Guitar - second shoot

[dwaugh]

Here's the original guitar shot again: Here.

I took it out again and got about 40 more shots and could not even come close to making it look the same for some reason, so I tried something different. I sorta wish the angle was more similar to the first one, but otherwise I think this one is better with more color, more sharp, and it stands out more against the black. (My computer has been resizing/saving and lower quality lately for some reason...) Let me know what you think about this second try. I had a few others from the set that I liked too, but thought this was probably the best. I think the DOF is better than the first one too, although it's hard to get it all in focus at such an angle, close proximity, and distance needed to be covered. So I focused on the middle section at F11.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Looks like a magazine cover to me, great job. Simple but very effective.

[Frog]

Afraid I liked the first version better.
Don't know much about guitars but the white parts seem blown out to me.
Preferred the soft color and focus of the first but its personal taste.

[livin4lax09]

i like this version better. Would just want a big more DOF if possible to get the part closest to you in focus, or at least the strings in their entirety.

[GB1]

Dave -

Commenting on the composition, I think it would be more effective if the lower right part of the guitar (it's side) was exactly vertical in the shot instead of the ~ 5 degree tilt I see here. The bridge area does look blown out. I think it's possible that the lighting is too strong. The image also looks over-processed ... You can see the pixelization or ? on the face of the guitar (the orange/red areas). I think the solution would be that you would have to get the image as close to 'perfect' while shooting and try to do the absolute minimum PPing. Digital noise may also be a factor.

Regarding the sharpness, I still find it very soft (?) The DOF is technically better, maybe even too much DOF, but it is still soft overall and that is disappointing. Are you shooting digital or film and then scanning in? Try shooting 640 x ? so that you don't have to resize for the PR posting.

-GB

[jkriminger]

sorry wrong user.. under my husbands name

[JennyK]

I prefer the 1st version. The lighting on this version seems a little harsh and I like the soft color on the 1st version.

[freygr]

I liked the lighting in the first version better. The lighting is too cold.

[dwaugh]

Thanks for all the comments. I'll say now that there is some pixelization occuring when saving it as a smaller file/resizing. I'm shooting digital with my D50 in the Fine JPG mode (at 2000x3000).
I know I need to try changing the angle again to make it more like the first one, and this might also help me get better DOF. I actually did very little post processing on this shot. I think I just need to expose it to less light next time. I'm not sure how I did it the first time with the light, but I found it hard to mimic the same light pattern that I had before. I'll keep trying. I'm gonna make this work eventually.... Thanks again for the help and I'll have something new up in a few days.