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Archive 2014 · To reshoot or not?

  
 
stringfolk
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · To reshoot or not?


So I plan on submitting this image (or one like it) to the Monthly Assignment 121 contest. I borrowed a camera to take this, and didn't realize until I was done with the shoot that the camera was in JPEG instead of RAW. Also, I was in something of a hurry so I didn't have a great background (just a brick wall).

Any and all critiques are welcome. I can re-shoot this if needed.



The thing I see right off the bat is that the lower-right tuning peg is outside the DoF. I couldn't see that through the viewfinder, but if I re-shoot this I'll stop down a bit more.



May 08, 2014 at 01:00 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · To reshoot or not?


Needs greater depth of field (focus sharpness) and more interesting lighting.


May 08, 2014 at 03:00 PM
stringfolk
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · To reshoot or not?


AuntiPode wrote:
Needs greater depth of field (focus sharpness) and more interesting lighting.


Yes, I'll definitely retake and stop down, maybe to f8 or so.

Can you (or anyone) flesh out that idea of more interesting lighting?



May 08, 2014 at 03:08 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · To reshoot or not?


The assignments are aimed at photography as art, not as, for example, product catalog illustration. Light needs to add drama or beauty. It needs to make a subject make a statement. A ho-hum subject with interesting lighting can make an interesting image. There's nothing especially appealing about the string adjustments of an instrument. At a minimum, to give it appeal you must find/create interesting light for it. What constitutes interesting light and what to look for and how to create interesting light are very large subjects we can hardly explain here. Try spending time looking around for dramatic light. See how light shines through blinds. See how dust motes sparkle in a sunbeam. Examine how a directional light causes an object's edge to shine. Look for examples of edge lighting, back-lighting, side lighting, light shining through a grill, a net, a lattice. Look for reflections, refractions, diffusions. Google appropriate phrases. Look at images others post. Look at the post with the pier at sunset. Look at classic images. Look at paintings by the old masters. Discover how they used light or painted it to give life or interest to their subjects. Photography is all about light. Technical details like depth of field are details, the cooking of the meal. The light is the meat and potatoes.

Here are just six fairly random examples of ordinary subjects made more interesting by light/lighting:

















May 08, 2014 at 05:45 PM
stringfolk
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · To reshoot or not?


Thanks for the insight! I definitely agree that mine looks, as you put it, like a mail-order catalog shot. And I definitely see how light affects the subject, and helps creates the drama that makes a picture compelling. I am getting to a point where I recognize those effects when I encounter them, but it don't yet know how to create them, or set up the conditions that create them. I suppose that just takes time and careful observation.


May 08, 2014 at 06:55 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · To reshoot or not?


AuntiPode wrote:
The assignments are aimed at photography as art, not as, for example, product catalog illustration.


I'd disagree ... imo, the assignments are themed "self-assignments" as a goal for development under the premise as though one had been commissioned to produce an image (hence the timelines involved). Whether or not it is an art perspective or a business perspective or other perspective (e.g. such as silly/fun/playful/clever) is variable.

Imo, the intent behind the assignment is that you use it as a catalyst to advance your own skill set ... however that may be warranted, whether that is technical, artistic, or

If you deem the assignment goal to be an effort to produce a catalog shot for a client, so be it. If you deem it to be an effort to produce a fine art piece, so be that as well. As a skill builder, you may want to strive to any number of attributes (contained within the context of the theme) to advance your growth.

To me, the WA/MA is a valuable tool to help challenge you to grow yourself, however you strive to stretch yourself.



May 08, 2014 at 09:42 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · To reshoot or not?


If you have a bright LED flashlight, try experimenting with it - at different distances, bounced off various surfaces, etc. Mount a camera on a tripod and take pictures with different light. Indoors with a big window and full sun. Add a reflector like a large piece of white cloth or cardboard. Change angles and subjects. Try photographing an egg and see how many different ways you can make it look just by changing the lighting. (Less risky if you hard boil it first.)


May 08, 2014 at 09:46 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · To reshoot or not?


I wasn't addressing skill building, just what is likely to win based upon how folks historically vote.


May 08, 2014 at 09:48 PM
Mister Bean
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · To reshoot or not?


What sort of story are you trying to tell, or feeling are you trying to express with the photo? The one you posted here isn't saying much. With a better idea about that, you'll have a better idea about how to compose and light the photo.


May 08, 2014 at 11:30 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · To reshoot or not?


+1 @ know your message ... it can guide your comp, lighting, pp, etc.

Karen ... oic @ your point.



May 09, 2014 at 09:04 AM
stringfolk
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · To reshoot or not?


RustyBug wrote:
+1 @ know your message ... it can guide your comp, lighting, pp, etc.

Karen ... oic @ your point.


Thanks to both of you.

I guess I hadn't really clearly formulated my message, but as I think about how the assignment applies to this subject, I think that the message is that machines are found even on instruments of artistry, which are sort of the antithesis of the machine ethos. So I guess I want to showcase an oft-overlooked, but important part of the instrument.



May 09, 2014 at 11:32 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · To reshoot or not?


For the message ... "Machine Heads" it is then.

I'm totally diggin' the message and it's philosophical nuance ... (but it might be lost on some who aren't familiar with the connection, i.e. "oft overlooked"). If you're doing it for creation of your message, the self satisfaction of bringing the message to an audience can be very rewarding. If you are doing it to garner votes, the subtle, overlooked, sublime and nuance is rarely a popular vote getter, unless it has a commanding element to it. That's kind of the combination of Karen's point with my point ... both are a matter of perspective @ why you are shooting for the WA/MA as to the direction(s) you take for your image.

For me, I'd probably go with a bit more of an abstract with just one of the machine heads in excellent DOF, and the others falling off in the BG. Same with lighting if I could use it to bring additional draw to the primary machine head.

I don't think you need to show the entire headstock to present your message.



May 09, 2014 at 11:54 AM
stringfolk
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · To reshoot or not?


RustyBug wrote:
For the message ... "Machine Heads" it is then.

For me, I'd probably go with a bit more of an abstract with just one of the machine heads in excellent DOF, and the others falling off in the BG. Same with lighting if I could use it to bring additional draw to the primary machine head.

I don't think you need to show the entire headstock to present your message.


Awesome. I don't really care if I win, but if I'm going to do the assignment for my own growth, I'd just as soon submit it if I'm happy with it.

Thanks again to all who replied for being a fantastic resource for folks like me who want to learn!



May 09, 2014 at 12:47 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · To reshoot or not?


Try to use the light and subject selection to better make your statement by placing an emphasis on the mechanism whilst maintaining the musical context as perhaps a subordinate set of elements.


May 09, 2014 at 02:02 PM





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