"Behind the 8 Ball" your thoughts and choice

ktb53

This is my first Dgrin photo challege entry. Here are two pictures that I shot, which one do you like better? Also, please give me your thoughts on them and if I could have shot them better. I'm somewhat new to photography so any feedback is appreciated.






Thanks, Ken

Oakley

Hi Ken.

Just one thing...why is the pool player lining up to hit the 8 ball? I would recompose this shot so that it shows the player trying to hit the quo ball to another ball which is "behind the 8 ball"...

I quess the shot just needs to be a little more realistic to the game of pool...

ktb53

Oakley wrote:

Hi Ken.

Just one thing...why is the pool player lining up to hit the 8 ball? I would recompose this shot so that it shows the player trying to hit the quo ball to another ball which is "behind the 8 ball"...

I quess the shot just needs to be a little more realistic to the game of pool...

I would agree and I tried a bunch of shots where I would be reflected in the cue ball but because it's white I couldn't get enough reflection in the ball. It's sort of more symbolic then realistic but I do get your point. If you know how I could arrange it where I could be hitting the cue ball but be reflected in the 8 ball I could try it. Maybe I'll just play around to see what I can come up with. - Ken

erich6

There are some games where you would be hitting the 8-ball so that doesn't bother me personally. I like long shadows in pictures so I'm partial to the second one. If you could, you might try to take it again without cropping out the 2-ball. I think the relative size of your reflection is just about right in the second shot so you might just want to change the angle and perspective of your camera. I think your hand in the shot is distracting and you can still get the cue and your whole reflection in the shot. This is a great idea! Last thing I would do is adjust the color balance to get the green felt to look more "green".

Erich

Oakley

ktb53 wrote:

I would agree and I tried a bunch of shots where I would be reflected in the cue ball but because it's white I couldn't get enough reflection in the ball. It's sort of more symbolic then realistic but I do get your point. If you know how I could arrange it where I could be hitting the cue ball but be reflected in the 8 ball I could try it. Maybe I'll just play around to see what I can come up with. - Ken

Yeah, obviously the reflection in the 8 ball is key to the photo. Perhaps you could be lining up your shot on the que which would be right behind the 8 ball - in the background. That way you would still get the 8 ball reflection thing going on....

I think it could work.

DavidTO

Oakley wrote:

Hi Ken.

Just one thing...why is the pool player lining up to hit the 8 ball? I would recompose this shot so that it shows the player trying to hit the quo ball to another ball which is "behind the 8 ball"...

I quess the shot just needs to be a little more realistic to the game of pool...

Maybe he's just lining up the shot, figuring the angle...

Oakley

DavidTO wrote:

Maybe he's just lining up the shot, figuring the angle...

Perhaps....and maybe that's why I don't like it. For whatever reason, when I play pool I hate it when people line up their shot through the ball they are going to be hitting...probably cause the only people I see doing that are bad pool players. lol....

It's like looking at a putt from all directions for 5 minutes and then pushing your putt 6 feet past the hole.

lol....

So if you are going to keep the shot, is there a way to "polish" up the 8 ball even more to enhance your reflection?

ktb53

Oakley wrote:

So if you are going to keep the shot, is there a way to "polish" up the 8 ball even more to enhance your reflection?

Funny you should mention that. I cleaned and polished the cue and 8 balls really well before the shot, but that still didn't help too much, they looked so dull and dusty so I even went as far as applying "tire wet" to them so they were super reflective, I think I either need better lighting or like a new ball.

Thanks for the suggestions. - Ken

Nikolai

It can be called...

Oakley wrote:

Hi Ken.
Just one thing...why is the pool player lining up to hit the 8 ball?

...a "suicide shot" (in a pool sense):):

Nikolai

I like the idea..
However the reflection is barely visible. And the other balls draw attention away from the point.

If you are in the mood for more takes, maybe you can use the external flash pointing at your face, so the reflection will be more distinguishable? I would also try do dim the light on the other parts of the pool, so the 8-ball would stand apart.. Maybe use an extra flash (or even a flash light) at a low level at the ball, and bigger flash power on your face..

I think you can really pull this 8-ball idea!

ktb53

good suggestions... but.

Nikolai wrote:

However the reflection is barely visible. And the other balls draw attention away from the point.

If you are in the mood for more takes, maybe you can use the external flash pointing at your face, so the reflection will be more distinguishable? I would also try do dim the light on the other parts of the pool, so the 8-ball would stand apart.. Maybe use an extra flash (or even a flash light) at a low level at the ball, and bigger flash power on your face..

Those are great suggestions but I don't think I'm going to be able to try them out. I'm just getting my feet wet in photography and don't have much equipment. Even my lights are cheap Home Depot utility lights. I don't have an external flash to use either. I did do another round of shooting based on the other comments and I will post it probably tomorrow for feedback but I think I'm still pretty blurry in that. I polished up the ball as much as possible but you just don't get a mirror reflection in it, at least I couldn't.

However, I kind a like the blurryness of it because I think it says something about me. If wanted a self portrait that really shows me shooting I probably would have shot it but I think showing the reflection only says something about me and about how I feel about pool, I know probably too deep. :uhoh

muddyknees

Like the idea, but am also distracted by the "violation" of my expectation as to which ball the cue should be aimed at.

I looked up the origin if the phrase - came up with this: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/60600.html
and got to thinking - maybe set it up so the eight ball is in the foreground (with your reflection), the cue ball just visible behind the eight ball so it appears like a quarter moon, the cue to one side aimed at the cueball, the cushion visible immediately behind the cueball, mabe even a bit of the corner pocket, and in the foreground on the side oposite the cue, show the curve of another ball - all this to suggest a bank-shot going around the eight ball, with you stretching both arms to one side to aim the cue stick, so your face is up against the eight ball.

With that prerequisite to satisfy the pool players out of the way, now you can focus on the focus and the lighting. I bet you could focus both your reflection and the tip of the cue - on opposite sides of the plane of the front surface of the eight ball. Now, use Erick's suggestion to light your face - use a harsh side-light for maximum contrast of the reflection maybe.

Could just set the camera on the table maybe, would make a nice dramatic persective if wide-angle, although wide angle would diminish the prominance of your reflection. As long as you can see the camera lens thru the eight ball, you should have your self-portrait lined up.

Easy for me to say, and I'll probably even find the time to vote for the result of your hard work!

Gary

ktb53

Updated Images
Based on the feedback about "shooting at the 8 ball" I created a different more "realistic" setup. Let me know your thoughts, and by the way, it was impossible for me to get any more reflection out of the ball, at least with my current setup.

Osprey Whisperer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oakley
So if you are going to keep the shot, is there a way to "polish" up the 8 ball even more to enhance your reflection?





I do find the reflection a bit distracting or unrevealing. I'd like to get a clearer shot of you. I'm not so caught up on the "correct" pool use...so this doesn't bother me. Don't like straining to see the reflection ?

BMP

muddyknees

Yes! I like the way the black ball blends into the black background too! Also the cue stick in the reflection. If you could place a brighter light on your face (and somehow block any of that light reaching the surface of the ball that has the reflection (if your camera is on the table you can use the tripod to arrange the lighting - as long as you can keep the tripod out of the reflection... or maybe have an assistant (wish i could be there to help) - but would it then still be a self-portrait... Andy??? ????)

Are you focusing on the ball? I'm wondering - what if the focus was beyond the ball - e.g., your face and your thumb, which are about equidistant from the reflecting surface. maybe put the ball even closer to the lens, so it takes up most of the left side, with the #8 still back-lit but out of focus near the top left, or maybe bottom left ? (Keep the black background, so the out-of-focus edge of the ball disappears. (I guess you may also loose the focused shadow and felt under the eight-ball, but you can instead have a focused shadow from an out of sight ball in the background - maybe falling on your index finger?

Oh, and speaking of shadows and reflections, notice the green reflecting onto the 8-ball - you could also try arranging balls near the 8ball out of frame but casting colored light from the back-light onto the 8ball = maybe even a focused ball or several below your face - that is, essentially move the balls now in the background into the reflection.

Gary

ktb53 wrote:

Based on the feedback about "shooting at the 8 ball" I created a different more "realistic" setup. Let me know your thoughts, and by the way, it was impossible for me to get any more reflection out of the ball, at least with my current setup.

Oakley

I am really liking the DoF in these shots....it's tight

wholenewlight

I just saw your thread.

Maybe a little photo editing software work to bring out the self-portrait essence of the shot??? I spent a couple of minutes seeing what your shot might look like with a littke "kick" to the image on the eight ball and toning down the "hand" a little bit.






Just a thought FWIW.

I like the idea

ktb53

wholenewlight wrote:

I just saw your thread.

Maybe a little photo editing software work to bring out the self-portrait essence of the shot??? I spent a couple of minutes seeing what your shot might look like with a littke "kick" to the image on the eight ball and toning down the "hand" a little bit.

Just a thought FWIW.

I like the idea

Thanks for the time you took to look it over, I will look into applying your suggestions! - Ken