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Pure Maple Syrup
Pure Maple Syrup
Gracious


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Liquid (Classic Editing)
Camera: Kodak DC4800
Location: Florida
Date: Jun 3, 2003
Aperture: f4.76
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/32.00
Galleries: Still Life, Advertisement
Date Uploaded: Jun 3, 2003

Set up in my office with one studio light and two desk lamps.

Statistics
Place: 85 out of 202
Avg (all users): 5.0093
Avg (commenters): 7.2308
Avg (participants): 4.9828
Avg (non-participants): 5.0400
Views since voting: 1096
Votes: 216
Comments: 14
Favorites: 2 (view)


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AuthorThread
06/11/2003 04:37:56 AM
*Critique Club*
Overall
You use a very limited orange-centred colour palatte to create a homey, soft, comfortable feeling. Viewers are tempted to eat your offering, which is the point of the photograph. In this, you succeeded well in creating the mood. However, the colour limitations also tend to obscure key details, the syrup itself, the edge of the plate, the sense of runnyness of the syrup.

I like the precise dof used. The subject is very crisp and the fork is placed outside. The fork adds a human touch, we feel that someone is going to eat the waffle soon, but isn't a key element. Your dof brings out this very nicely.

I'm not certain that you're totally aware of your subject. There's a sense of confusion between the waffle and the syrup. If the subject is the waffle, the present placing is fine. But if the subject is the syrup, you need to consider ways to bring that out more.

Composition
You've placed the waffle dead in the centre of the shot, making it the key subject, not the syrup. I wonder if a much lower camera angle pointing to the place where the syrup runs off the waffle might have created a more dynamic effect and place the emphasis on to the syrup? The strawberry and the fork create a nice line, unbalancing the centred waffle.

Lighting
Here is the main problem - desk lamps tend to give an orange cast. Here, too much, I feel. You need to counter this using your white balance setting. I realise that you went for the orange glow, but viewers know that, for example, the plate is white, so the final effect is slightly unnatural. Also, the strawberry is hidden by too much shadow. You can position your lights at different distances to simultaneously provide light and depth. Same distance placing weakens any feeling of depth. For example, in this shot, you could put 1 lamp to the immediate left as the main light source and the other about 30cm further away to the front to help counterbalance the strong shadow.

Suggestions (take 'em or leave 'em as you will)
Fix the colour balance.
Set up the lights as suggested.
Get real close. A macro shot on the point where the syrup falls from the waffle. Use a slowish shutter speed to capture the drip.
Get out, wide. Show a human about to dive into the waffle. Focus on the emotion, the mixture of anticipation and expectation.
Clean up the syrup.
Use a differently-coloured plate, one that contrasts with the yellowish syrup, a blue, perhaps.
Change the composition. Subjects that are bang in the middle are often lacking in interest.

Best wishes,

Jim
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
06/10/2003 04:18:14 AM
nice soft breakfast lighting, almost makes me want to get up early in the morning so that my waffles can look like that too :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/09/2003 06:21:57 PM
Mmm. Syrup. Waffles. Mmm. MMMMMMM.

Gosh darn it, more food! This has been an agonizing voting round! I like the shot overall, the placement/framing, the idea. It seems a bit washed out and/or overly yellow at the top third or so; the bottom third is much better.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/09/2003 10:54:29 AM
Meets the challenge. I like the composition a lot, a second strawberry would've made it more complete for me though. Like the cropped off fork in the background, it rounds things off nicely. I think you deliberately went for those warm orangey hues, for my personal taste they are a little too much, almost as if your white balance is off. Still, overall, I kinda like your shot :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/08/2003 02:20:34 PM
Good color, but the syrup looks strange and we can barely see the syrup that's dripped onto the plate. Great idea - originality scores here. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/08/2003 02:08:39 PM
I like the addition of the strawberry, it kinda offset the photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/08/2003 01:42:54 AM
Very warm, pleasing shot. Leggo my eggo! :-) Nicely done. --10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/07/2003 03:56:54 AM
interesting lighting and effects
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/06/2003 11:10:43 AM
It's a little hard to see the maple syrup with this color plate and I like the addition of the strawberry. The exposure also appears to be uneven with the top of the photo overexposed, and the bottom slightly underexposed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/05/2003 11:29:09 AM
Sumptous colours... I think you could adjust the levels a tad to get more dark and light, it looks a litlle washed out to me at the moment. Nice lighting. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/05/2003 08:29:24 AM
Vey classy picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/04/2003 03:25:17 PM
Beautiful, warm tones and perfect lighting and composition. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/04/2003 11:18:23 AM
Pretty lighting, color and focus. Really well done, it works for me. Good going.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/04/2003 07:41:53 AM
Soft focus - great color - reminds me of an ad for a bed and breakfast.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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