Play with Light

[rlarsen]

[Saralonde]

I like the lighting on the third one. First one seems a little dark. Maybe crop the picture to have less background.

[jiminyClickit]

rlarsen,

At first glance it wasn't certain what your point was, and if it is to pick which photo looks best, number four would be my pick. Because your cloth is black and blends with bottle, and makes bases of glasses nearly invisible, your fourth shot using a lighter-colored material will more clearly show your subjects' qualities and dimensions. Something like warm medium gray. Your photos 1-3 might benefit from a Portrait orientation, also, with a little more room top and bottom. The drape of background on left side pulls attention away. One additional light source would also provide more balance.

Playing with light is one step. Experiment on!

[wulf]

Later pictures from your Flickr set are more interesting, although you could still do with getting in closer and Jiminy's comment about base cloth is still pertinent.

Could you explain a bit more about what you were trying to achieve?

Thanks,

Wulf

[clockdoc]

Hi,
I agree that some of your later shots on flickr may be better. Glass is very difficult to light from the front. What I have learned over the years is to light the background. This is particularly helpful when shooting cut-glass. Once you have the desired lighting for the glassware, you could then light the bottle separately. Congratulations on your experimentation with different lighting. Thanks for sharing your shots with us.
Lee
'clockdoc'

[mdwsta4]

first things first.... what are you using to light this? i'd guess a table lamp or something like that and not a flash or umbrella.

i'd suggest moving the cloth up a bit because that crease towards the top is extremely distracting. your lighting source seems extremely dark so perhaps a longer shutter speed would help brighten the image? if you have more than one light, i'd direct one at the background (probably with a snoot to minimize the area) and direct the other one at the glasses. that will give your image depth because the background will be seperated from the foreground.

you may also think about changing the location of the light. if all your glasses are on the left, put the light on the left to illuminate them. put a reflector on the right to catch some of that extra light and bounce it onto the back of the glasses and the other side of the bottle.

as far as composition goes.... i think the bottle would have greater impact if the entire label was facing the camera. why 4 glasses? when i think wine i think intimacy, not a group. why landscape orientation and not portrait orientation? there's a lot of empty space on both sides. i'd also try not to cut off the base of the foremost glass.


good first attempt, but with some simple changes i really think you could make a much better photograph.

[rlarsen]

Thank you for your comments.
The photo is with just 2 glasses. The one on the left I moved then flashed with light after each move. I experimented with moving the glass to see what it would look like. I was trying to achieve the look of multiple glasses on one side. My first attempt was overexposed with the flash I was using. I used a smaller light to get the multiple glasses without overexposing the image.
I do agree with the table cover being to dark. The crease and the wrinkles in the backdrop are distracting. I did use the portrait orientation on other photos and you are right it does look better. I do have other lights and will experiment with your comments.
Thanks, have a good day.