Phones on the piano

[Domipots]

Really like the idea of shoothing phone pics on a piano or some background like that, got inspired by these shots (and more from that site):

http://pic.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/lg-gd900-crystal-preview/phone/gsmarena_040.jpg

Tried something myself and I noticed it's really hard to do such a thing without a tripod and thus it's impossible to make special angles, but whatever. Here are my first attempts, please comment:)

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp280/domipost/DSC_0031.jpg

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp280/domipost/DSC_0032.jpg

[KrishnenduKes]

Photo Critique Approved

[Xavier]

Nice shots there Dominic. But since this is a critique section, this is what I have to say

#1 : Slightly lacking in focus. I believe that since the background was black or mono colour, you could have used a smaller aperture to get larger DoF. Right now, only the central part of the keypad is in focus.
Also, there's some dirt on the surface of the piano which kinda screws up the pic for me. It can be corrected in PS, but it would have been better if you would have cleaned the surface before shooting. :)

#2 : Again, the focus is on the lens of the camera phone and the words 'XPERIA'. The bottom part of the phone lacks focus and the dirt problem on the piano surfaces here too.

All in all, looking at the gsmarena pic, I believe you did achieve what you were aiming at, it's just about the dirt on the surface and the shallow DoF which caused problems. Hope this helped! :)


P.S. : What's the name of the LG phone in the first pic? The one with the transparent keypad! :O

[rio008]

Nice shots there Dominic. But since this is a critique section, this is what I have to say

#1 : Slightly lacks focus. I believe that since the background was black or mono colour, you could have used a smaller aperture to get larger DoF. Right now, only the central part of the keypad is in focus.
Also, there's some dirt on the surface of the piano which kinda screws up the pic for me. They can be corrected in PS, but it would have been better if you would have cleaned the surface before shooting. :)

#2 : Again, the focus is on the lens of the camera phone and the words 'XPERIA'. The bottom part of the phone lacks focus and the dirt problem on the piano surfaces here too.

All in all, looking at the gsmarena pic, I believe you did achieve what you were aiming at, it's just about the dirt on the surface and the shallow DoF which caused problems. Hope this helped! :)


P.S. : What's the name of the LG phone in the first pic? The one with the transparent keypad! :O

Well said PG, when shooting something like this what kind of exposure would you prefer ?

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

very nice initiative.the concept is beautiful.

the but obvious obstacle when we shoot on mirror finish surfaces is dust.now in first shot that u took,u can see dust everywhere.not good when it comes to product shoot.

always keep surface clean before u take the shot.

but if that doesnt help.LR to the help.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1zpgrya.jpg

what i did was just paint the dust part with negative EV.so this is making the dust actually black.so virtually u are eliminating dust.

increased contrast and other factors.

hope u like the edit.

anvancy.

[Xavier]

Well said PG, when shooting something like this what kind of exposure would you prefer ?
It would depend on the intensity of light available and other factors, Rio.
I would prefer an aperture of f/8 - f/11 when you really don't need the background to be OOF. :)

very nice initiative.the concept is beautiful.

the but obvious obstacle when we shoot on mirror finish surfaces is dust.now in first shot that u took,u can see dust everywhere.not good when it comes to product shoot.

always keep surface clean before u take the shot.

but if that doesnt help.LR to the help.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1zpgrya.jpg

what i did was just paint the dust part with negative EV.so this is making the dust actually black.so virtually u are eliminating dust.

increased contrast and other factors.

hope u like the edit.

anvancy.

Nice one Anvancy, However, I feel that the extremely dark treatment of the piano surface kinda kills the purpose. The reason the first gsmarena pic is so strong is because of the glossy surface of the piano which adds a lot to the pic. By adding contrast or getting rid of the glossiness, it looks like a plain black background now.
Here's my take on the first pic :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p160/xvrdsouza/DSC_0031_edit.jpg

Used the healing brush tool and some selective sharpening near the keypad area.

[rio008]

It would depend on the intensity of light available and other factors, Rio.
I would prefer an aperture of f/8 - f/11 when you really don't need the background to be OOF. :)


Used the healing brush tool and some selective sharpening near the keypad area.

Thanks for your advice :)

here is my try , hope the person wont mind playing with his shot :(

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/rio009/DSC_0031copy.jpg

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

contrast will be a thing that changes from taste to taste.

[Xavier]

Thanks for your advice :)

here is my try , hope the person wont mind playing with his shot :(

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/rio009/DSC_0031copy.jpg
You're welcome :)

And you wiped away the reflection of the top row of keys below the display! :eek:



contrast will be a thing that changes from taste to taste.
Agree, however I was only speaking about this specific shot where the reflective surface of the piano is as important as the main subject itself.

[rio008]

You're welcome :)

And you wiped away the reflection of the top row of keys below the display! :eek:


Agree, however I was only speaking about this specific shot where the reflective surface of the piano is as important as the main subject itself.

yes i did, i like it that way :D

[KrishnenduKes]

Nice shots there Dominic. But since this is a critique section, this is what I have to say

#1 : Slightly lacking in focus. I believe that since the background was black or mono colour, you could have used a smaller aperture to get larger DoF. Right now, only the central part of the keypad is in focus.
Also, there's some dirt on the surface of the piano which kinda screws up the pic for me. It can be corrected in PS, but it would have been better if you would have cleaned the surface before shooting. :)

#2 : Again, the focus is on the lens of the camera phone and the words 'XPERIA'. The bottom part of the phone lacks focus and the dirt problem on the piano surfaces here too.

All in all, looking at the gsmarena pic, I believe you did achieve what you were aiming at, it's just about the dirt on the surface and the shallow DoF which caused problems. Hope this helped! :)


P.S. : What's the name of the LG phone in the first pic? The one with the transparent keypad! :O

Do you think using a Circular Polarizer would have helped besides wiping the dust?

[Xavier]

Do you think using a Circular Polarizer would have helped besides wiping the dust?

Haven't used one, Ken :(
Aryan would be the right person to comment on this.
AFAIK, CPLs are usually used to enhance the saturation of brightly skies and reduce reflections. So, I don't know if it would have been a good idea to use it in this case.

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

Do you think using a Circular Polarizer would have helped besides wiping the dust?

my guess is that then we will again arrive at the contrast thing..since polarizers are contrast boosters..or i may be wrong!

[KrishnenduKes]

Haven't used one, Ken :(
AFAIK, CPLs are usually used to enhance the saturation of brightly skies and reduce reflections. So, I don't know if it would have been a good idea to use it in this case.

my guess is that then we will again arrive at the contrast thing..since polarizers are contrast boosters..or i may be wrong!

I have used them. But not on digital! I would have used a CP to enhance the dark background to increase contrast by reducing the reflections on the black surface. But my question is, would it have worked in this case? Would it not reduce the "glossy" feel of the background?

[Xavier]

I have used them. But not on digital! I would have used a CP to enhance the dark background to increase contrast by reducing the reflections on the black surface. But my question is, would it have worked in this case? Would it not reduce the "glossy" feel of the background?

I think it would reduce the glossy effect because CPLs do reduce reflections to quite some extent.

[rio008]

"digital camera CCD or CMOS sensors are highly susceptible to reflections " seen somewhere @ web before :)

digital Multi-Coated filter gives the benefit of substantially reduced reflections can improve your image. reduced internal reflections mean a clearer image with greater contrast.

[Domipots]

Thanx guys!!! Really helpfull comments! I'll try it again tomorrow or the day after with a new phone (Samsung Jet S8000 for the ones who know). And with a cleaned up piano :p

I always thought a smaller apperture (bigger number) resulted in a smaller DoF. I'll do it the other way next time.

I don't have a CPL, so can't use it either ;)

@Avancy
I think the contrast is too high there, the D-pad got a black spot. That's a pity :(

@Xavier
That one's great :) I really like it!

@Rio
Hmm, don't like that one really. It looks a bit unreal to me :( And of course I don't mind you playing around with my pic :)

Whish I was a bit better in editing, too :( I can fix the dust and ajust some levels, but that's it :(

btw, the LG phone with transparant keypad is called LG GD900 Crystal, not out on the market yet, though.

[Xavier]

@Xavier
That one's great :) I really like it!

Glad you liked it Dominic :)


btw, the LG phone with transparant keypad is called LG GD900 Crystal, not out on the market yet, though.

Oh cool! Looks real good :)

[Domipots]

Oh cool! Looks real good
Yes, it is. I'll get one when it's out, I hope

Here are two new ones:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SjkNtlhH1_I/AAAAAAAABNo/DIk_sBbwYfQ/s576/DSC_0042.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SjkNt_FFTHI/AAAAAAAABNs/ITWUbxC34gk/s576/DSC_0045.JPG

Discovered it's impossible to get rid of all the dust :(

[Xavier]

Yes, it is. I'll get one when it's out, I hope

Here are two new ones:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SjkNtlhH1_I/AAAAAAAABNo/DIk_sBbwYfQ/s576/DSC_0042.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SjkNt_FFTHI/AAAAAAAABNs/ITWUbxC34gk/s576/DSC_0045.JPG

Discovered it's impossible to get rid of all the dust :(

Pretty impressive Dominic! And yes, there's always going to be dust, PP has to take care of that :D

[Domipots]

Thanx! Any tips?

[Xavier]

Thanx! Any tips?

As I said in my earlier post, the healing brush in PS should take care of most of the dust particles. :)

[KrishnenduKes]

As I said in my earlier post, the healing brush in PS should take care of most of the dust particles. :)

@Dominic: When he says healing brush, he means the "Band aid" tool!

[Domipots]

I know, no more tips? Should be pretty good, then:p

Thanx all!

[Domipots]

Some new tries, they seem a bit worse by me? :(

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC5zpa__CI/AAAAAAAACqY/WuRYjWLgC6E/s576/DSC_00081.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC5zVxN2OI/AAAAAAAACqU/B1-ahDNQJc8/s576/DSC_00076.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC6ZH2QwgI/AAAAAAAACqk/nUx4tZo8ziE/s576/DSC_0556.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC6aDi50SI/AAAAAAAACqo/gyBhyUgFj7c/s576/DSC_0559.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC_W9LqsHI/AAAAAAAACq0/IdwjoK-3eKs/s576/DSC_0564.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC_XfYKDSI/AAAAAAAACq4/sTmRLYMTaRQ/s576/DSC_0567.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC_irBpf9I/AAAAAAAACq8/I4XWest2pJ8/s576/DSC_0561.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC_i1OYgjI/AAAAAAAACrA/Q408Oudhigs/s576/DSC_0563.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC_jwgXbeI/AAAAAAAACrE/tSPeR16CstQ/s576/DSC_0554.JPG

[KrishnenduKes]

Some new tries, they seem a bit worse by me? :(



Looking just at the background 3, 7, 8 and the last one look "clean" with glossy finish as a background. Am not looking at the phones as of now.

[MG_1806]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wX0x-4Ika7c/SlC6ZH2QwgI/AAAAAAAACqk/nUx4tZo8ziE/s576/DSC_0556.JPG

This one is lovely.The wallpaper made all the difference.

[Domipots]

Looking just at the background 3, 7, 8 and the last one look "clean" with glossy finish as a background. Am not looking at the phones as of now.

Sorry for being so stupid, but what excactly do you mean by that?:confused:

[KrishnenduKes]

Sorry for being so stupid, but what excactly do you mean by that?:confused:

I am saying that in the photographs mentioned, the background seems pretty clean and glossy (which is what we had discussed earlier at the beginning of the thread) and provides a good backdrop for shooting your subject.

Next in line comes of course how you are presenting your subject on this background, angles, reflections etc...

[rio008]

this time you done Domipots.
lot better than your last attempt. I really appreciate you in this work.
no dust.....!
3 & 8 is my fav.

[Domipots]

Thanx all!!

I'll stop spamming you with this pics, now :P Not really much time for photographing :(