I had someone come to me today saying that he needs some pictures done of some pottery he has made. I've never done anything like that before, so I said SURE! Lacking any experience ... I decided on a black background to force you to look at the pottery and then basically set up my studio lights the same way I would when shooting a portrait. Anyway, tell me what you think:
I've taken up pottery as another hobby, so I'm quite impressed with your photos here.
I've looked at lots of pictures in magazines and books and I can't really recall much use of a completely black background (some of them seem to be floating in nothingness, if you know what I mean). You can experiement with other colour backgrounds, perhaps using colours that complement the pottery colours.
Another way is to put them in natural or garden settings, or perhaps on a set table.
If I reduce the contrast a bit, the details in the blacks will start to appear (the table top, the background). That would reduce the appearance of floating. I'll have to ask the customer what he wants... I'd like to have experimented a bit more, with different backgrounds and such, but wasn't sure how much time he wanted to spend watching me take the pictures. He seemed to like what he was seeing on the back of the camera, so hopefully I'll hear back today.
I think they're really nice shots and the black does keep the focus on the pottery. I suppose it depends on the client's wishes, but perhaps try shooting one with another light on the left hand side of the object to remove that shadowing. It's a question of style and preference...the shadowing perhaps adds more artistic flair whereas maybe removing those shadows will provide a more accurate view (for instance for irregular designs and shapes). I suppose that would depend on whether your client is displaying them for portfolio or to generate sales?
