Ch 32-New Pic, Yellow

[snapapple]

I'm trying something new. I'd like to know if people prefer this or the palm leaf. What do you think?
http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16013860-L.jpg

[morrisphotography2003]

I'm trying something new. I'd like to know if people prefer this or the palm leaf. What do you think?
http://snapapple.smugmug.com/photos/16013860-L.jpgI liked the palm leaves more, I think this is a good photo but the only problem that I am having with it is my eyes are being pulled from (the subject) the lemons and toward the watering can with the ducks on it.

[snapapple]

I liked the palm leaves more, I think this is a good photo but the only problem that I am having with it is my eyes are being pulled from (the subject) the lemons and toward the watering can with the ducks on it.

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I need to find a plain yellow pitcher or something. I'll keep looking. I've got plenty of lemons on my trees. :D

[morrisphotography2003]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I need to find a plain yellow pitcher or something. I'll keep looking. I've got plenty of lemons on my trees. :Dcan I make a suggestion? I would try using a large bowl to put them in, or try to cut a few and place the knife next to them sort of like you were making a fresh batch of lemon-aid.

[snapapple]

can I make a suggestion? I would try using a large bowl to put them in, or try to cut a few and place the knife next to them sort of like you were making a fresh batch of lemon-aid.

Yeah, that was my original idea. I have a nice clear glass pitcher. I was going to mix up a batch of lemonaid and put it next to the lemons, but then I saw the sunflowers. I didn't want to make all that lemonaid and have it go to waste. I'll go ahead and do it tomorrow. I think I'll try to get my husband in the picture too. He'd love to drink some lemonaid. :D

[snapapple]

Well, here are my best two from today. Let me know what you think.
No. 1
http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16055471-L.jpg

No 2.
http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16055469-L.jpg

[snapapple]

Somebody critique my new pics please. Thanks. :lust

[purified]

Wow! This is a big improvement! I think #2 goes best with the challenge, as the yellow truly dominates. The 1st one is great as well, but the person in the background does detract more from the focus. But I LOVE it's composition. I really like both of them, you should be proud! :thumb

[snapapple]

Wow! This is a big improvement! I think #2 goes best with the challenge, as the yellow truly dominates. The 1st one is great as well, but the person in the background does detract more from the focus. But I LOVE it's composition. I really like both of them, you should be proud! :thumb

Thanks Kelly,
Funny, you said all the same things I said. No. 2 has the best dominant color thing goin' for it. The first one tells a nice story and has a good composition, but the grey area detracts from the yellow. I told him to wear his yellow sweat shirt, but he said he gave it to Goodwill. :cry What can I do? Maybe tomorrow I can get him to wear a cream colored shirt at least. Whew? Models! So difficult to deal with. :rofl Does anyone have any other ideas on this?

[BridgeCity]

One Word: Banannas!!!

[fish]

Hey snappy, I really like your choice of lighting. It's very soft and mild (except for the reflection in the last shot). I actually like the first image the best. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the yellow wall or background. I'd go for something equally plain, but a little more neutral. You might also consider pumping up the sat on the lemons. I think you may find with a slight change in color richness, you'll change the focal point of the shot. But the lighting, focus, DOF, composition...all of it is great in that shot.

cheers,
fish

[Nir]

Snappy,

I love the composition of the shot with your husband! Boost yellow saturation on it and go for it!

[lynnma]

Hi Snappy.. I'm with Nir.. I like them all actually, but I really like the fact that there is a live person in the shot..I've been having a really hard time myself "creating" shots for these challenges and sometimes to me they come out sterile.. sortof.. anyway.. I really like the one with the man in it.. I would have liked it even more if he were drinking it, (less posed) and I would boost the color just a tad. I think thats the one tho. I like the fern as well but like this much more. Does this help?:D :clap

[wxwax]

Hi Snapster. Here's my feedback on the three shots.

#1 Love the dynamic angle on the basket of fruit. Feels good. But the composition doesn't work for me. The basket doesn't dominate. And the thing in the top right corner is sorta there and sorta not there. So the composition doesn't feel like it's about one thing or another - it's kinda about the basket and kinda about the thing in the top right corner.

#2 Love the storytelling and the background man! Great fun and very creative. Again, it's the composition that doesn't work for me. Nothing truly dominates the shot - except for the background man! The bowl's partially out of the shot. And the jug's awkwardly placed. The plate's half out of the shot as well. If the bowl filled the bottom left corner, the jug the middle right side, and the tasty man the top left and smaller, you might have a triangle that works. :dunno

#3 A cool still life approach. I really admire your creativity in setting up these different shots.:nod Not to harp, but again I find myself wondering about the composition. The bowl of fruit is cheating out of the shot on one side, but there's a gap on the other side. And the plate sorta feels like and add-in. I guess to me it just feels unbalanced, like the camera has inadvertantly shifted slighty to the right.

[ginger_55]

Snappy, I agree, the last one, pitcher, lemons, no husband. Then frame husband one and put it on your kitchen wall. They are both good, but the one with no distraction from The Man seems the best for the challenge. Would make a good ad, the man would.

He is very good looking.:):

It is a win/win situation there!

ginger

[ginger_55]

Hi Snapster. Here's my feedback on the three shots.

#3 A cool still life approach. I really admire your creativity in setting up these different shots.:nod Not to harp, but again I find myself wondering about the composition. The bowl of fruit is cheating out of the shot on one side, but there's a gap on the other side. And the plate sorta feels like and add-in. I guess to me it just feels unbalanced, like the camera has inadvertantly shifted slighty to the right.

Well, I liked it, still do. Do you mean for one thing that it is too tight????
Anyway, the only thing I noticed is that there might be a bit of keystoning with the glass that makes it look like it is falling away. That would mean there is keystoning in other places.

Or maybe it is just a slippery slope.:rofl
I like it. Then again, I don't do product/still lives, but I do enjoy them.

ginger

[snapapple]

Well, I liked it, still do. Do you mean for one thing that it is too tight????
Anyway, the only thing I noticed is that there might be a bit of keystoning with the glass that makes it look like it is falling away. That would mean there is keystoning in other places.

Or maybe it is just a slippery slope.:rofl
I like it. Then again, I don't do product/still lives, but I do enjoy them.

ginger

Thanks for the comments Ginger. You're right about the lens distortion on the last one. I noticed it right away. The lines of the vertical blinds on the right side fan out and the glass seems to lean out. The lines are vertical from the middle toward the right. The bowl seems to lean toward the left. So it can't be rotated. It needs the bottom corners pulled out. I didn't try it because I don't think that's allowed in the "no photoshop" rules. After looking at it a while, I kind of got to like it. It's almost a fish eye effect. I like the light in this one, but I think there are too many elements. I need to make it just three things. I was wondering if the distortion would bother anyone.
Thanks again. I value your opinion.

[snapapple]

Hi Snapster. Here's my feedback on the three shots.

#1 Love the dynamic angle on the basket of fruit. Feels good. But the composition doesn't work for me. The basket doesn't dominate. And the thing in the top right corner is sorta there and sorta not there. So the composition doesn't feel like it's about one thing or another - it's kinda about the basket and kinda about the thing in the top right corner.

#2 Love the storytelling and the background man! Great fun and very creative. Again, it's the composition that doesn't work for me. Nothing truly dominates the shot - except for the background man! The bowl's partially out of the shot. And the jug's awkwardly placed. The plate's half out of the shot as well. If the bowl filled the bottom left corner, the jug the middle right side, and the tasty man the top left and smaller, you might have a triangle that works. :dunno

#3 A cool still life approach. I really admire your creativity in setting up these different shots.:nod Not to harp, but again I find myself wondering about the composition. The bowl of fruit is cheating out of the shot on one side, but there's a gap on the other side. And the plate sorta feels like and add-in. I guess to me it just feels unbalanced, like the camera has inadvertantly shifted slighty to the right.

Thanks Sid, for the very thorough critique.

#1 Love the dynamic angle on the basket of fruit. Feels good. But the composition doesn't work for me.
Re: #1 - I liked that basket, but couldn't think of a good composition for it.

Re: #2 - I like the idea of a person in the shot myself. But how do I make him smaller? tasty man the top left and smaller, He does seem to dominate too much.

Re: #3 - I'll have to work on that composition. I like the light and the color, but it's too cluttered and crowded.

It looks like I need to combine the good parts of all three pictures and I'll have the perfect shot. :D

Thanks again for the super critique.

[snapapple]

Hey snappy, I really like your choice of lighting. It's very soft and mild (except for the reflection in the last shot). I actually like the first image the best. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the yellow wall or background. I'd go for something equally plain, but a little more neutral. You might also consider pumping up the sat on the lemons. I think you may find with a slight change in color richness, you'll change the focal point of the shot. But the lighting, focus, DOF, composition...all of it is great in that shot.

cheers,
fish

Thanks Fish, for the critique. Looks like you and I are the only ones who like #1. The main thing I didn't like was the yellow background. I didn't like the folds in it. (It's a table cloth, hung over a screen). I also think the watering can is too dark and busy. This might work with a plain white pitcher of flowers. I'll try to find a plain wall to work with here. I'm using window light, so it's hard to find the right window and the right wall or background. I'm glad you like the shot though. Shows that I might be able to work with some of the elements and come up with a better version.

Thanks again for the critique.

[snapapple]

Thanks Nir and Lynn, (Last but not least.)

You've convinced me that a person in the shot is the best bet. I just have to figure out how to get him in without having him tower over everything. :D

Thank you for looking and commenting. I have some real solid ideas now.

I appreciate the feedback from all of you. Thank you. Thank you. :bow

[wxwax]

More distance = smaller. :D

[Angelo]

I Like #2 as well but something about scale is bothering me. The lemons appear to be giants in relation to the pitcher.

[snapapple]

Right Sid. I got it, distance.

Thanks Angelo, I appreciate your input. It's distance again. I was trying to make the lemons the main attraction. When you get up close to a camera you look bigger. I was also using the macro mode to get the focus on the lemons.

[snapapple]

OK, I got some distance here. The whole living room. It was harder to get the light though. I need to buy some lights! But, I have a lot of windows here. It's been a rainy day and the sun keeps going in and out. I used a pole lamp to highlight the lemons in addition to being near the window. I used a fill flash.
EXIF DATA:
1/100 sec, f2.0, ISO 100, 8.7mm (guess about 50mm equivelent)

I set the camera on ISO 100 and aperature priority then set it at f2.0. I set it on auto timer. I focused on the lemons, then reframed, then pressed the shutter button. I ran over and sat down and picked up my glass. Click! There it is. Just RAW processing and levels and USM at .5 pixels. What do you think?


http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16193929-L.jpg

[GREAPER]

I like this last one a lot Snappy. It tells a wonderful stury, The color yellow dominates the shot and the DOF is perfect. I would go with this one.

[Nee7x7]

This works for me! Great job using shallow dof here...and it definitely fits the theme to a 'T'! Cheers~ Nee :thumb


http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16092245-L.jpg

[snapapple]

I like this last one a lot Snappy. It tells a wonderful stury, The color yellow dominates the shot and the DOF is perfect. I would go with this one.

Thanks Greaper. I appreciate the feedback. I felt that this was the one. I got the lemons smaller than the pitcher (thanks Angelo), I got the bowl and the plate completely in the picture (thanks Sid), I got the people smaller by getting them farther away from the table (thanks Sid). And, I even got myself in the picture. :wink

It took all morning to set up. But I was all ready when my husband got here for lunch. Only had to take a few shots.

[Angelo]

:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap

:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
:clap :clap:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap
:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap


:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl

:cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer

[morrisphotography2003]

I agree number 2 is better the colors are sharper the lemons jump off the screen, I want some lemon-aid now:clap :D Thanks Kelly,
Funny, you said all the same things I said. No. 2 has the best dominant color thing goin' for it. The first one tells a nice story and has a good composition, but the grey area detracts from the yellow. I told him to wear his yellow sweat shirt, but he said he gave it to Goodwill. :cry What can I do? Maybe tomorrow I can get him to wear a cream colored shirt at least. Whew? Models! So difficult to deal with. :rofl Does anyone have any other ideas on this?

[mel]

I really like the latest shot! Perfect for this competition. Even made me thirsty.

It was fun to watch the progression of your ideas, too.

:clap :clap :clap

[morrisphotography2003]

I like the last one the best, keep up the great work:clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :thumb

[snapapple]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Nee, Angelo, Mel and Morris.

I started over with the RAW processing on this one. I thought the first one was too saturated and the shadows were too dark. So, I raised the exposure a little and did not increase the shadows. Then I was very gentle with the levels in Photoshop and added just a tiny bit of USM. The contrast is not as great on the lemons, but now the background shadows are not so deep and the weird yellow glow is off the background figures. I think this looks more natural.

A special thanks to Pathfinder for the tutorial on adding frames with drop shadows. I used to do all my drop shadows in Paintshop Pro because I didn't know how to do them in Elements. I got Photoshop CS for Christmas so now I'm trying to learn how to do everything in CS. I can finally use the great stuff in the Hall of Wisdom. Thanks to everyone who contributed the great tutorials. I'm just starting, but I'm thanking you all in advance. :clap :clap :clap

A special thanks to Andy for all the persuasion to start using RAW. I was reluctant to fill my hard drive with those huge files and to do the extra step of RAW processing. But, now I realize that I could never have done this shot without it. The ability to manipulate the exposure and white balance is invaluable. :clap :clap :clap
http://SNAPAPPLE.smugmug.com/photos/16193929-L.jpg

[lynnma]

You go girl.. you bin gone an done it this time :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :clap :thumb

[4labs]

Didn't I see this in a magazine? Great job...

[snapapple]

Thanks Lynn and 4Labs,
I really appreciate the compliments! I progressed through so many stages here. This has really been fun! Thanks for taking the time to check back on this thread.

[lynnesite]

Thanks Lynn and 4Labs,
I really appreciate the compliments! I progressed through so many stages here. This has really been fun! Thanks for taking the time to check back on this thread.

Nice evolution! I like the final result very much, particularly the DOF and how despite all those complementary tones and bits it doesn't seem too busy.

Lynne

[Khaos]

It was fun watching the progression to the final shot, which is great, by the way. I want to put the milk tag line on it, "Got Lemonade?"

[Andy]

snappy -

this thread is priceless. the progression of shots, from first to last, is wonderful to read thru and the contributions by fellow dgrinners, well, this is what the challenges are about in my opinion!

congrats on a fine fine photograph, i really dig the final shot in this thread, the one you entered. it embodies predominant color, perfectly! it also shows a tremendous amount of creativity on your part, and i applaud you for that :clap

well done.

[snapapple]

Nice evolution!
Thanks Lynne. I appreciate your taking the time to comment.

It was fun watching the progression to the final shot, which is great, by the way. I want to put the milk tag line on it, & quot;Got Lemonade?"
Thanks Khaos. I appreciate the compliment and your taking the time to stop by. You're new, I think. Anyway, welcome, glad to meetcha.

[snapapple]

snappy -

this thread is priceless. the progression of shots, from first to last, is wonderful to read thru and the contributions by fellow dgrinners, well, this is what the challenges are about in my opinion!

congrats on a fine fine photograph, i really dig the final shot in this thread, the one you entered. it embodies predominant color, perfectly! it also shows a tremendous amount of creativity on your part, and i applaud you for that :clap

well done.
Thank you Andy. This thread really does demonstrate very well how this forum works. The "Aha" feeling I got after getting that last shot was my reward even without entering the challenge. It helps so much to have feedback. I hope lots of dgrinners read this thread so they can see how it works. Also, I direct you all to Stan's thread on the "Red Pepper" shot. His final shot was the result of his own creativity, but feedback from the peanut gallery kept him going I think.

Thanks again, Andy, for taking the extra time to come back to these threads and comment. Everyone loves a little positive reinforcement sometimes. :D

[wxwax]

I agree with the others. You worked the problem and you nailed it. Congratualtions! :thumb

[snapapple]

Thanks Sid. And, thanks for all your help. I respect your opinion a lot. The best thing is that I really had a lot of fun with this challenge. My picture may look like a magazine ad, but that's not a bad thing, huh. I also do other styles. I believe in branching out, broadening myself, reaching as the challenge topic requires.