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I'll Toast you!
I'll Toast you!
Ragnav


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Personification III (Basic Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM II
Location: Lisboa
Date: Dec 15, 2008
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1''
Galleries: Horror
Date Uploaded: Dec 15, 2008

Hello to all.
This is my first picture on DP Challenge.
This one didn't come out just the way i imagined it.
I was trying to show hate on a toaster by making it look evil and smoking a lot, well i could just took a picture of my wife when she entered the room and saw all the smoke that was there. Unfortunately my camera didn't capture the smoke, but the two slices of bread looked like coal.
Still didn't want to lose all the time and trouble i got into and did some changes on PS.
I just croped and try to make it the more darker i could.

Living and learning, next time it will be better.

Statistics
Place: 69 out of 75
Avg (all users): 4.2333
Avg (commenters): 2.7500
Avg (participants): 3.3000
Avg (non-participants): 4.3316
Views since voting: 899
Views during voting: 383
Votes: 210
Comments: 6
Favorites: 0


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AuthorThread
12/25/2008 01:37:24 AM
Critique Club

Welcome to to DPC, and congrats on your first entry. Good news is that it's all uphill from here! ;) I know it's a rough way to start, but as you stated...live and learn.

First off, the composition is stagnant. Center composition photographs are tough, and usually are served well by symmetry. This book is outstanding, and I've recommended it to a few friends. It's a great read, you will grow as photog just by reading and practicing the techniques of composition he discusses. The information is not unique, rather, it is presented very well.

The lighting is lacking given the multiple shades of white to gray in the background. Taking care to smooth foreground helps as well. Sticking a strobe/flash behind the backdrop will often create a nice white background.

Focus and depth of field. I suspect the point of focus is the front of the toaster. This is fine, but I think a deeper depth of field would improve the subject by bring more toaster in to focus. The small file size may or may not be playing a role here, I don't honestly know. An aperture of f/11 would have worked well here for the subject. However, without a lot of light, your ISO would have been quite high, and this may affect the image quality. I'm guessing you used a tripod given the shutter speed.

Finally the post processing. You have significant artifact around the tape. What steps did you use to process this image? It looks like you used a mask or extensive shadow/highlight adjustments.

Again, congrats on the first entry! I hope you stick around and continue to enter challenges.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/22/2008 01:58:21 PM
At a file size of only 28k, image compression is what is taking away all the sharpness and detail from this image. Always save your file as close to the maximum allowed as you can. (150k for basic editing) I don't know what you use for editing, but here is the dialog in PaintShop Pro, if it helps:
12/19/2008 09:14:51 PM
nice shot
12/19/2008 10:26:39 AM
i wish my toaster had that cool face - it looks like you added the face to the imae...using the end of the toaster to supply the nose would have been another option - overall i think the lighting is lacking and the background is distracting
12/18/2008 10:47:49 AM
You might want to try a different composition next time - this centered composition does not do much for the photo. I would suggest experimenting with the rule of thirds. Unusual angles might also give this photo more impact - maybe try shooting upwards at the subject, and at a forty-five degree angle - it might make it seem more threatening.
12/17/2008 01:15:14 PM
So, you created your own personification? Is this velcro?
Sometimes lighting the back drop from behind makes it more evenly.


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