Lets make Curry

[Paddy]

Hi, I am new to this forum and thought I would dive in at the deep end. The picture below is my first attempt at a ‘still life’, ‘product shot’ type of picture and I would love your advice on how I can set out to improve what I do. The picture was taken at ISO 64 F5.6 at 1/3 of a second. The lighting was a large window to the right with a net curtain diffuser on a dull day. I appreciate you taking the time to look and maybe give advice.

[wulf]

There are quite a few things that could be tweaked. One important area is the sharpness of the image; nothing really looks crisp.

Was it a handheld shot in daylight? I reckon someway of holding the camera absolutely still in position would make a big improvement to the shot.

Wulf

[Liacs]

hmmm... less about the photographing, more about the cmposition: I think the knife (cleaver?) doesn't look too good in that position. it stops with the picture. Perhaps don't lay it parallel?

Else I love the colors...

Lia

[Paddy]

Thanks for a quick response Wulf. The camera was tripod mounted but I have to say the tripod is a very lightweight affair. Also forgot to mention, this is not a DSLR shot. In fact it was taken on a Fuji S5600 bridge camera. This aside, I agree that the image is ‘soft’ and I know that the camera is capable of producing sharper images. I think the softness is down to noise which even at ISO 64 will be there on a fairly long exposure (nature of the sensor I am afraid.) also the lighting could not get softer and I think this may be part of the equation too. I am not making excuses by the way, do you agree that the above could be part of the problem?

Many thanks for your comments, appreciate it.

[Paddy]

Thanks Liacs. I did think about leaving the cleaver out as I am not sure if it actually added anything. All my thoughts are post shooting however, must learn to give more thought at the time. I hadn’t thought of re positioning it though, thanks for that

[hsroxas]

Hi Paddy

Guess you chose a difficult subject to shoot.
The title by itself suggests you want to show the ingredients for making curry.
As seen in your image a lot of stuff needs to be included thereby leading to a "busy" image. A central point of focus where the eyes will be drawn would be tricky. Adding to the busy feel of the image is the plate that was used as container for the relatively minute ingredients ( the curry powder, some grains, etc.). A plate without the design would allow better recognition of the ingredients and may add to the color play that you did very well.
On lighting try bracketing your exposure, it may help in reducing some over exposure noticeable on some parts of the yellow, red and tan veggies.

[Paddy]

Thanks again for your comments hsroxas. I have to say I am surprised to have had so many helpful, honest comments so quick. Much appreciated folks, gives me lots to think about

[wulf]

You could probably do with seeing if you can get more light to where you are taking the photos (or take them somewhere else!), in order to help get a sharper picture.

I would also agree with the comments about the plate (plain would be less distracting) and the cleaver (move it or lose it).

Another thing I would do if embarking on a project like this would be to look at a bunch of similar pictures by other people and seeing if I could identify the elements that made me like my favourites or dislike certain other ones. That then gives a checklist of things to include or avoid in your own shots.

I look forward to seeing more versions of this subject as you continue to explore.

Wulf

[Griffin2020]

I would remove the plate, and simply place the spices on the background board (is it a cutting board?). Also, I would place the paper-skinned items together (garlic and shallots?). This would basically give you three groupls of items to arrange "artistically".

In post, I would bump up the yellow a little. Try to coax a little more vibramcy from the yellow pepper and the tumeric, and the red on the red pepper.

[hitkaiser]

It all looks very cramped together, I would make better use of the full frame

Also noise does really quite remove something from it