Stephen sent me this still life to ask me what I thought. As usual, I like to include the actual question from the photographer that sent it to me. I do this so others that may be thinking the same thing, or have has similar thoughts can read what was actually said.
“Hi Joe,
Here my thoughts were concerned primarily with accurate color, although I experimented with different focus options, sometimes focusing on the fruit and its surface dimpling, other times focusing on the rim of the metal bowl with softer fruit. I settled for color being the draw rather than “tack-sharp” on either the fruit or the bowl. Do you think I achieved my goal and is the shot pleasing?”
Stephen,
First let’s talk about your concern with “accurate color”. My first question would be why do you care about the color being accurate? What’s the ultimate use for this image? Who’s the target audience? Is it going into a reference book? I say this because I can only assume that just about everyone on this planet knows what color lemons and oranges are, and they probably wouldn’t care if the lemon wasn’t yellow enough; especially since the color can vary depending on when it was picked, when did it arrive in the grocery store, and how long it was there before you brought it home to photograph it. That’s not even going into the issue of all the different desktop and laptop monitors it’s going to appear on that are calibrated differently.
As for the bowl, if it’s not a standard bowl produced in mass, who’s going to know what color it actually is? Truth be told, I’m not sure anyone will care. What about all the different color profiles there are out there? That’s yet another issue. My point Stephen is that if it really doesn’t matter how accurate the color is. You’re sacrificing the most important part of this still life, namely the lighting.
For me, light is everything, and it certainly trumps whether the fruit is the right color. In my online classes with the PPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I spend a lot of time talking about the light. In your still life, you have basically have two dimensions, height and width; you’ve taken out depth, and any chance to create a mood. Form is a basic element of visual design, and it refers to the three dimensional qualities of an object. In order to add the third dimension…depth, you need to side light your subject.
I have a whole lot of respect for studio shooters since I’ve taken my share of tabletop photos. Now I don’t know how long you spent on this photo, but to be completely honest, and I could be way off base here, but I can’t imagine you spent a lot of time…compared to how long it takes to create an image that makes the viewer want to eat a piece of the fruit in the bowl. You could easily spend an entire day on one shot. Trust me, I have!!!!
Study the masters, from Renaissance painters to modern day studio photographers. Find a copy of Black Book of Photography or The Workbook and look at all the studio photos. There’s some really good photographers out there that do nothing but tabletop.
Thanks for the submission, and good luck.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my 2013 workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometime.
Don’t forget to send me a photo and question to: AskJoeB@gmail.com.
JoeB
