I was lost. As I don't have any beautiful buildings nearby, no easy access to the seashore (sunsets or sunrises) and not even a streaming taillights, I didn't know what to shoot. Then I remembered a similar picture that was once posted under a different WA so I thought I'd have a go as well.
Bit too clinical for my tastes Yakim. Dim the lights, bring on the shadows, pour the wine, add a single red rose bud and soft focus everything. Works every time for me.
I'm glad that you spotted this because the cynicism is deliberate. It is not suppose to be a romantic dinner. The absence of flowers and tablecloth and the cheap wine are designed to illustrate something that was done in a hurry. I was trying to show what was the most important issue in the eyes of the one who made this table.
Yakim I think you reached your goal but maybe it is too obvious to make the picture interesting (the picture itself is not very appealing and the story told is straightforward).
Maybe you could have gone for something more insidious like a setup as Bill said and the back of a character with a rubber seen outside the rear pocket of his trousers or something like that.
Well I don't know... ;-)
Clever idea. I wouldn't have know that it's a cheap wine. Maybe if it's a screw top you could open it, remove some of the wine (the mystery person wouldn't invest in a brand new bottle, right?), and have the cap visible instead of hidden by the seal.
I like Julien's idea if you have time to play with that. Your set up is clean, though, and the cynical point is well made.
Guys, these are excellent advices but I don't think I'll have the time to re-shoot. And even if I could, it will surely pail against Stan and James' submissions.