DSS #114- Still Life - help?

Jenn · October 22, 2012

Do either of these pics show any promise? (No titles yet)

1. In color

2. B & W

red_zone · October 23, 2012

Jenn wrote: »

Do either of these pics show any promise? (No titles yet)

Jenn - I really like the light and the tones and the texture in the color version. It's a very pleasing photo.

That said, I'm not sure if this is strong on the theme or not. I personally thought that "Still Life" was some stuffy old thing arranged on another stuffy old thing, being man-made objects used in daily life, and possibly fruit. Eggs could be just as good as fruit, but maybe arrange them in a bowl or something? I'd play with it a bit, in the same space with that light and wood chips/sawdust, and see if it works or not, especially if you have a rustic old mixing bowl or something and enough eggs. maybe bring a pitcher of milk out there and caption it "farm fresh breakfast" or "farm fresh"

Also, one more suggestion would be to play with the crop. I found the almost square crop to be a bit odd. I think it might be a better composition if there were more space either at the top or bottom, but can't really decide which.

AceCo55 · October 24, 2012

I believe Jenn may be "thinking outside the square" with the eggs representing life and this "life" remains "still" inside the egg.
Clever concept - I like the coloured version. I'm thinking maybe try a lower perspective to give more intimacy and depth.
Usually odd numbers of objects appear more dynamic so I would play around with 3 eggs and see if you like?

tinamarie52 · October 24, 2012

Jenn,

The lighting is nice. The context makes you think that the eggs might still be in the hen house. Still life is often most successful when natural objects are brought indoors and placed in artificial settings, as has been noted.

The suggestion of a rustic bowl is right on theme if you use dramatic lighting, like you did with the originals. You might also include other chicken/egg things like feathers, nesting material in the bowl, etc.

YOu could also make it a farmhouse kitchen scene on a checked tablecloth in a ceramic bowl sith an egg whisk next to it. That's what would make me think still life.

Chris

Jenn · October 24, 2012

tinamarie52 wrote: »

Jenn,

The lighting is nice. The context makes you think that the eggs might still be in the hen house. Still life is often most successful when natural objects are brought indoors and placed in artificial settings, as has been noted.

The suggestion of a rustic bowl is right on theme if you use dramatic lighting, like you did with the originals. You might also include other chicken/egg things like feathers, nesting material in the bowl, etc.

YOu could also make it a farmhouse kitchen scene on a checked tablecloth in a ceramic bowl sith an egg whisk next to it. That's what would make me think still life.

Chris

AceCo55 wrote: »

I believe Jenn may be "thinking outside the square" with the eggs representing life and this "life" remains "still" inside the egg.
Clever concept - I like the coloured version. I'm thinking maybe try a lower perspective to give more intimacy and depth.
Usually odd numbers of objects appear more dynamic so I would play around with 3 eggs and see if you like?

red_zone wrote: »

Jenn - I really like the light and the tones and the texture in the color version. It's a very pleasing photo.

That said, I'm not sure if this is strong on the theme or not. I personally thought that "Still Life" was some stuffy old thing arranged on another stuffy old thing, being man-made objects used in daily life, and possibly fruit. Eggs could be just as good as fruit, but maybe arrange them in a bowl or something? I'd play with it a bit, in the same space with that light and wood chips/sawdust, and see if it works or not, especially if you have a rustic old mixing bowl or something and enough eggs. maybe bring a pitcher of milk out there and caption it "farm fresh breakfast" or "farm fresh"

Also, one more suggestion would be to play with the crop. I found the almost square crop to be a bit odd. I think it might be a better composition if there were more space either at the top or bottom, but can't really decide which.

Thanks for all the advice! I tried a second time attempting to put into practice some of the advice you all have given to me.

What do you think of these? Does either one work?

thanks!

2A. Original

2B. Original - with edit

SeascapeS · October 24, 2012

Not quite. It's an odd assortment of things that don't really go together. Keep it simple, like your first shots with the eggs.

Jenn · October 24, 2012

SeascapeS wrote: »

Not quite. It's an odd assortment of things that don't really go together. Keep it simple, like your first shots with the eggs.

They doin't go together? You don't think so? hmmm I have all those things in my kitchen ....

red_zone · October 25, 2012

Well, all of those things do seem to have a common theme - one I would call "country kitchen"... I think that this set-up is very much in the theme of the 'classic' still lifes. If you look through the wikipedia entry for 'still life' there are a bunch of still life paintings from the 1400s with similar compositions.

I like the composition and the light from the side, it works very well with the flowers. There is a very blue light on the apples and basket though.... it's really throwing off the color balance.
I don't care at all for the textured effect - was that to make it look like a painting? It's a personal thing but I never like those.

Jenn · October 25, 2012

red_zone wrote: »

Well, all of those things do seem to have a common theme - one I would call "country kitchen"... I think that this set-up is very much in the theme of the 'classic' still lifes. If you look through the wikipedia entry for 'still life' there are a bunch of still life paintings from the 1400s with similar compositions.

I like the composition and the light from the side, it works very well with the flowers. There is a very blue light on the apples and basket though.... it's really throwing off the color balance.
I don't care at all for the textured effect - was that to make it look like a painting? It's a personal thing but I never like those.

I didn't see it before until you said something about the blue light ... but I can see it now.

Does this look better? I believe I got the blue light corrected. At least it looks that way on my home monitor, which tends to be a bit dark, but I didn't lighten the image .. just tried to correct the blue. If not, I will try to correct it on my work machine .. that monitor is better.

3A.

marantophotography · October 26, 2012

I think it has too much in it. I like the idea of the eggs, so maybe take some of the other elements out? The tablecloth is too busy perhaps?

kdotaylor · October 26, 2012

Jenn, I like the lighting better in this new one. I would have to agree, though, that the photo is too busy...try just the eggs, or the eggs with flowers, or just the apples in a basket--experiment a bit.

Jenn · October 26, 2012

marantophotography wrote: »

I think it has too much in it. I like the idea of the eggs, so maybe take some of the other elements out? The tablecloth is too busy perhaps?

I'm going to try some different crops, and also take some more photos and see if I can do anything better.

Jenn · October 30, 2012

I have tried a few different ideas .. here is one more idea. thumbs up or down?

thanks!

4A. The Power of Love

red_zone · October 30, 2012

4A is your best yet! There is a hard shadow in the top left, which could be taken care of with another light on just the background, or by photoshop or something.

DSS #114- Still Life - help?

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