Lighting and Still Life.

I explored some side lighting this week for week four of my Still Life studies. The above shot was a test shot with my Olympus OMD M5 to see if I could make it work in a still life situation.

The answer is yes.

I shot these on a plastic tub with a white sheet thrown on top of it.  The tub is full of things that we are temporarily storing due to the upcoming remodel of our house.  I layered a photo of cracked paint over it and the lettering.

Here is a shot with my Nikon D5200.

Original

I like the harsh shadows created in this shot and the coffee cup handle.  I'm pretty sure that I won't do a white sheet again as this one has nice wrinkles in it but the lines show up in a disturbing way.
So I decided to try some layering.

Icky!  This layer just makes the sheet look dirty and cast a yellowish shadow over everything.

So onward.  

Better but the sheet still takes away from this shot.

One more edit to take the eyes away from that?

Better, but I should have changed things up for this shot.  I say "DO over!"

While studying light and side lighting, we were to try diffused lighting also. So I set my little .10 cent birdy up on the dresser near the window and dropped a gauzy shower curtain over the window.

I went for the black backround and bottom.  I used a black poster board and curved it so the subject sat with total black around it.

I took a few shots [Nikon D5200].  And I really like this.  It doesn't follow the rule of thirds nor is there a limited depth of focus, but I wanted everything to be in focus this week.  

Bucking the lesson, so to speak.

Yes!  I like this!

I saw no reason to change a thing.  I like the diffused light, I like the white on black, I like the subtle shades of pink, the reflection in the glass dish, and the starkness of the image.

For me? Perfect!