The Lady of Few Words

[drama]

Hi all

So I have this beautiful porcelain figurine, which I have been dying to shoot
I also picked up a small light, which I wanted to check

First attempt at this
C&C welcome

More images in the same series can be found here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dramanow/

 

[Pablo]

Hi,

I most likely will get shot down for suggesting this, but....

Try the same shot but with a circular polarising filter.

Cheers

 

[catchlights]

Hi,

I most likely will get shot down for suggesting this, but....

Try the same shot but with a circular polarising filter.

Cheers

CPL filter can eliminate reflection, but not hotspots

 

[iboey]

the pic is oof. did u focus and meter it properly?

 

[drama]

Pablo:
Dont have a circular polariser yet, so cant try that now


iboey:
The amount of detail on the figurine is only so much, it is properly focussed & metered

 

[zeith]

it looks definitely oof..

 

[iboey]

Pablo:
Dont have a circular polariser yet, so cant try that now


iboey:
The amount of detail on the figurine is only so much, it is properly focussed & metered

Its not abt the amount of detail...its the sharpness of yr pic..its clearly OOF.

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

Its not abt the amount of detail...its the sharpness of yr pic..its clearly OOF.

look more like handshake...

 

[drama]

Its about as sharp as the original, its surprisingly less crisp than you would expect
This was shot on a tripod with a timer, so no handshake either

 

[eikin]

Its about as sharp as the original, its surprisingly less crisp than you would expect
This was shot on a tripod witha timer, so no handshake either

the focussing is off then. btw what's your aperture setting like?

on the picture, the colours are dull and grey. if you use a white background, consider going for highkey, if not you might want to consider a darker background.

 

[drama]

Eikin

Those are the colors of the figurine
I am pretty sure, that the focus is not off
The lack of sharpness to the facial features is certainly distracting

It seems to me, the whole focus\ color debate seems to be on the basis of what you guys think it looks like
I think the shot pretty well represents it in terms of color & sharpness of features

 

[eikin]

Eikin

Those are the colors of the figurine
I am not sure, if the focus is off

It seems to me, the whole focus\ color debate seems to be on the basis of what you guys think it looks like
I think the shot pretty well represents it in termms of color & sharpness of features

which is why i recommended 1. a highkey to focus on more abstract lines and shapes or 2. using a darker background to create some form of contrast against the greyish colours to bring out your subject. a warmer light can also be used if you want to bring out more colours.

however, if the shot has satisfied your criteria there's no need to ask for critique.

 

[drama]

which is why i recommended 1. a highkey to focus on more abstract lines and shapes or 2. using a darker background to create some form of contrast against the greyish colours to bring out your subject. a warmer light can also be used if you want to bring out more colours.

however, if the shot has satisfied your criteria there's no need to ask for critique.

I do apologise, if I came of the wrong way
I do need the critique, it is the limitation of my knowledge & experience which does not let me appreciate your comments


1 What is a high key focus?
2 Will black work, for the back ground ?
3 I was using a yellow light, which I corrected using manual white balance
Should I leave it yellow?

 

[germ_boi]

Eikin

Those are the colors of the figurine
I am pretty sure, that the focus is not off
The lack of sharpness to the facial features is certainly distracting

It seems to me, the whole focus\ color debate seems to be on the basis of what you guys think it looks like
I think the shot pretty well represents it in terms of color & sharpness of features

so what kind of critque do you want to hear?

the focus is spot on, there is no handshake. There seems to be a decent attempt at creating a shadow. all in all, a technically correct photo, but sorely lacking in any other departments.

 

[eikin]

I do apologise, if I came of the wrong way
I do need the critique, it is the limitation of my knowledge & experience which does not let me appreciate your comments


1 What is a high key focus?
2 Will black work, for the back ground ?
3 I was using a yellow light, which I corrected using manual white balance
Should I leave it yellow?

1. highkey means your image will appear bright, yet retaining details. in case you mistake it for overexposure.

2. you got to try to see if it'll work. changing the background colour only change 1 variable, it'll also depend on how your subject is lighted.

3. does your camera allow you to change colour temperature? if not you can add try add yellow and red in PS using colour balance.

anyway the focus is off, means you got to go back to try again.

for a quick sample of what highkey might look like here, with a little warmer colours,

 

[drama]

Thanks for the clarifications Eikin

I retried the shots based on your tips
Here are the results

Manual White Balance + Level Adjustment

 

[Clockunder]

The newest pictures posted clearly suggest that the earlier picture in the first post was either not focused properly or the DOF was so extremely shallow that only the area near the elbow was probably in focus.

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

actually i still feel my assumption of handshake is still valid, from the shadow... or maybe due to long exposure, mirror shake. or maybe he changed lighting from 1st & 2nd.

 

[Clockunder]

actually i still feel my assumption of handshake is still valid, from the shadow... or maybe due to long exposure, mirror shake. or maybe he changed lighting from 1st & 2nd.

Possible mirror slap-up shake if mirror lock-up was not used in such close-up shots under such light condition on a tripod.

 

[drama]

Possible mirror slap-up shake if mirror lock-up was not used in such close-up shots under such light condition on a tripod.

This was shot witha Canon S3 is, on a tripod with timer
So am not sure why any shake should happen ?
Same lighting too

Is version two better ?
I like it more, detail seems definiely more