'shrooms

One of my favourites

Darn, Emilie - I get so jealous when pix pop up on that shiny black surface (got to figure out how it's done.) It's one of my favorite looks in images. Now, if you add some Portobellos, Shiitakes, and Oyster Mushrooms to some EVO Oil......

Kathy I was thinking the same. Some garlic, Tamari Sauce and dig in.

Love the reflection Emilie Jay.

Great shot... I was thinking more of slicing them into about quarters, tossing them in really hot olive oil with some shredded parsely and a little cracked pepper, once they're browned and wilted down pulling them off the heat and adding a dash of butter, and a squirt of balsamic glaze, keeping them moving in the pan until well coated... If I can ever find Tamari Sauce I'm SO there, have had it once on a sesame seed/sunflower seed/pumpkin seed mix and am an addict already... :)

If you go to your local aquarium store, even just a big pet shop, they'll have a glossy black vinyl amongst various other backdrops, on rolls, for fish tanks... Mine has black on one side, deep blue on the other (the fish tank has a nice weedy backdrop to match the plants I have in it - this piece is purely for photography) - it curves easily to make a seamless background, and the black will give these wet look reflections... the blue is handy for blue screening objects out...

Cheers,
Stuart

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa! Maybe, just maybe ......... I can do it!

you know i once kept tropical fish and never once thought of using one of those backdrops for this, doh!!! thanks for the tip Stuart. the mushrooms look good enough to eat Emilie nice job

Very nice Emilie...are you going to tell us how you got that wonderful smokey black???

Don't know if the Soy Sauce (naturally brewed) from Kikkoman is close to the Tamari, but I go through gallons of it mixed with hot Oriental Chili Oil a year! I found a recipe and added it to Emilie's thread. Hope it's good.

Great piece of photography Emilie.

Looking at some of the work that is on show in this forum is giving me the urge to try some product photography myself. :)

I just put up a tips and tricks for still life photography you can find it here

Still Life Photography - Tips and Tricks

In this shot I used black velvet for the background and I believe I just used a piece of glass from an old frame. Nothing special. You can also use a mirror or use black acrylic sheeting. You can get it at any hardware store or hobby shop. It isn't expensive at least here it isn't.

I used one of my small studio lamps and used a small mirror to bounce the light onto the mushrooms as the light from the lamp was to intense.

Hope that helps explain the photo

hugs
Emilie

Quote :

Does velvet work, because the fabric nap also reflects lighting? or just because it's thicker?

Black Velvet is the perfect material to use for a pure black background because it doesn't reflect the light. Be careful, make sure it is velvet and not velour. It is a wee bit more expensive but worth it. The pieces I have are 2 metres by 5 metres.

Quote :

do you place it across the back and the floor of a light tent? Up the sides?

I have a table at home in my studio that I fixed a backboard to it so I drap the material over the backboard and over the table. There isn't anyting on the sides although you can set it up that way if you need to have that area black also. But most still life, at least what I do, is a small area. I have a second piece of velvet that I actually use as a backdrop for portraits...works great

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How do you avoid picking up a reflection of the camera in the glass/mirrors/vinyl?

Again when dealing with such a small area in taking still life shots you can easily step far enough away to avoid any reflections from the camera or other items. That is the beauty of digital you can look and reshoot quickly. I always tether to my laptop so I see the RAW file immediately after I shoot.

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Would you take a picture of your set-up for us? I know that there are hundreds of Tutes out there on the subject, but your T&T was so clear - that I'd like a familiar picture to tie into the instructions.

Yes I will take a photo for you when I get a moment. They are far and few between with the critter and all. I might actually have one when I was tethering. I will have a wee look for you. I am glad my tips and tricks were clear and easy for you to follow and yes, as they say, a photo says a thousands words...

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One more thing (lollllllllll) - Do you aim the light source at the side mirror, which is aimed at the subject? or directly at the subject itself, with an extra reflection of the brightness coming from the side mirror?

You can do both actually, all depends on your light source and how harsh it is and if you need more light. A mirror is always great for that extra light bounced on your subject. I use my dimmer switches alot also and I diffuse my light.

In time you will come to develop some tricks of your own. I hope I have answered your questions and concerns. Keep those questions coming

hugs
Emilie

Emilie - you've helped me immensely. Having a Tute applied specifically to one image seems to work best for me, so this was perfect.

I built a light tent awhile back, thinking that my "Stills" would immediately be winners! Yeah - Right! Didn't happen. Now... Look out, World! lolllllllll

Thank you, again. BTW, you were the only "unknown" for me here at TIFF - it's been a wonderful experience getting to know you. Kat

kathysPix wrote:

Don't know if the Soy Sauce (naturally brewed) from Kikkoman is close to the Tamari, but I go through gallons of it mixed with hot Oriental Chili Oil a year! I found a recipe and added it to Emilie's thread. Hope it's good.

Tamari is an aged Soy Sauce.

Works for me! yummmmmmmm. I have a mantra that says, "If I'm going to spend this many dollars on a meal - it had better be Chinese or Thai or any Oriental!" I could live off that stuff. Luckily, there are a lot of Oriental grocery stores around here and a produce market that has all the far Eastern veggies. Double-Yummmmmmmm. And Dim Sum restaurants galore. I'm a blessed (and chubby) woman!

kathysPix wrote:

I built a light tent awhile back, thinking that my "Stills" would immediately be winners! Yeah - Right! Didn't happen. Now... Look out, World! lolllllllll

A good investment for those perfect white backgrounds you are looking for with your light tent is to use an external light metre and get yourself a Gray Card and use it ALL the time to help with colour corrections and your white balance

hugs
Emilie

Emilie Jay wrote:

kathysPix wrote:

I built a light tent awhile back, thinking that my "Stills" would immediately be winners! Yeah - Right! Didn't happen. Now... Look out, World! lolllllllll

A good investment for those perfect white backgrounds you are looking for with your light tent is to use an external light metre and get yourself a Gray Card and use it ALL the time to help with colour corrections and your white balance

Oh. oh. You may have hit on why my images didn't come out "perfect". I didn't know I was looking for perfect "white backgrounds" with my light tent. I thought it was just a frame to contain and light up my still-life subjects. lollll Lord, I am so technically-deficit! lollllllllllllllllll :oops: Kat

kathysPix wrote:

Emilie Jay wrote:

kathysPix wrote:

I built a light tent awhile back, thinking that my "Stills" would immediately be winners! Yeah - Right! Didn't happen. Now... Look out, World! lolllllllll

A good investment for those perfect white backgrounds you are looking for with your light tent is to use an external light metre and get yourself a Gray Card and use it ALL the time to help with colour corrections and your white balance

Oh. oh. You may have hit on why my images didn't come out "perfect". I didn't know I was looking for perfect "white backgrounds" with my light tent. I thought it was just a frame to contain and light up my still-life subjects. lollll Lord, I am so technically-deficit! lollllllllllllllllll :oops: Kat

Maybe I miss understood from your earlier comment. I guess I assumed you were looking for or working with a white background. Either way a light metre and Gray Card is something you should have regardless of what colour background you have. Light metre is a heavy investment so I would start off learning to use the Gray Card. You can get them at most photography shops. This alone will do wonders for your images.

hugs
Emilie

Actually, I was so enamoured with the black background stuff, that it was my main focus (so to speak.) But, something against white is cool too. Soooooooooooooo... over the next few months, I will attempt to attain "The Look" with both backgrounds.

I can't wait to see what you achieve. I am looking forward to your work

hugs
Emilie