A Tangelo For the Bedroom

[RussHeath]

My Goal:

Last weekend my wife and I painted the bedroom with a blue that is similar to a Wedgewood blue, but a little darker. I hate painting, so to talk me into it my wife agreed to have me make a large print to hang. The final colors will be a dark blue and tangerine (curtains). So I decided to shoot a tangelo, with the final goal of hanging in the bedroom:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2294398219_867f7ef9ec.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/russheath/2294398219/)

Feel free to check out the large (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2294398219_867f7ef9ec_b.jpg) or original size (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2294398219_45f9f0ca1e_o.jpg) as well.

EXIF: 1/80, f/4.8, 35mm, ISO 100.

The lighting is rather complex, see the setup shot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/russheath/2295192522/) here.

I like the one here more than the others, but there are a couple more on my flickr stream including a less stylized version of this one, and a completely different shot.

I've posted another thread (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?p=115766#post115766) in the Other Technique section about the setup and lighting, and the other shots are included there.

So I'm going for bold colors that compliment the room, give a bright feeling, and that I'll still be happy with in a year when the novelty wears off. Comments regarding composition, lighting, and color are very appreciated. And the overall question is "would you want this hanging in your bedroom?"

Thanks in advance. :)

[Saralonde]

I see you were reading the "Lighting on Two Planes" entry. I wondered how it would work with granite and if it would pick up the flecks of color in the tile. It only seemed to really do that on your more stylized shot.
I like the composition, but it may be cropped just a touch too close at the bottom. I liked the lighting and reflection. Color is very striking with the contrasts between orange and blue, but I'm a little disconcerted by the blue rind on the orange. I guess I like my fruit natural!
I may not hang it on my bedroom wall (being a problematic sleeper, I like serenity in bedrom decor), but I'd hang it elsewhere in my home.

[RussHeath]

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Saralonde. I think the flecks of granite show up in this one because of my post processing (mostly just overzealous unsharp mask) but I also think that's why I prefer it to the others. We'll see what my wife thinks (the one with veto power ;)).

This is the original composition, not cropped. But I was wondering if it would bother anyone that I cut it kind of close to the bottom of the relfection. I'm sure it won't be too much trouble to clone a little extra edge in there. Thanks for pointing it out.

I hear what you're saying about the blue color on the rind, and I can't decide whether it helps or hurts. Certainly is a little "unnatural" but that's OK by me (hence the heavy PP). I'll have to see if I can fix it with the clone stamp. Seems like there was no way to avoid it during the shoot. Every time I tried to fix it the reflection in the granite was equally affected.

Thanks again for the opinions and comments! :)

[geotography]

Russ,

I would hope to have a sharp eye like Saralonde someday...at my level, I just didn't notice those things. For me, the impact is how striking the image is and how you captilized upon the citrus glare...which for me makes citrus a challenge to photograph.

As for the bedroom: In parts of Asia, the citrus is a symbol of good health; moreover, the bedroom, amongst other uses, is primarily for sleep and restoration of the human body. I think there is a relationship. I think it will be a color and texture choice and as you said, your wife will wield considerable influence upon the ultimate decision.

Nice Work!!!

[RussHeath]

Geo -- Thanks for all your thoughts. I may have unintentionally struck a chord with you and Saralonde about what makes up a bedroom space. Not my original intent, but it's fun to get a different perspective from you both. In retrospect, it seems that the heart of my original question is exactly what you both have commented on, which has as much to do with interior design as photography. Very interesting tidbit about the symbolic value of citrus in Asia.

I should have included more information in the original post about what type of feeling we want for the room. It's fairly large for a bedroom, and we have a lot of open wall space covered now with a darker color paint. The room gets lots of morning sunlight, and our desired feeling for decorating is bright happy colors on the peaceful blue background. You know, the kind of place that makes you feel a little better about getting out of bed before 6 day after day . . . :rolleyes:

As for the glare off of citrus, I actually worked fairly hard at maximizing it in the shot and having an even pattern over the surface of the right exposed tangelo. That was the main determinent of my worklight location. The shot took a while, so I was repeatedly dabbing the fruit with water to keep a moist juicy appearance, as I didn't want look dry.

Thanks again. :)
--R

[peeperita]

i admire your relentless pursuit of lighting techniques....i've looked through your site and you have done some really lovely work with it.....

i've also tweeked a few images to match the decor of my rooms....and your appear to be quite content with your color......it's an eye popping combination......

you said for yourself that you were a bit overzealous in your sharpening......and i'll have to agree with you......i find the haloing around your slices disconcerting.....if you are still thinking and haven't printed yet.....why not take a minute to reprocess,....taking into consideration the thoughts presented here concerning crop and post.....

thanks for sharing

peeper

[RussHeath]

Peeper, thanks for the suggestions and comments. My wife seems to really like the oversharpened version, as it has more of a painted quality to it and we're thinking of putting it on a canvas print. However, the haloing does bother me and it's not printed yet so there's always room for improvement, right?

Here is one with less sharpening and some room at the edges cloned in:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2302727875_dc2f8bed84.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2302727875_dc2f8bed84_b.jpg)

I decided that the thing I like about the oversharpened one is the appearance of the fruit and texture in the granite, but the rind doesn't look good with the same treatment. So here I sharpened more but masked the rind out, and I made an attempt at fixing that blue reflection off the rind that Saralonde mentioned:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2302733065_3450240c75.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2302733065_3450240c75_b.jpg)

I think this edit preserves what I liked in the first version without the distractions. Thanks again for the help, and I'd love to hear what you think about these. :)

[peeperita]

i think taking all the critique to heart and at the same time keeping yours and your wife's personal preferences in mind made for a nice final image....

good job!

peeper

[RussHeath]

Thanks, Peeper! :D Many of the edits were not things I would have noticed without the help from everyone here, and I like the current version.

Now to get it printed.

I always stall at this point because I keep thinking it could be just a little better . . .