of orange things. Another Christmas present was a Bottle of Veuve Clicquot. So the two have been put together.

I spent last weekend studying some of Mike Buckley's glass photos which resulted in me buying a few pieces of plastic and also studying promo pictures of the product itself which quite often have a funky vibe.

Today I started my set up and took five photos in 4 hours. Here is the best of them.....
I know I need to eliminate the white stripe reflection (not sure at this instant what causes this) and also to clean the black plastic better (its dusty) - but further thoughts/techniques/critique all welcome. My mini studio is still set up.....

At the end of the month I want to send the picture to my step daughter as '1 of 12'.



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[Geoff F]

Looks OK to me, subject to your comments.

Would it be better to show all of the glass on the right; or could that make the glasses appear too important and cause them to overwhelm the other items?

[Shadowman]

Interesting gift, are you supposed to incorporate the image into the next
month's page? Nicely captured shot.

[Mike Buckley]

This is nothing short of marvelous as a first attempt. It's very good even for someone experienced at photographing such difficult subjects. Exceptionally well done!

Special touches include the very soft shadow on the box and the lighting of everything that so nicely displays the various shapes. I also like that the background is lit unevenly and that it reflects one of the wine glasses. Great texture on the foil also!

I have never gotten black acrylic to be completely dust-free at the time the photo is taken. Even if it starts out clean as I begin setting up everything, it ends up being dusty before I capture the image. So far, my best solution is to clean it using Windex before setting the subjects on it. Immediately before releasing the shutter I use a static-free micro fiber cloth such as one you would use to clean a lens to brush away any noticeable dust. Even then I locate dust particles when viewing the image file at 50% to 100%. So, I go over the entire image (because dust can collect on the background, subjects and tabletop) judiciously using a clone tool.

You mentioned the need to eliminate the "white stripe reflection." There are two of them, one on each side of the bottle. I think both are fine except that I don't like the one on the left being reflected in the main bottle label. One standard way of dealing with this is to light the label in a second capture that doesn't include that reflection. Then combine the two images during post-processing.

You also said that you don't know what created that reflection. The one sure way to determine the source is to move anything that you think could possibly be the source. When you move the source, the reflection will also move.

Consider raising or lowering your camera to make a distinction between the front and rear rims of the glasses. That's especially important when making an image only of a glass because it improves the illusion of a third dimension. It's not important in this image because the scene already does that quite well on its own thanks to the variety of subjects.

I like that the glass on the right is not shown in entirety. I think I would prefer the top of the glass on the left being hidden behind the bottle, though doing so might leave too little space between the bottle and the stem of the glass.

[IzzieK]

I like the colour effect of this one Kaye...I was just thinking...when Mike uploaded his table settings a while back, I had liked that 'hint' of a wine glass. Maybe you can just included that kind of 'wine glass' hint instead of two whole glasses in the image so the wine and the box will be the central focus? Or is this wishful thinking on my part?

[Dave Humphries]

Kaye and Mike,

I had some thoughts reading Mike's post;

I have never gotten black acrylic to be completely dust-free at the time the photo is taken. Even if it starts out clean as I begin setting up everything, it ends up being dusty before I capture the image. So far, my best solution is to clean it using Windex before setting the subjects on it. Immediately before releasing the shutter I use a static-free micro fiber cloth such as one you would use to clean a lens to brush away any noticeable dust. ~

Remember when music came on 'Vinyl' records/disks?
In the seventies, they used to sell 'anti-static guns', which where piezoelectric devices that (supposedly) generated a stream of ions(?) to charge up the surface to actually repel dust - anyway, I wondered if one would be of any use for dust avoidance with the black acrylic.

You also said that you don't know what created that reflection. The one sure way to determine the source is to move anything that you think could possibly be the source. When you move the source, the reflection will also move.

It also occurs to me that possibly moving a suitably sized 'black flag on a stick' between the bottle and the light source or reflector might help in as much as you're not messin' with the set up.

It further occurs that you could possibly use the Live View feature via Cam-Fi and viewed on the tablet* which is aimed back at the set where you're standing and manipulating bits of foam-core board, etc.

* or whatever device as 'tethered' a display

HTH, Dave

PS Kaye - I also think you've done very well here and the biggest clue that Mike didn't shoot it (with all his months of experience) is really just the dust and a few other odd spots we never see on his (because he clones them out).

[Mike Buckley]

Dave,

I recently threw away one of those anti-static guns. I actually believe an anti-static brush such as the kind sold for cleaning camera sensors would be better in this case for brushing away the dust. It really doesn't matter whether a tabletop is static-free because dust will fall on it. Certainly a background or subject would attract less dust if they were static-free, so maybe one of those guns would work on them.

I like your idea of a black flag on a stick...but only if nobody videos me using it.

[Wavelength]

Loved it very much; i can't make any qualified comment upon it

[Urbanflyer]

Great challenge to help you grow--and well done first response!

[purplehaze]

Well done, Kaye. I am very impressed.

[Rob Ekins]

Brilliant first attempt Kaye, well done.

I agree with Mike about the label, in product photography the brand is king and that label needs to be unsullied

For dust removal I use a "Tack rag" They are a couple of dollars each at the hardware and last forever if returned to a sealed plastic bag.

[Kaye Leggett]

Thank you all for your comments and helpful advice. Some of you are really too kind.

I am popping out this morning and will see if I can get an anti-static cloth - we have quite a good hardware store in town. I may even see if they have a 'black flag'.

I am going to work on the reflections, composition and angle of camera (hadn't really experimented with the latter yesterday). I do like the partial glass on the right, both glasses in full didn't work, neither did just one glass. Last night when I posted I was too tired to go back and revisit and I had looked at the images and set up for too long, and needed other input. So again thank you all. I will update the photo again (and maybe again and again) before the month is out.........

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the tip about the tack rag, Robbie. Never heard of it. I'll buy one today!

[Mike Buckley]

Kaye,

Considering that you're planning on making some small changes (they really only need to be small to considerably improve an already very nice image)...

When you do the post-processing, consider that you can present the subjects in different moods above and beyond the mood you have so nicely created using your lighting setup. The options aren't necessarily better; they're just different. As an example, both of my versions shown below present an intentionally more dramatic mood that makes the bottle stand out a bit more at least to my eye as the primary subject.

In both versions, I pulled down the middle of the tone curve but masked the image to exclude the bottle's label and foil. Doing so darkened the mid tones and increased the contrast between the change from dark to mid tones and between the change from bright to mid tones. I also applied an S-curve to the label and foil to increase the mid-tone contrast, as I felt those two very important areas of your image were a bit flat. The difference between the two images is that the first adjustment was made using a Normal blending mode in the first version and a Screen blending mode in the second one.

[Mike Buckley]

By the way, your image makes me feel as if I absolutely must go to the city of Orange when I visit Provence this summer.

[bnnrcn]

Excellent shot Kaye !

[Kaye Leggett]

By the way, your image makes me feel as if I absolutely must go to the city of Orange when I visit Provence this summer.

Thanks for continued input - I like your first edit but the second makes the image a little too yellow. I will experiment. I did change the tint a little to increase the pinks, but reversed it - might try it again.

However, now I will look again tomorrow - my set up today increased in size with a big screen behind me to cut out reflections and also the purchase of a pack of computer/tv screen wipes - 60p (that's about $1 - for 60) and they like to mop up dust.

Orange is fabulous - the theatre is a must visit, the Arc de Triomphe less so. And if you're going that far, try Vaison La Romaine, North East by about 20 miles as another fascinating place with oodles of Roman History and art shops - mind you in July it may be a bit crowded as it's famous for being a holiday spot for the Parisiens who will arrive in their droves after the 14th July. BTW if you are in France on 14th July, check out some places in your vicinity for the fireworks. I've never managed it, the only year I've tried the weather was awful and the displays were cancelled, but they are pretty impressive I am told.

[Kaye Leggett]

Excellent shot Kaye !

Thanks Binnur

[Mike Buckley]

OFF TOPIC

Oh my gosh! I had completely forgotten to check for national holidays in Provence. We're going to be staying about ten minutes outside Avignon and we'll be there on Bastille Day. In fact, that will be our last full day in Provence and seeing fireworks that night would be a great ending to our vacation. I'll definitely look for info about that. THANK YOU!