Fruits

[xavmua]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Picture Composition; overall and everything with honest opinions and critiques. I've just started out photography just recently for the past 1 month (I'm a MUA). I'm sure there are lots of mistakes and erros in this picture, but I hope to learn more tips and techniques from the CS people out here.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
To bring out the "freshness" & "softness" of the fruits. A photograph that will bring out the softer side of fruits?

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
This picture was taken using Canon 500D with a 28-135mm F3.5 - 5.6mm IS USM lens and YN 560-ii Speedlite, in a room at night. I've bounced the light at the back wall of the fruits to create a softer effect.

28mm F5.6 1/30
flash power : 1/8 (around that range, I've forgotten the exact power)

The picture posted in this thread was enhanced and edited with Photoshop. Edited with HDR toning.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I could have add up a more variety of different types of fruits to get more of a different color contrast and tones. This might spark up the overall picture. It seems a little "plain" and normal point & shoot photo to me. Please give me your honest critiques and advice, or you can show me some samples or ideas, so I could have room for improvement!

Thank you so much in advance!!

 

[XavierShoot]

you can try setting the background on a seamless piece of white background for such "product" shoot =)
picture is well exposed and colours seems ok

 

[Octarine]

Your statement in 4) sums it up nicely, take it from there
What caught my eye first were the stickers on the plastic bowl. Remove them or use a different bowl. But that brings up the second point: what's the purpose? "Freshness and Softness" is a bit weak and a melon is hardly soft. Two options I can see here: a) show fruits at the market as they are sold. This can include stickers. But then it's best to go to the market. b) Show them presentable, ready to be eaten (I think that's where your idea comes from). Use a nice plate, reduce to a few fruits. Use some water spray to make them look like just washed. Work with directional light (e.g. from side). Shadows are not a bad thing, just manage them.

 

[bonrya]

thanks for sharing, my first impression of this picture is that it looks really 'soft'. after reading your description, it's probably because of the post processing that you've done.. it doesn't look bad or anything, but it doesn't look very natural..

you may also want to reconsider the composition of the picture. the position of the fruits don't make the fruit basket seem very appealing or appetising.. when you arrange the fruits make sure you have the nicer looking sides facing up.. the apple in the middle has a black ring/spot on it.. and it's right smack in the middle.

if it's food photography usually you'll also want to use more variety as a display.. the melon is cut off and in the middle of nowhere, there is no focus/main subject, none of the elements are balanced in the picture.

I hope you don't think I'm being too harsh, but just highlighting some points that I can think of to improve..

Perhaps I should share some pictures that I think are nice? Not taken by me of course; taken from Google to illustrate what I mean.

or even a very simple image works:

 

[xavmua]

Thank you for the comments and replies, I did learn some pointers from you guys.

I was quite concern about the shadows cast by the fruits. Did work with lights from the sides, but just can't really achieve the effect that I want? I think I wasn't sure and not able to manage the lighting properly.

I'm not very clear about the picture composition or how does a picture composition works. Can you do give me some advice on that area? What do I have to look out for when I'm doing a picture composition? Does it applies for Portraits, Landscapes or any other type of photography?

I did google a little on 'Rules of Thirds', but can fruits be applied onto that? Pardon me for that question.

 

[bonrya]

Thank you for the comments and replies, I did learn some pointers from you guys.

I was quite concern about the shadows cast by the fruits. Did work with lights from the sides, but just can't really achieve the effect that I want? I think I wasn't sure and not able to manage the lighting properly.

I'm not very clear about the picture composition or how does a picture composition works. Can you do give me some advice on that area? What do I have to look out for when I'm doing a picture composition? Does it applies for Portraits, Landscapes or any other type of photography?

I did google a little on 'Rules of Thirds', but can fruits be applied onto that? Pardon me for that question.

Rule of thirds applies to most as part of how to compose properly in all photography, it's not limited to any specific genre. However it is only a guide for better composition and not meant to be used as a law or "must do". Many photos out there don't follow this rule and still look good.

As for the lighting, why do you choose to have it there? Or why did you even use lighting in the first place? Was there something lacking or did you think you had to use the lighting just because? There must be a purpose for the light source, and if it's shadows you're concerned about, the position of the light is very important as well. I think there are some guides in the newbies corner you can read up on too.

Shoot more post more!

 

[Octarine]

I'm not very clear about the picture composition or how does a picture composition works. Can you do give me some advice on that area? What do I have to look out for when I'm doing a picture composition? Does it applies for Portraits, Landscapes or any other type of photography?
I did google a little on 'Rules of Thirds', but can fruits be applied onto that? Pardon me for that question.

The Rule of Thirds can be applied to many pictures and genres. The way you position your subject in the frame makes a huge difference between a good picture and a less good one - even if all other factors are the same. Here a link to a good collection of articles about composition: Photography Composition Articles Library Read through it slowly, not everything is applicable here for your fruits. But get an overview first, you need to get an eye for what looks good and what not simply by positioning in the frame.
Also, have a look at those pictures bonrya posted. Think about why they look good and drop every shallow excuse like "was done by a professional". Look at positioning, colours, shapes, ratios within the frame, lines, curves, focus, Depth of Field ..

 

[nitewalk]

I'd think a more uniform background would help as i see two different background (one of the wall and the other of your table and contrasting colours of background). The fruits are rather randomly placed and also have a feeling that u just placed whatever u have (i ended up counting the number of apples and oranges for the fun of comparison for fun). Then the melon was cut off halfway while the rest are completely in. The melon seems quite out of place as well among the apples and oranges. These give me a very sloppy feel. If you cant manage so many in your frame, you could do what the second example shared by bonrya did, to simplify in your composition. Lesser makes the the image look focused and comfortable. As mentioned, would be good to include a variety, especially of different colours, so once you get the lighting right, your image will be vibrant and not flat.

 

[Shizuma]

Fruit Ninja, sliced melon. It disrupted the overall wholeness, literally.