White Cat on a Red Bed

[Tonyb]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22752485@N03/2228205349/" title="minimalism by anthony.bishopp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2228205349_38c197e509.jpg" width="348" height="500" alt="minimalism" /></a>

Hi,
This was my picture for the minimalism assignment. My fiancee really likes it and wants a print. I can easily reshoot it, so can alter anything about it. It's a one second exposure and the room is lit by a single ceiling light. This way there I like the shadows, but I haven't been able to get rid of the light spot on the red wall. Is there anyway I can get rid of it, either digitally or better still avoid it being there in the first place.

Any other critisism is welcome.

Thanks, Tony

[reyjinn]

Perhaps you can put a GoBo ("Go Between") between the light and the wall? You might have good luck putting up something semi-transperant which will let some of the light through to light up the wall evenly without the light spot and yet maintaining the same lighting conditions on the bed.

[peeperita]

if you can easily recreate this scene, then that is one compliant cat you have there.....mine won't sit still even once for me.....:)

if you're keeping your lighting the same, then the light spot in the red field can be corrected in post work.....i would layer a very blurred red brush over it in the same color as the field itself....blurring and reducing the opacity until it blended nicely....

as far as the composition goes....i'd like to see it "tweeked" too.....if the bed is long enough, try shooting from a higher perspective so you can lose the leading edge of the bed and gain more of the natural shape of your laid back cat......i'd even like to see him repositioned and the frame tightened up so much that the only white i see is the cat and the red completely flushing out to the edges.....

if you do decide to reshoot this project, i'd love to see the new results....

thanks for sharing

peeper

[JFSanders]

Your post doesn't say what your lighting situation is. So it is hard to say how to remove the light spot. If possible use a bounce light or a off camera solution ( Great site for lighting info and education (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html) )

Secondly if your SO likes the shot with the white verticles then you must get them equal. If he/she isn't set on them then I agree with Peeper tighten up on the subject and lose the white and the foreground and change the height of the shot so as to fill out the cats shape.

Nice idea Jim

[filemanager]

I think you should brighten it a bit so the cat and the wall look more *white* - on my screen they look like a creamy color.

[jdepould]

It's not the brightness so much as the white balance, it's a bit on the warm/green side.

[Tonyb]

Thanks. The photo is shot in raw so I can easily play with the white balance. I have a canon 400d and had set it to Tungsten, but will try some other settings. I already selected the white walls in photoshop (magnetic lasso) and increased the brightness by 50%, but can try something more dramatic.

Ville is a pretty lazy cat and the bed is one of his favourite sleeping places. As the lighting is artificial (ceiling light) then I should be able to catch him there again. Or go for a white cat on a black sofa shot now!

I agree that the front of the bed should go and will try shooting from higher, but I liked that it was shot from cat height and that whilst the cat is clearly resting you can see his face. If it was shot from higher up then I think I'd get more of the top of his head, unless he looked up, but this isn't quite the lazy Ville image that I was hoping for. I'll try a tighter crop losing the white and then compare the two side by side.

I'll try to post again soon but this does depend on the cat's sleeping arrangements.

[pdaley221]

I love this picture because the cat looks almost fox-like. I think you should tweak the contrast a bit so the red and white are more vibrant. Great Shot!

[rehan]

Wow! That's a royal cat!