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Took this today, not 100% happy with the subject(s) or the lighting, but if I get good feedback I might take it again with a bit different of a set up.



Basically just hung the two flying star wars star craft from a curtain rod I had mounted between my tripod and a tension pole. the uplift in the backdrop is my lightstand box. 1 light on either side of the backdrop almost touching it, and one camera right about 40* from the subject. reflector camera left. If you look up at the top you can see where i didn't quite clone out some of the lines.

What do you think?

Jake

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"Photography isn't so much about the results as it is the collective experience, your interactions with people and with the world"

Jake,

I dont like this shot, i dont mean that in a bad way! There is just way too much going on. Your all over the place. I would rather see something on its own or two or 3 things playing into a nice evniroment so to speak. Your gettin quite hard shadows on that blue fella, maybe difuse the light a bit? coming from the right.

You need to fix that background, i wouldnt be using any blue objects when shooting agains blue just doenst work in my oppinion! I think it would work if your working with light coming from the top down those lines wont be visaeble, yeah i can defently see that cloning juts doesnt work!

i m srry if it sounds harsh but i m just saying what i think! i think you can alot better than this, just chill back and come back to this shot in a few hours and look for yourself you will start to see new things yourself

hope that helps some how

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Bang on the nail, Alex. Sadly not one for me either. You're one of the more consistent photographers on the forum, Jake. What's happened on this one? Was it the nostalgia? Trust your instincts - you're "not 100% happy". Here's some brief feedback:

Keep to the KISS principle - keep it simple. Two or three toys would be fine, and taken much closer up. Be careful with colour choice here, and that backdrop of yours looks like it could do with an ironing job.

Take care with cloning - there are obvious crease repeats - if you clone, take parts from various segments of the image so that patterns are recognisable.

Lighting-wise, again simple - two lights, one above and behind, and one oblique. Have a reflector opposite the oblique light to push back a little light if you want, but it can be omitted.

My instincts tell me this is brain-fade and you know all these basics. Good luck with your re-shoot.

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Alex, photoj, agree with you both 100% jake you should have... Wait, I think.. Hey i'm jake.

So I agree, I wasn't sure, I was thinking about it in the car and I want to:

Tighten up the framing, get rid of a couple things, theres a bit happening but its covering a huge area. One thing is I shoot in my sisters room and she'll be home in a day or two, so I had to clean up my whole set up and clean her room, because I did mess it up.

I am gunna set up tomorrow on the porch I hope, might go to the store look for a used film camera and go for a hike.

I've decided I might use cars, or just lego star craft. I'll make it tighter and be a little smarter with the lighting. I have a lot of small small reflectors now, and I'm going to use a v-card, too, infact its 8:40 what the heck, I'll go do it now! be back later.

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Canon EOS 40D | 28-135mm IS | 50mm f/1.8 |Vivitar DF 383 | Vivitar 285hv
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"Photography isn't so much about the results as it is the collective experience, your interactions with people and with the world"

Go for it jake.. i know you can pull off this shot.. try some macros here on these little lego guys.. with a nice black and white dark look with some vignetting (i know this is all me because i love that dark mysterious black and white look) and that looks is used a lot by me and nathan.. we have similar eyes for photography.. thats just what i would do.. your decision really.

Im sure you'll pull it off

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So, again I was in a bit of a hurry with it being so late and all, but still. Still not the shots that I was going for but better.


# Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 10/250 second = 1/25 second = 0.04 second
# Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 320/100 = F3.2
# ISO Speed Ratings = 100
# Original Date/Time = 2008:04:14 09:50:33
# Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 470/100
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/25.99 second
# Aperture Value (APEX) = 340/100
Aperture = F3.25
# Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
# Focal Length = 620/100 mm = 6.2 mm
# Image Width = 2848 pixels
# Image Height = 2136 pixels

Photoshoped Lines out


and heres another


# Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 10/400 second = 1/40 second = 0.025 second
# Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 310/100 = F3.1
# ISO Speed Ratings = 100
# Original Date/Time = 2008:04:14 09:45:38
# Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 530/100
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/39.4 second
# Aperture Value (APEX) = 330/100
Aperture = F3.14
# Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
# Focal Length = 760/100 mm = 7.6 mm
# Image Width = 2136 pixels
# Image Height = 2848 pixels

Well, what do you think, emp, i'll try it in B+W and stuff tomorrow.

Jake

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Jake O'Connell, 40D Crew
Canon EOS 40D | 28-135mm IS | 50mm f/1.8 |Vivitar DF 383 | Vivitar 285hv
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"Photography isn't so much about the results as it is the collective experience, your interactions with people and with the world"

A minor improvement of your previous attempt by de-cluttering the frame. You've got a lack of light in both images you've just submitted, and composition isn't exactly what I term, neat. Start thinking back to the rule of thirds if you're low on inspiration for layouts, and get even more close to an individual, or two of the Lego toys.

The two viewpoints here don't quite work - it's too cluttered on the 1st as you've cropped out parts of the toys with the lack of width, and there is far too much head space in the 2nd. You should consider the ironing tip from my previous post - that and finding a flat surface to lay the cloth on - it will help.

Third time lucky? Make sure you've got time to slow down and think about every step of your photography - it's what I call the drill. As a precis this would be it: pause, prepare camera, think about the subject in relation to lighting, compose, shoot, review. There's a lot more to add to this drill, but this is a good starting point for when I feel lost in my photography.

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Hey jake left a comment on ur flickr want me to post it here?

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I read them alex, Thanks.

I do like the edited version a bit

I think I'm giving up on my quest for flying legos. I'm gunna try going with some more simple set-ups. Getting tired of the set up and take downs constantly.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Jake

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Jake O'Connell, 40D Crew
Canon EOS 40D | 28-135mm IS | 50mm f/1.8 |Vivitar DF 383 | Vivitar 285hv
My Flickr
my Blog
"Photography isn't so much about the results as it is the collective experience, your interactions with people and with the world"

Its a bit work of work to put it up and take it down all the time, this is what you get when you live with momy joking!

Well the other setup was niec and simple hwo long did it take you to set that up, it takes me max 3min to get a setup going. Then adjusting things is what takes longer but that is the fun stuf!!

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