ok, this is the first time in my life i have ever done some kind of still life...so the lighting needs a little work, hehe. but anyway, i used a clipboard as the background behind the egg and placed the egg on a cookie sheet and to hold it there i used nacho cheese (i had no putty!). i placed the light close to the egg so that it would show through the shadow side and this is what i got. please give me suggestions for next time...and also ways on reducing the very bright parts of the photo...i would like to keep it all fairly low-profile tones...so any suggestions are appreciated. thanks.
wow, marc, what can i say!? thanks for the in-depth response!
i did mean to make the egg look round. i tried many different views and the current one i have is the one i liked the most...not completely round, but not oval either.
i'll definately go back and try some of those suggestions!
and i wouldn't quite say i'm obsessed, but i have my own moon shot as well;)
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Marc Gougenheim{K:5398} 11/30/2002
I see...:-) Now I understand why you liked my "moon"...:-)) I read here that you study astronmy, and here you even make eggs look like the moon ! My friend, you are obsessed !! :-)
Ok. Besides that, that would actually be my first question about this shot: did you mean the egg to look oval, like eggs look, or did you make it look round on purpose ?
Then, the light is slightly harsh, and you may want to simply use tracing papers in front of the light source to diffuse the light.
As for the overall feel, well, I think it's very good for a first try... Other considerations to improve on this would be:
1) Try to avoid showing a strong line in the background.
2) Adjust your space around the egg so that your egg is at a more eye-catchy position in the frame... For example, in the center of a square format looks good to me here, especially if the color in the background "breaks" in 2 parts, as it does here, and if this division can be exactly in the middle of the height of this square. Or, use golden rules or such to set up an asymetrical composition where empty space will play a more interesting role...
3) Finally, watch your background textures carefully: I feel that no textures at all in it was better here, because it would emphasize egg texture.
4) Black and white maybe ?
5) Keep in mind the possibility of using another light to light up a circle on the background, that would appear to be AROUND the egg - here I think it may be nice...
Voila. Damn ! Did I write all this...?! :-)) Cheers.
thanks so much for your comments, ivan. they help me:). i've attached another image (same scan, just played with PS a little) to see if it's more or less what you had in mind (except for the background)...
i want to see your image you have in mind...once you take it and scan it, send it to my email at freakmonkey1@hotmail.com
if it says it's full and email can't be processed, that means i've been spammed out of space and so try to send it again the next day.
In my opinion the egg's texture is the main and most important and well-done thing in this shot. It is sharp, well positioned, has good level of details and a very nice shadow line. It looks like the Moon!
I'm not crazy about the background and the floor ? little busy. Please don't take my attention away from your subject:)
Also, what it is on the left of the picture ? looks like there is a line going from the egg left side to the bottom of the pic... a hair? I think if you crop this image a little you can make it better ? the upper part is empty and in my opinion does not benefit the composition in any way.
Thank you for this shot , I have an idea for my own now ? I'll show it to you first.
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