Things I Love

Well, here's my first entry. I made a commitment to myself that I would not describe my images as lame--even if they are! This is harder than I thought it would be. Sometimes I'll add commentary and sometimes not.

I decided that I would try a product shot today, so I set up things that I love and tried to remember what I learned in school. My subjects: my favorite coffee cup from Switzerland, and my favorite organic coffee beans. I knew I wanted to shoot outside and I wanted trees in the background. The sun was setting and the woods behind my home were lit. I did not want the contrast in the background, I wanted shade behind my subject, but I chose not to scout out another location and accepted what I got!

I actually like the painterly effect I got as a result of shooting with a telephoto--my new toy from Canon! I shot with a low ap and that gave me the blurry Monet like background.

Lessons learned: Pay attention to the light. You have to consider how the light is falling on all of the elements and you need to know if you're okay with how the light effects each element BEORE you press the shutter. When setting up a shot, take your time and get it right *in camera*, so you're not doing too many changes with editing software. I now have a better understanding of how the lens/aperture combination will effect my background.

Tomorrow: I will photograph a flower from 4 perspectives and post a mosaic.