Tea Time. Have the flash made it look bad?

[Muhammad Ali]

Hi everybody,

I photographed this subject (Tea Set) several times; each time with a different aperture and iso setting. This picture has the darkest background in the whole set of pictures and at the same time it has a light shining foreground which caused me to think that it might be the best among the other pictures.

Although the flash gave a little touch to some points like the shining golden spoons but at the same time it made a noisy reflection on some parts of the glass in the picture. I wonder whether I was not supposed to use the flash or in other words did the flash made the picture look better or it simply it ruined the picture?


Nikon D-7000: VR-18-105 MM
F/3.5-5, 6G
22 mm-ISO 1600
1.60-F/25
-1.3EV-Preset manual d-0,0,0

[zona5101]

I don't think your flash ruined the shot. It does have specular highlights from the reflections on the glass. To avoid any reflections is quite a feat and usually means using a lightbox of some type to provide diffused, even lighting. Even then it's not easy. If you want to really pursue lighting these kinds of objects I suggest the book Light: Science and Magic. It is not a "how-to" book but a "why" book to give you the foundation for lighting different types of objects
Amazon.com: Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240808192): Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: Books

[Muhammad Ali]

Originally Posted by zona5101

I don't think your flash ruined the shot. It does have specular highlights from the reflections on the glass. To avoid any reflections is quite a feat and usually means using a lightbox of some type to provide diffused, even lighting. Even then it's not easy. If you want to really pursue lighting these kinds of objects I suggest the book Light: Science and Magic. It is not a "how-to" book but a "why" book to give you the foundation for lighting different types of objects
Amazon.com: Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240808192): Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: Books

Thanks for the very good information. Yes I agree with you, it’s a good idea to start with the book you mentioned since using common since in photography does not always generate the desired results. So a Scientific or a semi-scientific book or guidance will definitely form a solid base to start with. Anyway, I am absolutely pleased that you don’t think that the picture is ruined

[bphilleo]

Softer or diffused lighting would definitely have made this photo feel more natural.

There's also a round shadow at the bottom of the photo (maybe from your camera? Your head?). Perhaps lowering your angle or backing up just a tad would help with that.