Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: Roberto Frieri on April 27, 2013, 03:14:38 pm

Title: Life on a table
Post by: Roberto Frieri on April 27, 2013, 03:14:38 pm
Hi to you all.
Since the last time I posted, I've started a new, little, still-life project.
Here are some shots for your review, others on my website:
- colors http://www.robertofrieri.net/lifeonatablecolo.html (http://www.robertofrieri.net/lifeonatablecolo.html)
- black and white http://www.robertofrieri.net/lifeonatablebw.html (http://www.robertofrieri.net/lifeonatablebw.html)
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: WalterEG on April 27, 2013, 03:56:47 pm
Still life provides a great exercise for the mind.  Well done.
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: RSL on April 27, 2013, 04:14:58 pm
Very nice Roberto. I don't know whether or not the slight flare on the box in #1 is intentional, but I like it just the way it is.
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: WalterEG on April 27, 2013, 04:25:09 pm
I agree about the sheen on the box which brings up the relief in the moulding of the box.

Reminds me of the story of a Hollywood MasterClass in lighting techniques held by the great DOP who had done a lot of cinema noir drama.  He showed lighting a mahogany lined den.  He explained that it was low key but that the talent could move from pool to pool of light either lit or silhouetted.

A student queried the flare on the front of a bookcase.  The Master explained that it was a sheen and not a flare.  The student asked the difference between a flare and a sheen to which came the reply:  "$1,000.00 per day!"

Cheers,

Walter
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: Roberto Frieri on April 28, 2013, 02:40:45 pm
Still life provides a great exercise for the mind. Well done.
Thank you Walter.

Very nice Roberto. I don't know whether or not the slight flare on the box in #1 is intentional, but I like it just the way it is.
Thank you Russ.
No, the slight flare, or sheen, on the box hasn't been intentional, it has been a consequence of the lighting.
I've used window light (from left) and a reflector (on the right side).
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: nemo295 on April 29, 2013, 11:42:04 am
The lighting is too flat. In #3 the glasses merge into the light background. The look in all of them is too dry and clinical for my taste.
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: Roberto Frieri on April 29, 2013, 03:43:57 pm
The lighting is too flat. In #3 the glasses merge into the light background. The look in all of them is too dry and clinical for my taste.
Hi and thank you Doug, I'm grateful for your interesting and motivated opinion.
I've just to say that I'm not doing commercial still-life: this is (only) a personal project, that means a personal interpretation of a subject matter (a table, a tablecloth, some objects).
Title: Re: Life on a table
Post by: nemo295 on April 30, 2013, 04:03:41 pm
Hi and thank you Doug, I'm grateful for your interesting and motivated opinion.
I've just to say that I'm not doing commercial still-life: this is (only) a personal project, that means a personal interpretation of a subject matter (a table, a tablecloth, some objects).


You're welcome, Roberto. I try to be constructive in my critiques, but I can be a little blunt at times. But what I said had nothing to do with it being commercial. I'm only interested in the image itself, not the reason it was taken. Most of the images posted here are personal projects anyway. Lighting and composition are important considerations in any photograph.