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Posted on 29/07/10 11:13:10 AM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 4023

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Bath time
A friend who designs greetings cards has commissioned me to photograph some sets he has built which will include knitted cartoon characters. There will be varying amounts of Photoshop work with each image. This is the first which is intended as a 'taster' to the card company.

We have looked at, and rejected for the moment, both a light dangling from the ceiling which also had some cartoon flies around it and a wet floor.

Any comments or ideas to make it even sillier gratefully appreciated.

Gordon




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Posted on 29/07/10 11:53:56 AM
tooquilos
Wizard of Oz
Posts: 2899

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Re: Bath time
This is excellent Gordon. Id be inclined to show real fear on the duck's face by accentuating and enlarging the pupils

You are probably correct about the light and flies. They would detract from the main focus. The bubbles are just right I feel.

I love the shoes and the bikini top on the floor.

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Posted on 29/07/10 12:21:03 PM
Mark Goodwin
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Posts: 261

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Re: Bath time
Excellent Gordon!

I'm sure Anna is correct about duck, but I love the expression of
"I'm outta here!!"



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Posted on 29/07/10 12:39:13 PM
Nick Curtain
Model Master
Posts: 1768

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Re: Bath time
Great work Gordon
There are hard line shadows behind the sink, mirror and bath, but these are not replicated from the figure, or other items and they're not consistant. I'd guess they have been added in PS and would be inclined to lose them. The soft light, from a brolly or softbox? works adequately.

Nick


Posted on 29/07/10 4:51:33 PM
Sophie
Political Parodist
Posts: 595

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Re: Bath time
Fantastic composition.

The only thing I noticed which I am not sure about is the soapy water coming out of the bath. The bubbles look good but the soapy bit looks like a piece of cloth. That may be OK. Just thought I would point it out.

Is there too much pink space at the top?

Sophie

Posted on 29/07/10 4:53:18 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 4023

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Re: Bath time
Thanks Anna, Mark and Nick.
The duck is actually supposed to be a rubber ducky as opposed to a real duck so I'm not too sure about the fluffy bits.
The lighting comes from a single spot with a little fill from a small flash. I must say I would prefer a little more diffuse myself but I was asked for some hard (-ish) shadows. No Photoshop work was done on the shadows (yet!).

Actually, I tried some shots with the duck looking in a different direction but the ones with it looking straight at the camera made it look very silly and was completely in keeping with the idea for the image.

Gordon

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Posted on 29/07/10 5:12:13 PM
Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician
Posts: 1319

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Re: Bath time
Really like that, but i agree with Sophie, that there seems too much pink wall at the top - unless that is going to be for type.

Posted on 29/07/10 6:40:45 PM
GKB
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Posts: 4023

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Re: Bath time
Deborah Morley wrote:
Really like that, but i agree with Sophie, that there seems too much pink wall at the top - unless that is going to be for type.


Hi Deborah,
I'm not sure exactly what Martin's intentions are for this one but I think it will be either a blanked off white part or a speech bubble.
Gordon

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Posted on 29/07/10 7:31:39 PM
Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 7042

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Re: Bath time
Excellent, a great shot.

My only major issue is that it looks rather too busy for a greetings card - there's so much detail going on in the background that it's hard to focus on the main event.

First, I'd recommend getting rid of the scratches on the wall and floor. They don't really add anything, but do detract from the focus.

Second, I'd cluster those bubbles together so they aren't floating discretely so much - and perhaps fewer of them.

And third... I don't like the drawn glass! An awkward perspective, and it doesn't look real.

Just my thoughts...

Steve

Posted on 29/07/10 10:50:28 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 4023

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Re: Bath time
Thanks for that Steve. I was never happy about the scratches on the wall myself but that was what was presented to me on the set. I'll mention it to Martin and see what he thinks. The glass was added as a 3d object as we didn't have a 1 inch tall glass to photograph and you're right; the perspective is not quite right.

I like your thoughts about the bubbles too. All good stuff to be getting on with.

Gordon

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Posted on 30/07/10 07:54:13 AM
Carlo Alessandro Della Valle
Compositore Eccellente
Posts: 100

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Re: Bath time
Hi there,
Great job Gordon... but.. in my opinion if you whant to put her as the principal "focus" you should take another shot with the bra hanging from her left hand.... that bright red would attract more... and I would add a little blur on the wather to make it a little less unreal.
Just a few ideas...

Alessandro

Posted on 30/07/10 12:04:33 PM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 4023

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Re: Bath time
Thank you Alessandro. I like the idea of blurring the 'foam'. I used cotton wool for the foam and perhaps a little blur would be a good idea.
Gordon

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Posted on 30/07/10 8:53:34 PM
Paul 2007 thru 2010
Lego Legend
Posts: 361

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Re: Bath time
I think it looks very good.

Did you take photos from further back with a second camera that shows the setup? I always find it interesting to see that sort of thing.

Posted on 31/07/10 09:14:50 AM
GKB
Magical Montagist
Posts: 4023

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Re: Bath time
Paul 2007 thru 2010 wrote:
I think it looks very good.

Did you take photos from further back with a second camera that shows the setup? I always find it interesting to see that sort of thing.


Hi Paul,

No, sorry but I’m afraid I didn’t shoot the setup. The set was built by the card designer and consisted of two walls and a floor. Dimensions are about 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 feet. He also made the props such as the bath, wash-basin etc. Lighting consisted of a single spot-light rather than a diffuse flash as he wanted sharp-ish shadows particularly under the bath. The light was positioned above and just to the left just so that there would be no shadow from the left wall. Basically it was in the same position as a real light would be when hanging from the ceiling and just out of shot. The actual light was also positioned just out of shot. A white reflector was positioned just out of shot to the right to even out the lighting and reduce the contrast.

Camera was a Nikon D700 with a 70mm lens fired by a radio-remote. Aperture was set at f22 for maximum depth of field. As I used a spot-light rather than a flash the shutter speed was adjustable to get the correct exposure.

Hope this helps,
Gordon



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Posted on 02/08/10 8:07:01 PM
Paul 2007 thru 2010
Lego Legend
Posts: 361

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Re: Bath time
Hi Gordon, that helps put things in context for me. Thanks.

It sounds quite a bit larger than I was imagining.
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