Still Life Composition

[subrataofkris]

My daughter brought home some Chinese hydroscopic grannuals and poured them in a glass of water. The next day as I drained the water, I saw a bunch of colourful transparent balls. I wrapped them in a bright towel and snapped a few shots beside the window.



EXIF: ISO 200, F/16, 1 Sec on Tripod, 90mm, Manual Focus and Exposure
Light: Mild daylight trickling in from the window, tried to improve with 2 white boards on either side.

Questions

1. Is the composition working? I tried to keep the transparent balls in the lower right quadrant.
2. Are the folds of the cloth overshadowing the balls? I tried to keep a high DOF to get the cloth details.
3. Is the exposure sufficient to light up the balls? Can it be improved by Flash?

Thanks,

[jiminyClickit]

subrataofkris,

Two white boards OR flash? I like the highlights the boards give, and the even lighting. The composition is in a good proportion and position, although the shadows are stronger (darker, more of them) on the right than upper left. That leads me into the subject, though, so it's OK.

Flash (unless off-camera to one side) would not give the shine-thru, the lighter spots of color from the balls' transparency.

Does do what a still life ought to, shows a subject in an artistic and/or dramatic way.

[subrataofkris]

Thanks for your time Jim, its like an approval that my learning is on the right track.
I tried the off camera flash, but unfortunately I am yet to master the manual controls with my new SB600. In this shot, the reflection of the window tricks us to believe that a flash was used, probably because these wet transparent balls overlap each other.

[peeperita]

i was facinated by majic rocks when i was a kid.....colored crystals that, when dropped in water, made these fantastic mountains after a day.....now, i have to have these chinese ball things....

the compositin is good....especially how the light seems to be coming in from opposite of where your beads are....i would say that your cloth is not the best background for them as the texture .....for me....takes some of the focus away from the subject, but you like it and made an effort to showcase the texture.....which you've done well....

i would have folded the cloth too and i don't think it overshadows the beads too much....in fact, i feel as if they give your image some depth.....

the lighting is sufficient to my eye.....the white boards have modeled the shadowed edges well.....highly reflective objects can blow out to the point of being washed out, but in this case you kept the catchlights to a pleasing size and position.....

i would try to shoot these again with more diffused lighting to see more into the balls.....either a light tent or a sheer drape to soften the window light and the boards closer to your scene to even out the light......without ever have shot these on my own, this is merely a suggestion for experiment......i'm thinking with more even light you might get a greater color value within the beads.....

nice work, sub.....

peeper