do you see improvement?

[dishingthedivine]

I know I'm supposed to only post one pic here, but the idea is to ask if I'm learning anything from DPS, so I'm posting two. The original is the original shot I took of some lemon blueberry bread batter. After reading some DPS comments on how to improve that, I made the bread again and took the second shots. I sent the before/after to my mother and she said she actually liked the first one better. (HUH?!) I think the first one is bland and the second is better.

So, my questions are: is the second picture an improvement on the first? And what do you think about the black background on the second picture? Does it help or hurt it?

I have another pic similar to the second with a closer crop, but I didn't want to further break rules by submitting THREE pictures.

BEFORE:

canon rebel xti
iso 200
1/60 sec
f 4.5
flash fired
metering mode: partial
exposure bias: -0.5

AFTER:

canon rebel xti
iso 200
1/60 sec
f 4.5
flash fired
metering mode: partial
exposure bias: -1

Thanks for your feedback.

[Samanax]

Compositionally, the second image looks less static than the first one. But the black background don't really help the image...makes the pan look like it's floating in a void. I think part of the problem is you used the pop-up flash for the shot. You tend to get hard shadows when you use the pop-up flash and the direction the light is coming from isn't ideal.

For this kind of shot it might have been better to use natural light from a window and place a reflector on the opposite side to help fill in the shadowed areas a bit. With the pan on a nice wooden table, a wooden chair and part of a wooden window frame in the shot I think you'd have a really nice image.

[dishingthedivine]

thanks for your words of wisdom! I made these loaves of bread at night, so sadly, there was no natural light to be had. And yes, you're right, there's definitely a pop-up flash going on here. That's all I have for now. I should look for some interesting surfaces to photograph my pictures on. I have a glass table so the shot actually turned out with a black background naturally - I didn't photopshop it that much other than taking out a light flare or two. Hmmm.... I'll keep trying.

[Samanax]

Once you can get the flash off the camera you can really get creative. Check out the Strobist blog for more information. Reading through Strobist: 101 and Strobist: 102 helped me a lot.

[dishingthedivine]

Originally Posted by Samanax

Once you can get the flash off the camera you can really get creative. Check out the Strobist blog for more information. Reading through Strobist: 101 and Strobist: 102 helped me a lot.

Okay, I'm definitely going to check out strobist 101. I have a lot of questions about lighting, so thanks for pointing me in this direction.

[wulf]

... so you'll be wanting the comparison critique section then?

Wulf

[pix_e_l8]

I know this is not helpful in anyway..but now you have me wondering..can I have your recipe??!

[dishingthedivine]

Originally Posted by pix_e_l8

I know this is not helpful in anyway..but now you have me wondering..can I have your recipe??!

Yes, but i need to tweak it a bit more. Once it's perfect, i'll send it to you in a message.

[dishingthedivine]

ah, yes, I see that there is a before and after section. Sorry about that. I always just look in the "critique my shot" area, but the before and after is placed elsewhere. My bad!