Lighters


glgl96

New Member
Apr 16, 2010
189
0
0
Singapore, Singapore
4922090732_4bfdc0603a_b.jpg


ISO 400. Manual focus. F/2. 1/40s.
Auto white balance.
Matrix metering.
0EV.

Dear CSers,

Please feel free to comment and tell me which area need to be improved. Critiques are also welcome, trying out my new lens. 35mm DX 1.8G.

1.in what area is critique to be sought?

- I took this picture in aperture priority mode (f/2), as i was trying out the bokeh.
- I placed the red lighters in front so as to gain attention straight.
- I focused on the second lighter.

2.what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?

- Hopes to use the 10 lighters to form a lead in line from the back to the red coloured lighter as i felt that red has the highest impact of gaining attention.

3.under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
-taken in my home when i was playing around with my new lens.
-walked around. found 10 lighters. found it interesting. used a carpet as the background and a stool as a table top.
 

nice shot. but what's so special about the lighter that is in focus? or was it just because it was?

might be more interesting to have put that one lighter backwards, or off alignment, or something to stand it out and more deserving of the focus?

as a composition I mean.

the lens sharpness... maybe it's the lighting, but the indentations on the chromed part of the lighter is not showing up well or is it my eyes...

just a few tots from a nobody... I just share my tots without prejudice or bias... dunno you :) it's just my reaction to the pic ya...
 

Hi,

Firstly, the idea's pretty good.

I believe you intend to use colour to achieve your intended purpose, but the colours are rather dull & flat due to the lighting, maybe using your in-cam "vivid" settings would push the saturation levels up higher. Increasing contrast levels will also make for a stronger image.

A tighter crop would be better, removing the brown upper quarter. For me the leading line starts below, from the focused red lighter and gradually moves upwards where it leads me to the brown portion which imho adds no value to the photo. + there's a slight bluish tint on the upper right-hand side (CA?) which i personally would prefer it to be removed.

That's just my humble suggestions, I'm also a newbie and hopefully we'll learn from each other.
 

love the play in depth but in my opinion, i would like the ones further back nt to be too blurr untill u cant make out what it is
just out of focus enough that there is little detail but still able to tell that its a lighter :D
nice capture :D
 

nice shot. but what's so special about the lighter that is in focus? or was it just because it was?

might be more interesting to have put that one lighter backwards, or off alignment, or something to stand it out and more deserving of the focus?

as a composition I mean.

the lens sharpness... maybe it's the lighting, but the indentations on the chromed part of the lighter is not showing up well or is it my eyes...

just a few tots from a nobody... I just share my tots without prejudice or bias... dunno you :) it's just my reaction to the pic ya...
yea. the indentions aren't very obvious. didn't realise that. but putting that lighter backwards off alignment. i would hav lost my lead in line?
 

Hi,

Firstly, the idea's pretty good.

I believe you intend to use colour to achieve your intended purpose, but the colours are rather dull & flat due to the lighting, maybe using your in-cam "vivid" settings would push the saturation levels up higher. Increasing contrast levels will also make for a stronger image.

A tighter crop would be better, removing the brown upper quarter. For me the leading line starts below, from the focused red lighter and gradually moves upwards where it leads me to the brown portion which imho adds no value to the photo. + there's a slight bluish tint on the upper right-hand side (CA?) which i personally would prefer it to be removed.

That's just my humble suggestions, I'm also a newbie and hopefully we'll learn from each other.

actually. i did push the saturation and contrast up a little. i didn't push it higher cause was afraid the red will get too red and become fake.

the top right should be due to my background. the carpet. i guessed i didnt covered it well enough. in a small picture that mistake didn't seem so obvious. will try again.

i was thinking of that as well. the line. does it leads in or out.
 

love the play in depth but in my opinion, i would like the ones further back nt to be too blurr untill u cant make out what it is
just out of focus enough that there is little detail but still able to tell that its a lighter :D
nice capture :D
alright. will take note of that. will use a smaller aperture to capture more details the next time i try.
 

Hi glgl96,

from my pov, the colours could be made more "unnatural". i probably overdid the contrast, but by cropping the upper brown part i think the image is cleaner, more area is delicated to your subjects and the line you intend to create. added vignetting as well. my processing is often quite heavy handed.
 

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this is how i would process the image, since the colours are synthetic, from my pov, the colours could be made more "unnatural". i probably overdid the contrast, but by cropping the upper brown part i think the image is cleaner, more area is delicated to your subjects and the line you intend to create. added vignetting as well. my processing is often quite heavy handed.

as above, do inform me if you do not wish the above image to be posted, i will remove it. hope this discussion will be beneficial to both of us learning.

The crop actually makes the photo look more "complete". However, I can't really tell the difference in the colours. Both pics look the same to me. Maybe it's just my untrained eye :bsmilie:
 

Hi glgl96,

4926995642_af60807e18_b.jpg

credits & all rights reserved to glgl96.

please inform me if you're offended by the posting of the above image.

this is how i would process the image, since the colours are synthetic, from my pov, the colours could be made more "unnatural". i probably overdid the contrast, but by cropping the upper brown part i think the image is cleaner, more area is delicated to your subjects and the line you intend to create. added vignetting as well. my processing is often quite heavy handed.

as above, do inform me if you do not wish the above image to be posted, i will remove it. hope this discussion will be beneficial to both of us learning.
no im fine with it. yup. cropping it does make it cleaner. but i wanted to allow some space at the top. so it doesn't get too tight. personal preference i think. but cropping it does looks nicer. don't really like heavy pp. i prefer my photos to be as raw as possible.
thanks anyway!
 

The crop actually makes the photo look more "complete". However, I can't really tell the difference in the colours. Both pics look the same to me. Maybe it's just my untrained eye :bsmilie:

the difference isn't very great. but its a darker red from what i see. by boosting the contrast.
 

My take is that the picture is not interesting because it did not tell a story. It is just a row of lighters. What's so special about the lighter in focus? I think you could do better if all the lighters are red and you focused on a yellow lighter... and name it.. say, "thorn among the roses"... That might work better than a rainbow colored row...

And also, lighting is quite flat. With flat lighting, the colors will appear flat too, even if you up the saturation. Try using flash, better still, use multiple flashes..

Hope this helps.
 

My take is that the picture is not interesting because it did not tell a story. It is just a row of lighters. What's so special about the lighter in focus? I think you could do better if all the lighters are red and you focused on a yellow lighter... and name it.. say, "thorn among the roses"... That might work better than a rainbow colored row...

And also, lighting is quite flat. With flat lighting, the colors will appear flat too, even if you up the saturation. Try using flash, better still, use multiple flashes..

Hope this helps.
ok. noted. haven't had money to buy a flash yet. saving in progress. pop-up flash was too harsh. diffuser not good enough.

want to ask. if i replace the 2nd lighter with a different type of lighter. would it have been better? you know those lighters with pictures on it?