Ok, so I am being brave, pulling up my big girl pants, and starting a thread about what may seem a very random set of items.
I would very much like to get a semi decent picture of a cup and saucer, and a pipe (smoking variety) that I have.
Why such a random pairing? They belonged to my grandparents who have both passed away, and its just about the only belongings of theirs that I have. I would like to do it in a sepia tone, but am very open to all ideas. I am really struggling with how to position, display, layout the objects. Anyone have any thoughts?
My recommendation would be to keep is simple (KISS) The idea should be to keep the emphasis on the subject matter and not to have anything else in the shot. I would probably position it on a smoked mirror or dark glass for a subtle reflection, shoot in low light with no flash and look at framing it in the after processing. I know you will hang one on your wall so be careful not to overdo the frame. Hope it helps mate!
@genesis_one I like the idea of using reflections. The only thing I may add would be a framed photo of your grandparents. Lovely idea - it may be one of those things you just need to try out in different ways - please tag me if you do as I would like to see the result.
I agree with Corrie. I would also suggest using the golden ratio is better for this composition and forget about the rule of thirds (always). The golden ratio offers more freedom of postioning subjects.
Lighting maybe a problem. Assuming the pipe is darker than the cup and saucer. To get one correct may either overexpose/underexpose the other. Using a mirror as Corrie suggested is great, expecially for the pipe.
@genesis_one@annemary thank you both so much for the help.. I will certainly be having go. I have already tried but just on plain black instead of a mirror. I have a normal mirror, but not a smoky one. Will have to see if I can find a pic of them both together... My grandad was a photographer, back in the days where you self coloured your pictures, and he always said he never saw an ugly bride.
You could type cup or teacup into the search box above and then when results come up click on photo on the left and you will see all the photos that have that tag... Might give you some ideas of things to try...
@chapjohn@northy Thanks muchly for taking the time to help. ooo golden ratio? will have to google that one as not heard of it... still very new to this photography malarky lol. I have a pic that I did a few days ago (am going to stick it in a gap as already have a pic in for that day) and this will explain why I am unhappy i am sure. I really suck with concepts!
Nice lighting. Consider using vertical and stand the cup up right. Pipe may have to stand on end. Consider taking several pictures with different lighitng and differnt positions of the objects to find the one that looks best to you.
Lots of great ideas here. When processing, try several different crops of each image and don't be afraid to crop in really close to fill the frame. I play with the crop a lot and am frequently surprised at the shot I like the most!
@gark I have done that (the crop thing) with one of mine in my project, I was really surprised but it came out lovely. I have lots of things to have a play with, so tomorrow afternoon is going to be busy. Everyone has been so helpful :) Love this community.
Because you are using digital, I would be tempted to say try anything and everything you can think of, different angles and apertures, different backgrounds, try silly things - there is no limit to the imagination (for some reason I have just thought about having a bucket and spade, sand with a cup balanced on it and the pipe sticking in the sand - I must stop eating cheese sandwiches before bed time!). The world is your oyster (or whatever crustacean of your choice).
How about starting a week's competition on 365 and see what other people come up with?
Don't forget to post some pictures when you have completed your task.
@steampowered Ooo a competition... erm... what do they win?? Hahhah I know.. I will take pics of each item individually and people that are clever with layers can see what they can do with them... You have got me thinking outside of the box now however with your bucket and spade... just got to try and think of something that tied them together... Garden possibly... Mum and Dad live in their old house, but it has changed so much its hardly recognisable as the same place... Have looked at the pics, who knew people would already have done this... really are not too items I would consider putting together other than for the reason I am. weird.
@tori_shaw They win your undying gratitude and the chance to showcase their skills but they don't really have to win anything really! I am sure that if you advertised on the discussion groups exactly what you hope to achieve and get people to tag their shots with "Tori-pipe" or something else unique then they may surprise you. @mercuria is doing a theme about "silence" and "space" at the moment. At worst, if no one does come back to you then you are no worse off than you were.
@bardejov I love this, but I think the pipe would get lost as it is so dark to begin with.
@steampowered I think I will try some of the suggestions I have been given already, and then if I am still sucking badly I will throw it open to the masses to see what they can come up with... I would be interested to see how they could interpret it.
@tori_shaw I will dig around and see if I have a pipe lurking around (I'm sure I have a clay pipe somewhere in the house!) and a cup to see if I can come up with something for you.
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Lighting maybe a problem. Assuming the pipe is darker than the cup and saucer. To get one correct may either overexpose/underexpose the other. Using a mirror as Corrie suggested is great, expecially for the pipe.
http://www.123rf.com/photo_11240041_cup-of-coffee-and-pipe-with-coffe-beans.html
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-110991113.html?rid=764944
Because you are using digital, I would be tempted to say try anything and everything you can think of, different angles and apertures, different backgrounds, try silly things - there is no limit to the imagination (for some reason I have just thought about having a bucket and spade, sand with a cup balanced on it and the pipe sticking in the sand - I must stop eating cheese sandwiches before bed time!). The world is your oyster (or whatever crustacean of your choice).
How about starting a week's competition on 365 and see what other people come up with?
Don't forget to post some pictures when you have completed your task.
@steampowered I think I will try some of the suggestions I have been given already, and then if I am still sucking badly I will throw it open to the masses to see what they can come up with... I would be interested to see how they could interpret it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tori_1/9471604203/