Irish Coffee

[TheoDR]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Composition and other areas for improvement.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
To bring out a "Sit back, relax and enjoy the coffee!" feel.

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
While having a meal at Prego, no flash, using indoor and natural light coming in through the windows.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
Hmm, makes me feel like going back for another cup of Irish coffee. ;p

Thanks in advance!

 

[Neurospark]

Good work... I particularly like the cookie on the plate! Nice work with the focus too.

 

[TheoDR]

Good work... I particularly like the cookie on the plate! Nice work with the focus too.

Thanks Neurospark!

 

[Shahrie]

Hi. I'm no expert. Just my own opinion from what Ive learn so far. Compositionwise is ok but if you can get the yellow and black thingy at the middle (right) out of the way, itll be great. I think the photo is a tad under exposed. Check your histogram on your camera.

I like the bokeh though. (and the cookie!)

 

[Soundaholic]

I've been staring at it a while trying to figure out why it feels sort of difference from food photos I normally see...
* It's a bit underexposed. If you want to deliver that fresh and relaxing feeling, I believe high-key lighting works better
* There's not enough contrast with the background as there could be, especially the whipped cream part, it's blending with the the background rather than standing out from it
* There's not a lot of details , I think you could have framed closer (there's no need to include the whole glass in the photo) and focus on the whipped cream at the top

Just my 2cents, cheers

 

[PannyMMM]

tonality missing from the pic, i think thats what is missing and resulting picture looks a little 'flat' and underexposed...

one tell is that if you open the image up in photoshop or some imaging program, it will show the histogram 'bunched up in the middle, i.e no vivid blacks or whites..

adding contrast by adjusting levels here might be able to salvage the picture for a more vibrant photo

 

[candycaine]

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
To bring out a "Sit back, relax and enjoy the coffee!" feel.

Thanks in advance!

I don't think you acheived this aim here. I think I vaguely get at what you are trying to portray, but... it is akin to taking a photo of a can of Nescafe in order to bring out the same "sit back, relax and enjoy the coffee" feel. There is no sense of enjoyment here- I think, off the top of my head, this photo needs a subject matter, a person indulging in coffee perhaps?

Technically, as a food photo, you can improve on a couple of areas too. As mentioned by some CSers, contrast and vibrancy of colours is lacking.

The distractions in the background (ie. the flowers) should be removed if possible, unless your bokeh is strong enough to ensure that the flowers are not distinctly shaped- that is they are blur until it is just a mass of colour in the background.

Also, your cup of coffee is abruptly cropped off at the bottom, which makes the photo seem even more incomplete.


Hope this helps
AC

 

[TheoDR]

Ooo okay, thanks lots Shahrie, Soundaholic, PannyMMM and candycaine! Will work on improving.

 

[TheoDR]

Did some attempts at PP. Original pic's Picture Style: Standard, PP-ed one on the right has adjusted highlights(3), contrast(2) and Picture Style: Potrait.

Left: Original, Right: PP-ed version

Is it slightly better now? ;p Using Canon's bundled DPP software.

 

[wootsk]

Need a bit work on contrast and exposure. Judging from most restaurant lighting, they are actually quite dim and as such, use a flash with diffuser or bound card if possible. Natural lighting is good, but careful of white balance off as restaurant mostly uses warm light. Flower vase behind is quite an extra from my POV. While composure is important, it is not good to chop off part of something, in this case will be the bottom of the glass unless you are planning for a closer shot.

Regarding the high key setting, good to try but as mentioned, you might not get enough light and with more ambience lighting by slower shutter, the white balance off will also happen unless you use a flash. Also careful of blowing the highlight and losing details.

 

[allenleonhart]

Need a bit work on contrast and exposure. Judging from most restaurant lighting, they are actually quite dim and as such, use a flash with diffuser or bound card if possible. Natural lighting is good, but careful of white balance off as restaurant mostly uses warm light. Flower vase behind is quite an extra from my POV. While composure is important, it is not good to chop off part of something, in this case will be the bottom of the glass unless you are planning for a closer shot.

Regarding the high key setting, good to try but as mentioned, you might not get enough light and with more ambience lighting by slower shutter, the white balance off will also happen unless you use a flash. Also careful of blowing the highlight and losing details.

is it me or the colors are very neutral? can consider upping saturation

 

[wootsk]

Slightly warmer, juz a caution for TS about using ambience lighting.

 

[TheoDR]

Hmm, ok, thanks allenleonhart and wootsk!

 

[ismokeweed79]

*CRITICISM*

The pic is IMHO not that well taken.
I can see that the focus point is on the drink and the coffee bean, but the latter is OOF.
The flower behind is way too distracting, you either need to use a wider aperture or just remove it.
Contrast wise, it lacks the vibrancy punch.
Exposure, it is slightly underexposed.

 

[ietoshi]

Probably a lower f-stop for more details plus some sharpening would help. It would be ideal to have lesser distracting objects in the background, but I do find the flower acceptable.
You may wanna add some 'punch' if your using lightroom3.