Fruits and vegetables on my dining room table. I can't believe how bad the dust is on my table! I dusted it multiple times and didn't see it while shooting but it really shows up in the image. I'm sure I'll get ripped on for it by voters. Oh well.
This was a fun one for me because it really forced me to experiment with light. The table sits next to a window, so I had nice natural light coming from the side. I realized it was too strong and needed to be more subtle. I ended up pulling down the white shade, then using big black panels to block out more light, then using more black panels to create a box for the scene so light could only come from a narrow path from the right. This created very diffuse light that brought out the contours of the scene without too much contrast.
Another fun thing I did was to create a vignette (visible mostly on the bottom of the frame). I took a square of construction paper and cut a small hole in the middle. I then held this in front of the lens while the shutter was open to get a vignette so I wouldn't break the basic editing rules. I also tried variations with wax paper to get soft focus but ultimately liked this vignetted shot the best.
I have no idea what I'm doing in terms of still life composition. I've never taken any art history or composition classes. I just arranged the objects to give balance of color, size and shape in a way that seemed pleasing to me. I don't like that there are two cherries front and center... probably should have used three and moved them over to one side a bit.
Post Processing:
(remember... vignette was manual, not in post processing)
Camera raw - exposure, recovery, fill light, blacks, vibrancy, noise reduction, hue adjustments
Color Balance
Photo Filter - Warm
Curves
Levels
Tried B&W and desaturated versions but like full color best
Selective color
Black border
Save for web
Statistics
Place: 37 out of 228 Avg (all users): 5.9091 Avg (commenters): 6.7500 Avg (participants): 5.6607 Avg (non-participants): 6.0250 Views since voting: 1119 Views during voting: 311 Votes: 176 Comments: 7 Favorites: 0
Lovely arrangement and light. No mean accomplishment considering the number of fruits/vegetables which have significant tops/stems and bottoms AND having the light do justice to both these features and the textures overall. (Enjoyed your description of getting the natural light right - I prefer natural light and have done a few similar things but not with your thoroughness nor indeed your result). It is just possible that a slight shift in hue from blue to yellow would give this the classic feel that your assemblage suggests. Oh, and I don't notice the dust, but that might be my own survival tactic.
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