Butter Poached Lobster

My roommate is a chef and the assistant manager at slightly fancy restaurant/conference center. He called me up last night and asked if I'd take some photos of a dish he made.

Butter poached lobster on a bed of spring onion polenta with peas and carrots

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/cokronk/5061535​758/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/cokronk/5060925​987/

Man, that looks delicious..

Very nice. Hope you got to eat it afterwards!

dammit... i knew it was a mistake clicking on this thread...

now i'm hungry...

stfulton1 wrote in post #11057882
Very nice. Hope you got to eat it afterwards!

Unfortunately not, but there are two lobster tail in the fridge that are going to be used for soup on Monday.

I like the first shot. The second is too blown out though. The lobster has lost detail..and no I don't mean..De Tail!

Do any of you have calibrated monitors? I've heard from everyone that's it's completely blown out.

The only thing I see as blown, besides the small highlights on the tail, is the polenta on the right side. Even then, I can tell it's yellow.

I have an HP 3065 calibrated with a Spyder 3 Pro that's hooked up to measure ambient light as well.

omg hungry again

first shot around the edges and the second one is totally white blown except for the valley

My monitor is calibrated.

Wow what a beautiful shot! the dish is perfectly presented...
if the aim was to make me want to eat it, you are doing it right!

now I'm hungry!

nubpinions but first one is more appealing as on the 2nd one, i see too much dish, not enough food?

but damn, nice pic and i'm hungry...

monitor not calibrated and i do see some details on the 2nd pic but not as much as first...

nub out...

calling wife for some lobster...

I see all kinds of detail in both. So much in the second one that I really need to raid the fridge Only thing I see that is blown out is the plate, and, well, there is no detail there to begin with.
I'd even kinda wanting a tad bit more light from the left in the first one, looks backlit. But just a tad.

While #2 may be blown out a bit, I prefer it over #1 on the basis of composition. Ask yourself this, "What is the objective for image #1?" Are you showing off the lobster, or is this a marketing image for the restaurant? I find it hard to focus on the lobster as there is so much going on... There's the glossy table, which reflects the shadowed underside of the plate. The table also has a pattern. Then there's the napkin-rolled flatware, the candle, and even the seating.

When I look at #2, my eye goes straight to the LOBSTER! By properly using DoF to your advantage, the other objects in the image do not become a distraction. Great composition, nice lighting if not slightly blown out.

Keep up the good work!

Village_Idiot wrote in post #11060735
Do any of you have calibrated monitors? I've heard from everyone that's it's completely blown out.

The only thing I see as blown, besides the small highlights on the tail, is the polenta on the right side. Even then, I can tell it's yellow.

I have an HP 3065 calibrated with a Spyder 3 Pro that's hooked up to measure ambient light as well.

Looks fine to me