C&C please... Lost and Found art show

dnie

Not sure what thread it fits in best, but this one sounded appropriate.

:help I Really need some C&C on these pictures. There is a local art show that I have to have this for, due Friday 2-27.
Of the three could let me know what you liked best and why or what I could do (minus PS) to help the shot. Or are any of them good and do you get the Lost and Found idea behind it?
The show is "The Lost and Found Exhibition". My other picture that is ready is a feather (bird lost it, I found it).

1.


2.


3.

p27rpy

the second shot is definitely the strongest. the last one is WAAAAAY too grainy to be submitted, and i just don't really like the composition of the first. it looks more like a snapshot, as does the third.

stick with the second one!

dnie

p27rpy wrote:

the second shot is definitely the strongest. the last one is WAAAAAY too grainy to be submitted, and i just don't really like the composition of the first. it looks more like a snapshot, as does the third.

stick with the second one!

Thanks, that is the one I liked best also. Family and friends keep picking #1, but I see the problems with it. And yes, the grainy #3 bothered me. Sometimes it is right for a picture (IMO) but not this one.

What I really didn't expect were the EXTREME reactions I got to pictures with a Bible and booze in the same picture. One friend could not get to the concept and what I was trying to convey. She found the pictures "disturbing"

I thought what I was trying to show in the lost and found idea was obvious, is it not?

More ideas anyone? I am going to work at them a little this morning once I get kids out the door.

DaddyO

Believe I see where you are trying to go with this. Personally I would remove
the alcohol items and use the Bible and AA book together with the hand as
seen in the first image. AA book well implies finding life long relief from destructive excessive use of drink and the bible well implies finding additional strength through spiritually.

I like the softness use in your image 2 here.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

richtersl

I agree that #2 is the strongest image of all three.

This is one of these stark, emotional images that would work really well in B&W. I would try converting this to Black & White and then crop the photo to about midway between the Wild Turkey label and the neck of the bottle, and then clone out the tree branch. Doing this will keep your viewer's eye on the hands, The Bible, and the booze thus making your message a lot stronger.

dnie

DaddyO wrote:

Believe I see where you are trying to go with this. Personally I would remove
the alcohol items and use the Bible and AA book together with the hand as
seen in the first image. AA book well implies finding life long relief from destructive excessive use of drink and the bible well implies finding additional strength through spiritually.

I like the softness use in your image 2 here.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

Thanks for your ideas. You do understand where I am going with it. For me though, to take out the alcohol loses the point. Too many people would not recognize the AA book, it is a well worn copy and the letters are quite faded out. And I guess I wanted the shock value to be there also. I wanted to grab peoples attention and I am doing that.
I like the softness also. I went back in and worked on them this morning... 3 different programs to get it where I wanted it. (I don't have PS)

dnie

richtersl wrote:

I agree that #2 is the strongest image of all three.

This is one of these stark, emotional images that would work really well in B&W. I would try converting this to Black & White and then crop the photo to about midway between the Wild Turkey label and the neck of the bottle, and then clone out the tree branch. Doing this will keep your viewer's eye on the hands, The Bible, and the booze thus making your message a lot stronger.

I did think of trying to clone out the plant, though I am just learning that stuff and don't have PS, so I think it just would have been a mess.
I didn't think of cropping like that though. I was working to get the varied heights in there.
Here it is in B&W, but I also have the finished product framed and ready, so I will put that up in a second.

richtersl

Can't see your B&W image, Donna. :cry

What software are you using for your photo editing?

If you can't clone out the plant, how about doing a reshoot without the plant in the way?

dnie

richtersl wrote:

I agree that #2 is the strongest image of all three.

This is one of these stark, emotional images that would work really well in B&W. I would try converting this to Black & White and then crop the photo to about midway between the Wild Turkey label and the neck of the bottle, and then clone out the tree branch. Doing this will keep your viewer's eye on the hands, The Bible, and the booze thus making your message a lot stronger.

Thanks!
I did think of trying to clone out the plant, though I am just learning all of that and don't have PS, so I think it just would have been a mess.
I didn't think of cropping like that though. I was working to get the varied heights in there.
Here it is in B&W, but I also have the finished product framed and ready, so I will put that up in a second.

dnie

This is it....
Thank you all for being so incredibly nice and helpful. I appreciate the different point of views. I have a better idea of what to expect at the Art show now. I can't wait for this reception. I don't usually pose a photo. Mine are almost always just things I come across.
With today's version I took #2, made more of the hands still in focus and working to soften and blur the background and bottle (as best I could). I left it color because I like the reflection of the bouban shining on the shot glass. I also bought my matt to bring out that color.

These is the framed and almost ready to go pictures for the show. They are both going in.

#1 Amazing Grace


#2 Birds of a Feather...

Trevlan

#2 FTW!!!! If you can reshoot, fill the shot glass, fill the shot glass! OMG. Love these controversy kind of shots. LoL.

redleash

Good luck!

dnie

Trevlan wrote:

#2 FTW!!!! If you can reshoot, fill the shot glass, fill the shot glass! OMG. Love these controversy kind of shots. LoL.

That's the kind of reaction I like!
That is one reason I liked #2, because it had the color there, even though it wasn't in the shot glass.
, my sister marked the bottle. I haven't drank in over 2 years and the hands person hasn't in over 25 years. In fact we started to pour some off just to freak her out. Heck, my youngest son even smelled my breath when he saw the bottle.
AHHH... where is the trust? :slurp

dnie

redleash wrote:

Good luck!

Thanks, the show is at a gallery in the local college. The Art Chairperson at the gallery liked it.
I would just be thrilled if it would sell and get me a little back to pay for all this fun I have. I was counted on one from the last show selling to pay for Smugmug... oh well.

darkdragon

dnie wrote:

Thanks, the show is at a gallery in the local college. The Art Chairperson at the gallery liked it.
I would just be thrilled if it would sell and get me a little back to pay for all this fun I have. I was counted on one from the last show selling to pay for Smugmug... oh well.

Good luck! I would love to get something into a show, the public can be so fickle though. Love the framing on these, it really brings them up another notch, IMHO.

I was going to suggest to have the shot glass turned upside down, but I realized at the time you probably didn't have time for a reshoot.

Really like both of the final products though, from what I can tell in the snapshots of them.

richtersl

The framing looks great! Good luck to you!!!

dnie

darkdragon wrote:

Good luck! I would love to get something into a show, the public can be so fickle though.

I am lucky to live in an area that is known locally as an Art destination of sorts. I have been really lucky in that everyone has been very supportive and helpful. I absolutely LOVE shows! As for the public... everyone has different tastes. I am happy if get their attention enough to stop and look, even if they decide they aren't crazy about it.
In the fall there is a Art league show and sale. Right now I have a cople in the Heard Museum's art show. Then there are all these at the college. They are fun because like the DGrin challenges they give me a subject I have to work to figure out. The next show is "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall..." I think I have an idea for it. I just have to be sure what I am thinking is within the rules of the show. The big one for me is this summer. There is a local artists show at a gallery in Downtown Denison, Mary Karam's gallery. For me, that is BIG time.

marikris

dnie wrote:

I am lucky to live in an area that is known locally as an Art destination of sorts. I have been really lucky in that everyone has been very supportive and helpful. I absolutely LOVE shows! As for the public... everyone has different tastes. I am happy if get their attention enough to stop and look, even if they decide they aren't crazy about it.
In the fall there is a Art league show and sale. Right now I have a cople in the Heard Museum's art show. Then there are all these at the college. They are fun because like the DGrin challenges they give me a subject I have to work to figure out. The next show is "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall..." I think I have an idea for it. I just have to be sure what I am thinking is within the rules of the show. The big one for me is this summer. There is a local artists show at a gallery in Downtown Denison, Mary Karam's gallery. For me, that is BIG time.

Wow, you are so lucky to live there! I'm moving to Houston after I graduate, myself, so I'm hoping this ol' art degree will amount to something lol. Good luck with the show!! I love your first picture. And your frames look fab! We're having an art show in my college in two weeks, and I'm submitting some photographs. I opted to go with boxmounts though, but seeing photos framed like yours makes me wonder how mine would have looked in one ^_^

dnie

marikris wrote:

Wow, you are so lucky to live there! I'm moving to Houston after I graduate, myself, so I'm hoping this ol' art degree will amount to something lol. Good luck with the show!! I love your first picture. And your frames look fab! We're having an art show in my college in two weeks, and I'm submitting some photographs. I opted to go with boxmounts though, but seeing photos framed like yours makes me wonder how mine would have looked in one ^_^

I have a cousin that lives in a downtown Houston Loft. He teaches trombone to private students and also does seminars and classes through the schools. Good luck to you, it looks like a fabulous place to live. I'm way up in North Texas and have been all my life. I am Texan through and through!
The frames are nothing special. Honestly, who has the money to go into all the expensive stuff? My frames came from Wal-Mart and I buy pre-cut mattes at Hobby Lobby when they are half price (every other week). I will have something done special if I am getting something out of it, but I don't know that these will sell, and to tell the truth, I hope the Bible one doesn't. (but I priced it high enough to make me happy to lose it) I like the matte I found for it. I dig through garage sales and thrift stores for good frames and mattes. Amazing what you can find.

Good luck on your show! let me know how it goes.