Cognac and snifters: Still life

[Willy wombat]

I have always found still life subjects a tad boring, but i feel that it is important for me to learn about it (and the lighting that goes with it) so i am forcing myself to take a few still life shots right now. Its just a matter of finding interesting topics. Given the amazingly high density of winos on D70Users' I thought you might enjoy this.

Lucky for you I took these shots after the first glass and not the third

[img]http://www.fototime.com/{9D0C8F10-EFDE-4A0A-B793-99EBC58C184F}/picture.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.fototime.com/{ADB4D249-D18A-4011-B15B-138FD84CC150}/picture.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.fototime.com/{FCCCE30D-2E00-4B55-BF90-AF04C4BDEEF7}/picture.JPG[/img]


Hennesey XO. Not a bad drop.

If you have any experience or suggestions i would appreciate it/them.

WW

[kipper]

Experience with achieving good still lifes and lighting or with Hennessy Cognac XO?

[Willy wombat]

Either would be fine kipper

[big pix]

...... you need to establish with lighting what the product is......glasses or cognac....if it is glasses then it is a nice pix that needs some cognac in the glasses......if it is cognac then the setup is wrong, as at the moment the glasses are the main point of focus.....

[sirhc55]

Hi Willy Wombat

So that you don’t take my critique the wrong way I must point out that I shoot wines and spirits etc for a living.

In the first shot: A different angle (slightly lower) with the XO box brought in tighter to the composition. The object on the left hand side is distracting and would be better not being there. The wooden table(!) is excellent. Lighting has to be judged better so that hot spots are not a problem. Use a diffuser and make sure the glasses are crystal clean. The front glass should be rotated 180° so that the wording is facing the viewer. Could be better with just one glass and some fine Cognac in the glass.

In the third shot the chair needs to be removed, only one glass (clean again) and the bottle closer to the glass. In liquor shots they always tend to look better in colour

Keep it going my friend - you are closer than you think

[Willy wombat]

Chris - thanks for the valuable feedback and encouragement. I guess advice from a man who does it all day long is about as good as it gets. I think my setup let me down. I only got the idea for the shoot after the first glass, so by that stage the glasses were dirty, etc.

I will give it another go soon, perhaps with scotch. Something peaty and aromatic. Laphroaig?

[christiand]

Hi Willy Wombat,

sirch55 said: you are much closer than you think.
Wash your dishes and may I suggest that Hennesy
Cognac with Remy Martin glasses don't go well together ...
Looking forward to seeing more of your work

Cheers,
CD

[Willy wombat]

Wash your dishes and may I suggest that Hennesy
Cognac with Remy Martin glasses don't go well together ...

Thanks CD.

Remy vs Hennessey - I hadnt thought about that

[sirhc55]

Laphroaig - one of my favourite drops in a crystal glass - no ice or water

[redline]

do you think that its important that the congac bottle should be completely full if it was being used as a hero or not. even if the glasses had congac in them?

[gstark]

One thing that the others haven't mentioned is your wb. It's spot on, I think, given the subject matter. Slightly warmer than one might expect to use for a normal image, the warmth is demanded by the feel of the subject matter.

Well done.