2 Still Life

mrk

mrk

mrk

Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
104,011
Location
South Coast
After a meeting with CDD (www.completelydigital.com) I decided I needed more still life and product type shots in the folio to help in getting work in such areas, these 2 are from yesterday and few days back but it's just somethings I'm trying out.

I find the manual 55mm-Micro much much better to focus and shoot with than autofocus lenses and it's also far sharper than any canon/nikon lens I've used yet, I guess Canon/Nikon lenses from yesterdecade really are the best for this stuff!

ph_DSC_4374.jpg


DSC_4180.jpg


Both @ 1/500sec @ f4 iso250, EV -1.0


Can't wait to use the 400mm 2.8 for other stuff =)

P.S. anyone got a stack of hay they can send me? :!
 
Colin_da_Killer said:
The Jeans photo is great, love the clarity and texture, the batteries photo doesn't do anything for me sry.
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Thanks!

I didn't really have anything that exposed well to hand under white lighting :p

Another thing I like is the manual lenses seem tobe very contrasty, no colour adjustments are ever needed!
 
I like the jeans photo, but I think with the batteries you could have moved them around a bit, or taken the picture from a diferent position. I think a larger gap between the ones standing up and laying down would look better, or all of them closer together, as I don't think it looks too good how they gradually go out of focus, and you can see the transition. If some were in focus and some weren't, I think it would look far better, and it would be clearer which was your subject as currently i feel torn between the one on the left in focus, and the right hand one which gradualy goes out of focus.
 
Hmm I'll try out different crops in the morning see how it turns out!
 
I think that's where we pass each other on preference :p I don't like that at all, to me it's just some of jeans on hooks with flat sepia, more standard shot which I never really do.

The idea behind the batteries was more a subconscious one than a practical one, maybe it works somewhere whilst it doesn't elsewhere :( but the thing I tried with it was to make it look like a "tick" - a tick is allways the answer for "Ok!" or "good" etc so without realising seomeon would think "yeah!" - who knows..
 
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You really dont like that ?
I just saw it as a shot that worked (im quite into the photography of interior promotion and I thought this fell accordingly. I dont believe a shot needs to be technically brilliant to be a good shot)

Still, I repsect your opionion..Just supprised that was all.
 
Fstop11 said:
You really dont like that ?
I just saw it as a shot that worked (im quite into the photography of interior promotion and I thought this fell accordingly. I dont believe a shot needs to be technically brilliant to be a good shot)

Still, I repsect your opionion..Just supprised that was all.
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We all have likes and dislikes :) I just prefer images that punch you in the face, non-standard or dynamic images have always been my favourite, even long before I started photography (the times when I used to read comics and draw a lot =))

I also don't believe in technically brilliant shots either, to me every shot is the same regardles sof technical use of the rules of photography, it's the punch (see above, heh) that for me gets the most interest.

It's just the way it is I guess, flat images never appealed to me the slightest.
 
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mrk said:
We all have likes and dislikes :) I just prefer images that punch you in the face, non standard or dynamic images have always been my favourite, even long before I started photography (the times when I used to read comics and draw a lot =))

I also don't believe in technically brilliant shots either, to me every shot is the same regardles sof technical use of the rules of photography, it's the punch (see above, heh) that for me gets the most interest.

It's just the way it is I guess, flat images never appealed to me the slightest.
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Suppose your "small world" section of your portfolio shows that truth. Thats fair enough. I do like your jeans shot. Theres good composition and the jeans material paints a nice overall canvas.
 
It's also because the venture photographers go around punching staff in the face* to drive in this fact that I'm so tagged with it :p




*may not be true entirely *see lawyers coming* *limps away*
 
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Have done since nov2004, I want to move on though as it's not really getting me where I want to be, have applied to various other places though and just looking for that "chance" =o)
 
I was hoping to get in there but more and more people tell me not to bother. read an interesting article in a recent magazine about wanting to go onto pro and i have to say it wasnt really the most helpful thing I read. What are your roles there ? (of course if you dont mind me asking, im on DA as you know anyway if you would prefer to mention it there)
 
I just help out during the evenings these days, used to do a lot before though. Roles can be varied but in the evenings it's just a case of helping out customers coming in to attend their sessions and making sure answers are given to questions, also diary management on the comps etc. During the daytime I used to to labwork using pscs and bibble/c1pro at 2 other venture studios, I don't do this anymore though, only contract terms.

It's hard to get into it professionaly and if you work for such a studio as a photographer you are stuck with the rules of a franchise, you can't just go off and be freelancing each shoot which was the downside I saw several months in so decided against becoming a photographer for them.

If you want to make it freelancing or a non-franchised pro then I guess the place to be is the big cities, shooting gigs and getting your face seen by the big places around those cities, if your stuff stands out then you get there - this is what someone once told me but since I am so used to quiet city life down south it's kind of hard imagining living in a place like London although it would be awesome at first I should imagine.

Because of that I'm tryng to get back into IT because that's one of my previous strong points, an IT technician job here guarentees around 18k average rising steadily as you progress the levels and since you get weekends /evenigs free it would give me the time I need to keep photography as a hobby or better if things go well.

Life ain't easy it seems :p
 
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mrk said:
I just help out during the evenings these days, used to do a lot before though. Roles can be varied but in the evenings it's just a case of helping out customers coming in to attend their sessions and making sure answers are given to questions, also diary management on the comps etc. During the daytime I used to to labwork using pscs and bibble/c1pro at 2 other venture studios, I don't do this anymore though, only contract terms.

It's hard to get into it professionaly and if you work for such a studio as a photographer you are stuck with the rules of a franchise, you can't just go off and be freelancing each shoot which was the downside I saw several months in so decided against becoming a photographer for them.

If you want to make it freelancing or a non-franchised pro then I guess the place to be is the big cities, shooting gigs and getting your face seen by the big places around those cities, if your stuff stands out then you get there - this is what someone once told me but since I am so used to quiet city life down south it's kind of hard imagining living in a place like London although it would be awesome at first I should imagine.

Because of that I'm tryng to get back into IT because that's one of my previous strong points, an IT technician job here guarentees around 18k average rising steadily as you progress the levels and since you get weekends /evenigs free it would give me the time I need to keep photography as a hobby or better if things go well.

Life ain't easy it seems :p
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I did not expect that as a responce! Im quite shocked that all this relieasation has made you want to return to IT. I can see why, Im only slowing discovering the flaws of this career.

So are you saying that if you were a photographer licienced to Venture that you could not offer any freelance job opertunities of your own ? Or just those that were shot within that company ?
 
"shooting" will always be no:1 to me there's no doubt about that :) when I show friends and family their photos at family events and dos etc is when I know that it has to be :) - IT would be a fallback, photography won't bring in money every month unless you are a pro and to be that either takes a long time or you know some very important people it seems!

As for venture, yes if you shoot in the studio you have to shoot as a Venture photographer adopting their style (it's not really "their style", they just brought it into a studio for the first time :p) but just like any workplace you have to obide by their rules of course, the difference comes with alternative companies, commercial photography has no set rule, a customer gives you their product and you shoot it with the brief detail they have given you for it how you feel best - that's what I prefer I would say because it's more of a challenge and more rewarding than that Venture or Pixie-Photo or any other place like them. Again the downside is where I live, not many commercial (if any) locally.

Check out this place http://www.packshotfactory.co.uk/ <-- that's like a dream job...in London :/
 
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Well you have provided me with some valuable information there, Thanks a lot. Im sorry that you feel you dont like where you live for opurtunites. I personally feel that I live in a crap place for photos. but central top places offering them.

I think its great you consider this place (inthe link) to be your dream place of work. I suppose finding that is a big portion complete. Keep at it and go for it mate. You can see your work heading in this direction.

Also in regards to your batteries shot. I notice on here they have photographed the Duracel in use with product. Maybe you could try this ? Perhaps on a white background your MX1000 Laser with the batt door open and one battery popping out. 2 shots would be good so that in photoshop you could merge a shot of the mouse powered on with the laser beaming and another with its batt sticking out (if you follow me)
 
that would be all good but the key thing is that the mx1000 doesn't use replacable batteries but rather a built in Li-On battery that lasts something like 15 years :p

I'll figure something out though, something similar but less mx1000 :p
 
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