With or Without Glass (Page 2): Thanks so much for the detailed analysis. Much appreciated. It would probably be .quicker easier and less aggravation to start all over. I am not...

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

CHG_CANON wrote:

This last version with the slight change to the gl... (show quote)

Thanks so much for the detailed analysis. Much appreciated. It would probably be .quicker easier and less aggravation to start all over.
I am not surprised about the the bottle top. I shot the picture with a 1.8 f Stop. I wanted the background to be blurred out a bit. Seems if I do it again i will need to forcus stack the shot

I am happy to hear that the work on the glass is an improvement. A least I am going in the right direction.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I believe the first one works better because the glass seems to be floating in the air.

Stephan G

Linda From Maine wrote:

Composites are sooo hard to get right. Your glass is floating; you'll see that most evident in the back side of the base. Love the golden colors and light. Much more to explore there, methinks.

It may be one of those self-pouring glass and bottle combos (think Rube Goldberg here).

Linda has stated the problem. The "floating glass" grabs the attention and runs away with it. One suggestion, take a shot with an actual glass placed in the position you want. Use this as a reference to match the placing of the composite. Many people forget to put in shadows when doing composite. They also may forget to keep in mind the light source placement. This is, of course, for realism in the result. The issue here is definitely a moment of misplaced perspective lines.

The shots work very well together, though.

PS., To make the floating glass work, the level of the liquid in the bottle needs to be closer to the bottom.

MichaelEBM Loc: Los Angeles CA

Not sure how I feel about whether the glass should be filled or not, but even though the second glass is better with its shadows, it is still floating. The left edge of the glass is above the dark horizontal line of the bottle. The line of the bottle shows that it is "resting" on the table. If the glass edge were covering that line, then the glass would also be "resting" on the table. Hope that's clear. I've included the area that I feel needs more work.

See how the left edge of the glass is "above" the bottle?

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

jaymatt wrote:

I believe the first one works better because the glass seems to be floating in the air.

Thanks Jay for weighing in on this thread

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Stephan G wrote:

It may be one of those self-pouring glass and bott... (show quote)

I’m going with the Rube Goldberg scenario. :
I like your suggestion about about taking a shot of the glass in relationship to the bottle.
I don’t know if you saw the reposted shot of the work I did on the glass. I wanted to get feed back if I was on the right track to correct the problem.
But all is good. I find it fun and a good learning experience.
Thanks for your time and thoughts.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

MichaelEBM wrote:

Not sure how I feel about whether the glass should be filled or not, but even though the second glass is better with its shadows, it is still floating. The left edge of the glass is above the dark horizontal line of the bottle. The line of the bottle shows that it is "resting" on the table. If the glass edge were covering that line, then the glass would also be "resting" on the table. Hope that's clear. I've included the area that I feel needs more work.

I think everyone’s eyes seem to be better than mine. I do see now what you are referring. I think the previous suggestions are all thing I can work on and learn from.
Thanks for adding to this discussion. Much appreciated.

Designdweeb Loc: Metro NYC & East Stroudsburg, PA

I‘d also add more edge and back light, some small gold reflector cards or small dental mirrors to hit up the brand name labels.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Designdweeb wrote:

I‘d also add more edge and back light, some small gold reflector cards or small dental mirrors to hit up the brand name labels.

Thanks, good suggestions.
I played with correcting the glass. I figured I could use the practice. But after all is said and done, a redo is in order.

Stephan G

NJFrank wrote:

Thanks, good suggestions.
I played with correcting the glass. I figured I could use the practice. But after all is said and done, a redo is in order.

Just as a reminder. Feel free to shoot the concept in real life, so to speak, to understand placement of elements. Can be done prior to the set up of lights, etc. This will give a good idea of putting together the composite parts. (In stage talk: pre-pre-dress-rehearsal.)

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Stephan G wrote:

Just as a reminder. Feel free to shoot the concept in real life, so to speak, to understand placement of elements. Can be done prior to the set up of lights, etc. This will give a good idea of putting together the composite parts. (In stage talk: pre-pre-dress-rehearsal.)

Much that I have read and seen go with that idea. Set up add the lights later. In this case the glass was an after thought when I viewed the bottle alone. I liked the lighting and shadows. But the lighting changed (sun position) so I came up with the composite idea. The next time around it will all happen at the same time.
I am enjoying still life photography.

Stephan G

NJFrank wrote:

Much that I have read and seen go with that idea. Set up add the lights later. In this case the glass was an after thought when I viewed the bottle alone. I liked the lighting and shadows. But the lighting changed (sun position) so I came up with the composite idea. The next time around it will all happen at the same time.
I am enjoying still life photography.

Many good bottles with spirits are lonely images without the attendant glass.

Your comment reminded me of a line I heard decades ago. "The best thing about still life is that you don't have to go chasing the pieces once you pose them. Assuming that the tabletop is not slanted, that is."

Looking forward to seeing what other images you come up with.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Stephan G wrote:

Many good bottles with spirits are lonely images without the attendant glass.

Your comment reminded me of a line I heard decades ago. "The best thing about still life is that you don't have to go chasing the pieces once you pose them. Assuming that the tabletop is not slanted, that is."

Looking forward to seeing what other images you come up with.

In addition you don't have to worry about the weather.

I will definitely be posting others as I shoot them. I find it a fun thing to be doing when it is cold, raining or snowing outside.