A small table with frostet glass lit from underneath, the lamp shining at an angle from front to back creating the glow and eliminating shadows.
A thoroughly cleaned ratchet socket set arranged on the glass.
A white bedsheet above and behind the set with a halogen floodlight shining through it (sort of light-tent).
A black sheet covering the side and the front (where the camera is) to avoid unwanted reflections and add some contrast.
Image was then leveled, then curve applied to lighten the midtones, colorised with blue hue (using hue/saturation menu) and then desaturated to make it a soft blue.
The original was more a greenish color with some other nuances in there, did not look as clean and technical as this one.
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 256 Avg (all users): 6.9677 Avg (commenters): 9.0000 Avg (participants): 6.8293 Avg (non-participants): 7.1489 Views since voting: 4926 Votes: 217 Comments: 39 Favorites: 5 (view)
Hi Willem. Great picture - the blue tone works very well. Thamks for the detailed explanation of how you did it, too. This is a very professional looking shot.
Being a product photographer myself, I really appreciate this kind of work. Some people might call us anal, but what we really are is "visual mathematicians".
Absolutely Magnetic9999, you should not be lazy if you want to make something like this....
Just a few additional explanatory notes how I go about in making such a picture, just to inspire people that with some extra effort you can get at least results which are technically good. At least the technical aspects then don't get in the way of the voting, it is "just" the idea, the appeal and impact that you need to concentrate on :
I did make this setup and moved the lighting around with the camera switched on but without making a picture. Then I moved the tools around to get a good composition, constantly looking in the viewfinder. I took a number of shots and loaded them on the PC to check the histogram for exposure. I determined the right exposure to get as much highlighst as possible without overexposing (this ensures minimum noise). Then a number of shots, at different apertures and focus distances, to check the sharpness and depth of field (using manual focus). As result I then had the exposure, focus and depth of field I wanted and an o.k. picture.
Then I looked at the scene again and reconsidered the composition. In this case I repeated the whole process above with a lower camera angle since I thought I could get some more impact with a lower angle of view. And only then I had the final picture ready for post processing.
Total took about 25 pictures and 3 hours of work.
Congrats, this was one of my favorites. By the way...did you notice what the average vote was for people with no camera??? A PERFECT 10! Also, thanks for giving us the set up details.
Thanks, it ended up higher then expected. I had expected it still needed some more "WOW" factor to get a ribbon. Looking at the comments quite a number of people recognised the thinking and effort that went into the lighting setup and appreciated the results. I enjoy doing those kind of product shots which require careful arrangement and also feel myself this was a well succeeded shot.
On your comment about the avg for people with no camera and looking at the way it influenced the overall average : my conclusion is that it was only 1 person without camera providing this vote. Still nice to get such appreciation though.
Congrats, this was one of my favorites. By the way...did you notice what the average vote was for people with no camera??? A PERFECT 10! Also, thanks for giving us the set up details.
Good sharpness, like the simple colour of this image. Interesting setup. It's almost like a catalog shot. The lighting is excellent as there are almost no shadows cast beside the tools. What surface is it on? Well done 10.
Very lovely duotone, even light throughout, clarity is perfect, composition and focus is awesome. I intended to do something like this for this challenge, but couldn't get it done in time. Good luck. 10
I love the 'clean room' effect on this, looking forward to seeing how this was done (softbox?). The lack of shadows is very striking. Great stuff, well done.
WOW!
amazing composition...the lighting is superb..(i want to see another version of this with shadows...its add some drama to it...well, its just suggestion).
your image is so neat and sharp (im glad you eliminated the glare)..the arrangement of your subjects is excellent...TECHNICALLY EXCEPTIONAL...A PERFECT PIX...10! GOOD LUCK TO YOUR SUBMISSION.
One of the better shots of the lot in terms of lighting - has the tonal range, avoids harsh shadows and speculars and still manages to be bright enough
Perfectly executed! I love neat clean images and this is simply beautiful. Well Done. Although the subject is a bit predictable I hope this does well. I'll help you on your way! 9
This is wonderful. The lighting is perfect-a real challenge to get such beautiful highlights without the blow-outs! - the composition is excellent...just perfect.
My favourite this challenge and only 10. The lighting is very impressive, no glare to be found anywhere, well done! Pleasing composition and cropping. Great overall tint and range of tones. Good professional shot!
Stainless
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