Skull specimen

[gahspidy]

Here is an animal skull I had found on one of my shoots of abandoned buildings. A friend of mine who is an artist/sculptor and very talented wants it for her collections. I thought I would photograph it a bit before I give it up.
Glass on black velvet with black velvet bg.
your thoughts . . .

[Overbeyond]

Well Gary it looks so professionally photographed and I cannot think what can make it any better. Your set up is spot on because without the reflection, which seems to provide us with a little look inside the skull, the photograph may not be so enjoyable. Expertly handled.

[Greg McCary]

The backdrop, velvet and glass was a great idea. It looks magazine quality.

[Xia_Ke]

Looking good Gary Was there something in the background you cloned out? A can faintly see something squarish in the background

[Dylan8i]

only comment i could make is i'd like to see alittle more light where the reflection hits the skull.

also do you know what animal it is from? that front tooth looks rather peculiar. but a quick search yieled nothing.... would help to know the size etc. though.

[Ptax]

Great shot, Gary. I am curious as to how your got such professional quality lighting w/out any reflection off the glass.

"Anybody who says that photography is 95 percent feeling and five percent technique is a coward." - Dean Collins - Dean Collins Photographic Magzine/December 1981

[polarbeardiggers]

very nice and very professionally done without going too far and making it gross,very nice touch with the reflection and most importantly is how you never went overboard by adding things to the image,simple can be very rewarding here you show it so well,kudo's to you.

[PrevailingConditions]

Very well done. I could easily see this in a magazine or book on animals of some sort (Animal Skulls Monthly )

I like that you can't see any lines where the glass ends. The black background also works really well. You also nailed the lighting on this - nice lighting on the bright areas without being too dark in the shadows.

I am also curious what type of animal this came from. Did you try any from other directions? I'm thinking of one head-on with a shallower DOF?

Nice work as usual. Care to share the setup? Single light, multiple lights?

PC

[racedraper]

you should have wiped the dust off the glass. OOH wait... thats my monitor :thumbsup:
I like it a lot, maybe you can do series of different skulls like this. I like it

But I also noticed there a blue rectangles above and below the skull , from the flash maybe?

[gahspidy]

Thanks for the comments. The faint rectangles shape were light reflection off the back edge of the glass which I thought I eliminated but apparently was still somewhat visible on brighter monitors. I have cleaned that up and hopefully it is not visible any longer (refresh your browser if it is the same)

I have found out through researching the internet that this is a Racoon, and a young one at that. Older Racoons develop a Sagittal crest, which is a ridge that runs the length of the top of the skull, and this has none indicating it was a young Racoon. Perhaps it was taken by a predator.

As for the lighting and set up, this was fairly simple. I used a 300 watt continuous halogen head from FlashPoint in a white bounce umbrella. A 38" collapsible reflector on the other side.
Also, I have picked up a couple of poles that extend from the floor to the ceiling by ratcheting pressure and allow me to stretch a background between them by just clamping it on. I do not have alot of room in my place so the use of bg stands, which are like large lightstands with three legs extending wide, takes up a large footprint in the room. these poles are quick to set up and take down and have a very small footprint. Best part is they were 10.00 each. Thanks to member WsW-WYATT-EARP for steering me to them.
Below is a very basic diagram of the layout.

[MB1]

My only issue with this is that the centerline of the image/reflection is exactly in the center of the frame. I think this would be much stronger with more black space above the skull and perhaps less below.

Everything else about this image is top notch.

[MonkeyWrench]

Wow,

Great Shot, Thanks for sharing your setup. On this one I am just going to take notes.

[OmahaAdam]

give it a 90deg clockwise rotation and it's the perfect valentine for a paleontologist! great shot!

[GB1]

Very professional looking shot. A lot of negative space on the right side, but otherwise I don't see any way to make it better. Nice job.

G

[Ptax]

Thanks for taking the time to share your lighting set up with us. It really goes to show that while some shots just "happen", others take time, planning and work.

Ptax

"It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use." - Sam Abell, Seeing and Shooting Straight by Sam Abell

[armywife1984]

I think this picture is amazing. It is Crisp and Clean. They always say less is more and this picture definatly proves that point. Thanks for the diagram you did of how you created the picture.
Army

[gahspidy]

My only issue with this is that the centerline of the image/reflection is exactly in the center of the frame. I think this would be much stronger with more black space above the skull and perhaps less below.

Everything else about this image is top notch.

Yes, I thought that worked well too. I had tried alot of different crops and ulimately went with this 8x10 crop with the reflection/subject in centerline. I just liked the symetry it lent to the abstract effect of the reflection.
thanks for your thoughts. . .

[gahspidy]

give it a 90deg clockwise rotation and it's the perfect valentine for a paleontologist! great shot!

Thats exactly what I thought after I saw the image on the screen. I was going to make another version flipped vertically and call it "Broken Heart" lol


MonkeyWrench, thanks for the comments and hope the diagram can be helpful

[gahspidy]

GB, thanks. I did want the centerline in the middle but not the entire subject, so I left a bit more space to the front of the skull as if it were looking out into the frame. It just felt more comfortable to me that way. I appreciate your thoughts on it.

ptax . . .The set up is really simple and not very expensive as far as gear goes either. Sometimes we set up and take time and plan and still nothing:mad2: but your point is right that a little planning can help alot.
thanks for the comments.

Armywife1984. . .welcome to the forum. Yeah, less is usually more. I usually remember that after I have included too much in a scene thanks for the words.