Return of the Tea Cup

[jpetrow]

With these shots I've tried to emphasise the sad and somewhat unresolved expression that the face painted on the side of the mug has. These two shots have suffered no post-processing exept for cropping. Could I somehow improve these pictures with post-processing? How do these shots work as whole?

Shots taken with Canon 20d and ef-s 17-85mm usm is.

ISO 200; f/5; 43mm; 0,4s:
http://www.hut.fi/~jpetrow/digit/muggah/muggen4_no_pp_800.jpg

ISO 100; f/5,6; 75mm; 0,8s:
http://www.hut.fi/~jpetrow/digit/muggah/muggen2_no_pp_800.jpg

[JK]

I think you could make the image a bit more interesting by having the face on the mug actually "looking" at something. Perhaps another cup (maybe a broken one ?) :)
Uh, and perhaps brighten them up a bit!

Cheers,

JK

[jpetrow]

I think you could make the image a bit more interesting by having the face on the mug actually "looking" at something. Perhaps another cup (maybe a broken one ?) :)
Uh, and perhaps brighten them up a bit!

Cheers,

JK

Broken mug is a great idea, thanks!

I tried to work with the levels, curves and brightness with Gimp, but I couldn't find a way to brighten the shots without losing the sense of deepness and progression. With progression I mean the process in which you have to concentrate on the picture for a sec or two to get a hang of it. (to illustrate the unresolved expression on the face)

Of course all that depends on the monitor settings when viewing online. Is the first one really too dark so that you can't properly see the diagonal shadow? Furthermore, is the second one so dark that the two out-fo-focus elements are not identifiable?

Thanks for the critique and new ideas.

[Dimitry]

Out of these two I like the first one better, since it incorporates the usage of light and DOF a bit better into the context of the image imo. Try similar lighting with the broken mug and see what you get :) Cool idea and nice mug for photography :D