Laurie Meriwether  


Owens Glass Necklace by Laurie Meriwether

August 2019 - Owens Glass Necklace

August 2019 - Laurie Meriwether

Original

August 2019 - Laurie Meriwether

Original 2

About the Image(s)

90mm
ISO 100, 1.6 sec at f /16, tripod

I elevated a piece of glass and put a background paper under it (height about 6 inches). Then I started trying to get a macro shot for this month. I tried water drops, then coarse salt. I thought I cleaned the glass after the salt, but editing proved that I did not do it well enough. And the background was a water color type image and the variations in the colors look like shadows in the image. They are not. So between the weird color variations and the millions of dots in the image (salt specs left behind) this is a hot mess. I think I am going to send my macro lens in to get checked soon. I am really struggling with getting my entire image in focus (manual focus) and not sure it's all me. Edits in LR included changing the color profile to Adobe vivid, exposure +.3, contrast +4, highlight -25, shadows +29, whites +46, blacks -49, texture +14, clarity +8.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted




 
Laurie, I understand how frustrating it is. I think we all do because we have been there. I am assuming the tripod held your camera above the necklace at the settings you listed and at the same angle the necklace was on top of the glass. There is a switch on my Sony 90mm macro lens that says full/0.5m-0.28m. Try both. If that doesn't work elevate your camera higher (focus distance). Someone also suggested to check my diopter. And it had moved!!!!

Of course if the subject doesn't move like your necklace, you might want to try focus stacking.

All of this said, I don't think your picture is a "hot mess."
  Posted: 08/05/2019 14:09:53



 
Laurie, I understand how frustrating it is. I think we all do because we have been there. I am assuming the tripod held your camera above the necklace at the settings you listed and at the same angle the necklace was on top of the glass. There is a switch on my Sony 90mm macro lens that says full/0.5m-0.28m. Try both. If that doesn't work elevate your camera higher (focus distance). Someone also suggested to check my diopter. And it had moved!!!!

Of course if the subject doesn't move like your necklace, you might want to try focus stacking.

All of this said, I don't think your picture is a "hot mess."
  Posted: 08/05/2019 14:10:16



Mary Hinsen   Mary Hinsen
Hi Laurie. This is a lovely commercial-style shot of the necklace, and I like your experiment with the background. The background shows through the clear beads and contrasts beautifully with the pink.

Did you happen to watch Charles Needle's webinar recently? He shoots through glass and had a lot of different techniques that really inspired me to try new things. I've started using some of his techniques for macro shots of food, and also with my close-up tattoo images.
If you didn't get to watch the webinar, I'm sure the recorded version will still be available through the PSA website :)   Posted: 08/06/2019 15:51:31
 
Thanks for the recommendation to watch Charles Needle's webinar. It was really good.   Posted: 08/10/2019 09:50:00



Jessica Manelis   Jessica Manelis
I don't think it is a hat meed either. I like the color more than the original. You can always clone out those little dots in photoshop. If you weren't going for true product photography, I would consider cropping in for a funky abstract image. And keep experimenting!!   Posted: 08/10/2019 08:32:33



Cindy Lynch   Cindy Lynch
You have good details on the necklace and beautiful colors in the background. I applaud you for experimenting. You may want to try different positioning or cropping for a different look. For me, the necklace looks like it is floating.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:28:02



 
I took another look at your shot, and it does look like your necklace is floating! I like that.   Posted: 08/20/2019 17:34:59



Nelson Charette   Nelson Charette
Very nice and sharp image. Looks like it's up in the sky. Nice colors also. The only thing I would do is maybe crop in a bit more.   Posted: 08/22/2019 16:37:25