Another thing many photographers can probably tell you is that it is sometimes really hard to pick one
This is where you come in, right after the jump..
When I remembered David (The Strobist) Hobby say: "I would rather have the vision than the tech. I can always work on the tech later" I decided it was time for me to work on my creative skills. I simply lack in that area, and although I am okay with that, it doesn't mean that I am not going to develop a good creative eye. I am just too stuborn to leave it at that.
Coming up with an idea wasn't the hardest part today, because some things just happen to fall together, such as my iPhone and my Beethoven Action Figure. I thought it would be cool to have him playing the piano on my iPhone. I just added a background and the start was made.From that point on it became a lot harder and this was where the photographic creativity was supposed to drop by and say hello, or maybe stay for a cup of coffee. Sadly that didn't exactly happen (and I still haven't had my coffee)
I fooled around a bit with the idea of Ludwig van Beethoven presenting the iPhone as Steve Jobs always does in his presentations about new Apple products. That is why I ended up with the picture on the left. I think it is a but bland, but it wasn't about the tech today. It was about creativity.After having tried a couple of different poses I kept feeling annoyed by the specular highlights (Shiny Bits on Beethoven's face and jacket) so I decided to close the blinds and kick in some flash to get rid of the BLAND look the photos were having. Since I didn't have a Macro Box handy (and didn't have any of the materials to make one) I improvised.
How was it made (Photographer Stuff)
I put a flash a few cm below the scene and pointed (zoomed to 105) it at van Beethoven on 1/64th power with 2 full cuts of .3ND gels on it, kicking it down to the kerb to a 1/256th.
I wanted the flash below him because Beethoven has always been a grimmer sort of man and I thought this look him well becoming. It gives him a nice sinister look, and I can imagine him teaching my class on iPhone Composing 101 in this old conservatory.
All and all, I would like to ask of you all to drop me a line in the comment section which photo you like best (lets call them 1-4 from top of the page to the bottom), and preferably to tell me why you like it best. If you don't like 'em at all, please let me know that as well.
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Hmm, I think I like picture 1 the most with picture 4 closely behind it. The only thing I have a problem with is the background of those pictures, especially picture 4. Have you tried making the same picture with a completely black background? Now it's a bit too much in my opinion...
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that you have a Beethoven ACTION figure :p
Linda
Thanks Linda, for your comment!
ReplyDeleteI'm retaking the photo tomorrow afternoon and maybe staging it as a studio setup, but all with a black background (or at least making the background black) I will either post the pics as a subpost or post the links to them here :)
PS You should see his accessories :) I'll take a pic and post that one as well :)
Don't worry about it, I love the pictures you're making!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll be looking forward to both pictures.
I'd say picture 1 is the best. However, I must disagree with Linda regarding the background. A black background would alter the whole atmosphere of this picture, I like the -as you call it- "sinister" absurdism of it :)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Kas
@ Kasper
ReplyDeleteThank you as well for commenting and joining in the discussion (or actually starting it ;) )
Of course I chose the background for a reason, and that is mostly because I liked the combination plus I didn't want it to look like a product advertisement photo or something, but more like a little theatre scene (of kijkdoos)
On the other hand I do agree on the fact that it is a bit crowded in the photo, as Linda mentioned earlier.
I'm still going to try it with black and see what it gets us :)
Cheers
To join in on this discussion, how about a background that is less crowded than this one, but not really one colour?
ReplyDeleteEhm, how will I explain what I mean...
A background with some stone texture and maybe a part window. Or a bit more. You could include an entire window and a part of the chandelier or something like that. c:
I think however that the background has to be fairly dark if you are going to keep the flash in front/below of Beethoven. It will help bringing out the sinister feeling you are trying to achieve in my opinion.
I was in a remote area without Internet and I found out that drafting offline forced to me to focus. So I started researching content creation tools that have this feature, and this one is my favorite
ReplyDelete