Another shot in my light cube, with my standard two strobes, though this time I brought one around to the front to create some highlights on the shiny metal.
I played around a lot with DOF on this shot. Using the macro lens, I had to go all the way up to f/32 to get enough DOF to keep all the cufflinks in focus. However, that brought in some sensor dust that I couldn't clean right now, and couldn't edit out in basic. To try to get rid of some of the dust I stopped down to f/11 and took this shot. I was also originally working with a much much more traditional sized and shaped canvas before I changed aperature, but when I saw the back cufflinks fading out of focus it occured to me that everyone would know what they were, so why not cut off the edges with this tight crop. I think the "landscape" format works well here.
Post processing was minimal, a slight levels and color balance adjustment, and a touch of neat image.
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Let's start with composition and focus. I agree with you that landscape is definitely more fitting for this image than a tradition image size would be. I really like the placement of the cufflinks. The semicircle is effective in hiding the back ends of the cufflinks, so much so that it took me several seconds to figure out what these were! I also like that they are slightly off center, with the colorful one appearing to be the center focus-wise. However, I don't like the order that they're placed in. Putting the two silver ones on the edge allows them to get blown out, fading into the white of the background. I would have preferred either seeing them moved towards the center or at least given an interesting reflection.
In terms of color, the colorful cufflink seems really out of place along with three metallic ones, especially since it is the largest and the one most in focus. That old song "One of these things is not like the other..." pops into my head viewing this photo. I personally would have minimized the emphasis on that one cufflink, or replaced it entirely with another metallic one.
I also have two small, nitpicky suggestions. First of all, the gold cufflink looks like it needs to be polished. The streaks take away from the professionalism of the photo, and I think a smoother link would have given the entire photo a much more polished feel. Second, the threads of the cloth you're using as your background are evident underneath some of the cufflinks, especially the colorful one, and that's really distracting. When you're using a macro lens, sometiems that can bring out detail in things you would rather not see, so be careful in that respect.
In regards to the challenge, I just don't think four of anything qualifies as a collection. In this particular challenge, I think it's quantity over quality, to an extent. If there were 20 cufflinks in this photo, it might have been more competitive, but I think that no matter how perfect this shot was, including only four things is going to keep it from really having the "wow" factor that wins challenges.
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