Good Hair Day

[Trainwreck]

Well, I guess I’ll toss one more into the mix (at least for now). I guess I figured if I’m going to hang out here I should probably put up a shot or two for scrutiny. Seems only fair!

Had a good hair day today! I didn’t get mad enough to yank it!

This gives my hair (and by hair I mean the last one) the body, bounce, manageability I need!

But I do think I may have over-moussed a bit!

One frame.

f/20
1/200th
FL 73mm
ISO 200
3x strobes fired in various modifiers

Always open to suggestion.

[Worst Case Scenario]

It’s a great shot and it must of been technically hard to capture, but I’m not sure what I’m looking at? My first impression was that it’s a bottle viewed from above whilst dropping into water, but the green background suggests that, that’s not the case. Or the water is stagnant! So my next guess is that it’s a bottle floating in front of a green background that some one has just thrown some water at?

Don’t get me wrong, I love it and wish I had taken it, it just doesn’t make sense to me. (A bit like modern art!)

[cameraclicker]

I think you may have over-moussed a bit, too!

Could be there is too much green.  It might look better with clear water, instead of green water.  The specular bits top and bottom look too much like noise at the resolution on Flickr, and in the thumbnail.  Perhaps more spray, less cohesion, in the water?

Shots like that scare me because I don’t want to have to clean up after.

[Trainwreck]

Hi Worst Case!

So my next guess is that it’s a bottle floating in front of a green background that some one has just thrown some water at?

Bingo Worst Case! Sorry for the confusion! I don’t always feel the need to be overly literal. Especially when shooting for myself. But, as a product shot there are certain things that need to be very literal. The product itself and any associated labels/logos as the primary example. So no matter what else is going on I always endeavor to make sure the product gets the limelight. Dead balls-on accurate color, all attributes of the bottle and especially the label accurate and lit to accent. No one wants their brand photographed into obscurity! After that its kind of an “artistic licence” kind of thing!

Thank you for taking the time to shoot me some feedback Worst Case.

Could be there is too much green. It might look better with clear water, instead of green water.

Hi camerclicker!

Of course there could be. Just depends on what you, an art/media consultant/director, or I want to see! The green is taken from the color of the product.

As regards the water? It is clear. When shooting clear glass or liquids you don’t light the glass/liquid. You light the background. So the clear water is picking up the green BG. To be honest I wouldn’t have any idea how to shoot clear water on a colored BG and it not pick up the color. Even on a white or black BG the clear water will pick that up. Maybe I’m not understanding what you are saying? Would you have any suggestions?

Shots like that scare me because I don’t want to have to clean up after.

You have no idea the mess I make in my studio environment! Sometimes I have to cover everything and wear a hazmat suit with SCBA! But I have a great time doing it!

Here is one where I actually did color the liquid and shot on black. This was a shutter drag and the phone screen was shot as shown and not Photoshopped in.

Hey cameraclicker, thank you for chiming in sir. I value your opinion.

[Trainwreck]

Perhaps more spray, less cohesion, in the water?

Good suggestion camera clicker. You and Worst Case are right on the $$. This was a very slow splash and produced little high(er) velocity drops. I did clean up some of the ones that were produced by the ricochet! For this I wanted a fairly clean splash contained within the frame.

Another version featuring some high-velocity spray would be cool!

[EyeDocPhotog]

Trainwreck, I’m afraid these photos of yours are leading you astray of your ultimate goal. Nonetheless, I must say your faux-rtitude is certainly first rate.

[cameraclicker]

Coloured light shot into clear water gives coloured water.  White light into water gives clear water.  No light into water lets the background dominate.  There are probably exceptions based on how bright individual lights are.  Water is interesting to play with.  I usually confine it to drips and containers since I’m lazy and don’t like cleaning up.  Also, since most of my area is carpeted, a spill would take forever to dry.

I like the milk and iPhone!  That’s a great use for an Apple product!  Good looking result too.

If you like splashing milk, you might like this page.  I’ll provide a link because the photographer is not likely to grace the front page here, ever.

http://500px.com/aurumlight

If you have a 500px account, you can set preferences so you don’t have to open each picture with a click.  Most of the photos at that page are not work safe.

[Trainwreck]

I think I agree with your assessment cc but our verbiage may be different!

What causes water (or any other transparent glossy substance) to photograph well are the specular highlights and the gradients to black. White light was shot into the lemon/knife shot and because of the spherical quality of a water drop they picked up speculars. Were it not for them the drops would be invisible, lost in the black BG. With a white BG the drops would have to have a negative outline (black) or else they would also be lost in the BG. Same with glass.

An example of a light field glass shot…

Without the black lines/gradients the glass wouldn’t be there and the same goes for clear liquid shot on a light field. No reflective lighting on the breaking wine glass here. The glass is lit by the BG lighting. Same with the green colored water. Only lit by the BG lighting.

I am a huge fan of splashing milk cc! Except I don’t! Milk doesn’t photograph well (tends to blue).

The phone shot is 1:1 Elmers glue and H2O and you can control the viscosity as needed! Talk about your mess! My feet were stuck to the floor!

I love Wieczorkiewicz’s work. Paul Buff uses his “Silver Angel” and “Right Scale” to advert his Einstiens, which were used exclusively in Wieczorkiewicz’s shoots.

[cameraclicker]

I think  we are indeed having what a past manager called “a heated agreement”!  Or, as you say, different verbiage.

This is just a water drop, shot against a white background with Speedlites.

Talk about your mess! My feet were stuck to the floor!

LOL!  I shot the water drops using a grate over a sink.  No mess.  There has to be a way to shoot your stuff over a drum of some sort so clean up is easier.   Or, a couple of plastic drop cloths clamped to chairs to form a little pool.  Even a child’s inflatable pool lined with plastic drop cloths to make it reusable.  Wieczorkiewicz did the “Right Scale” with a little plastic tub, and messed up the floor!

We took relatives to see Medieval Times last night.  There is a place designed for a mess!  We went years ago, when it was new.  This was our first time back, in about 20 years.  Now it smells like a stable.  Fortunately our guests enjoyed the show.

After each joust, pages run out and collect the splinters.  They have special rakes to collect what the horses leave, too.  The actors are still rolling around in in the sand.  Great show.  Later the “germaphobe” comes out and thinks “Yech!”.

 

[Trainwreck]

Now that looks like my kind of show clicker! And you nailed the “defining moment” with that shot!

I actually have a drop tarp system, a kiddie pool, and The Big Tub! Sometimes I cover all my modifiers with clear plastic wrap (Saran or Glad wrap) and a million clothspins and shoot with a long lens and wireless remote shutter release! I have even put up a plastic wall and cut a hole in it to stick the lens through! I haven’t experienced splinters and horse apples yet (thankfully) but I am definitely firmly planted in the “Whatever it takes to get the shot” camp! It’s a wonder I haven’t electrocuted myself or worse, trashed a light or strip box!

Beautiful water drop shot too cc.

[Trainwreck]

Jeez Doc!

It sucks if you aren’t even crappy enough to make it as a faux tog! Guess I’ll just continue my downward spiral and aspire to failure!

Thank you Doc!

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