How's the light on this one?

[bieber]

A still life I did with a knife and a tomato (and a baking sheet), what do y'all think of the light? One umbrella, shot-through, above and ahead slightly, and I was toying with another flash shooting through some paper towels on the right, but it lit up the edge of the knife handle like a mirror...

[Beau Hudspeth]

Over all it is not bad at all. The problem with product/food photography is: more often then not you have to adjust the image away from accurate towards that of an idea. You have to make the product look like what we envision it does in our minds.

Really red apples. Very yellow bananas, and so on, and things have to be bright and clean. The knife, in this case, should be free of any juice. I know that it is not realistic, but that is what looks good.

Also, the product can not have any flaws. Like a dent in a tomato.

Here is a quick version of what I would expect to see in a shot like this.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=192633&stc=1&d=1185526602


Keep up the good work and keep experimenting. The stuff you did with the lighting worked well of this shot - not super hot and very diffused.

[Thrill]

I agree with Beau. I just wanted to add that the slices of tomato aren't very red. It seems to me that portion of the picture might be a little hot washing out some of the color of the tomato?

I am no lighting expert and its a very well done picture though.

[Croasdail]

It lacks luminosity... it needs more pop. I would have also moved the blemish in the tomato to the back. But it is a good start.

[bieber]

Over all it is not bad at all. The problem with product/food photography is: more often then not you have to adjust the image away from accurate towards that of an idea. You have to make the product look like what we envision it does in our minds.

Really red apples. Very yellow bananas, and so on, and things have to be bright and clean. The knife, in this case, should be free of any juice. I know that it is not realistic, but that is what looks good.

Also, the product can not have any flaws. Like a dent in a tomato.

Here is a quick version of what I would expect to see in a shot like this.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=192633&stc=1&d=1185526602


Keep up the good work and keep experimenting. The stuff you did with the lighting worked well of this shot - not super hot and very diffused.



I'm afraid I can't see the image. Was it just a different photograph, or some post-processing? I'm thinking I may go ahead and see if I can get rid of that blemish (which should be lots of fun, trying to still make the specular highlight look right) and contrast up the tomatoes a little. And maybe smooth the skin some, although it's not something I thought I'd ever be doing to a fruit...

[Beau Hudspeth]

Can anyone else not see the image? If so, here it is again ...

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/4721/attachmenttg2.jpg

[bieber]

Yeah, I see what you mean. I'll do a little toying around with it, see what I can come up with.

[howzitboy]

i see it now!! i think the lights are a bit too hot, they are burning out details in the sliced tomatoes. and i agree, the knife has to be brand new ,shiny, and sparkling clean!!