Will drop pants for C&C (two versions of the same image)

Necronomicon

I'd appreciate thoughts on these two images and ultimately which is the stronger of the two. There isn't a lot done to the first image; brightening shadows, a little contrast boost, and a slight desaturation because the orange was a bit too intense. While I was happy with the execution, I wasn't happy that the drop of milk disappears against the white of the cup. With that in mind, I made a second version of the image where I darkened the white of the cup, and I boosted the brightness and contrast of the milk drop.

I want the latter to be the image I keep, because I think that the milk drop stands out better in it. Only part of me is worried that it now looks unatural and that the manipulation is too overt. Any thoughts/advice?

ScumLord

I think the milk drop does look too white and almost looks like it was hand drawn in.

The milk drop is picking up colour from the brown tea and when you take that out it looks unnatural. If possible I'd say the best course of action would be to retake the picture with a different coloured cup, or maybe change the colour of the inside of the cup slightly to maybe a cream colour.

FoxT

...or reshoot & try a polariser to reduce reflections from the surface of the tea? That looks a bit unnatural to me Im afraid....(even though, it is, of course natural!)

Necronomicon

Good idea, though unfortunately I don't have one for that diameter. You don't happen to have a 77mm polariser no??

FoxT

fraid not....72mm I think.

pearljamfan

i know how long it probably took you to get the drop, but id reshoot it as well, i like the colours of the cup and the background, just the colour of the drink looks odd, and the retouched one looks overly odd , maybe you could do it with black coffee?? also, i think the crop is too tight on the right hand side.

Necronomicon

I am toying with the idea of reshooting. But even if I used black coffee, I'd have to get the shot perfectly executed in the first drop because it'll start turning brown as soon as the first one hits.

The other issue with reshooting is that I'm fond of the blue cup against the orange background. If I went with a different cup I think I'd lose that, unless I found a similarly complimentary background. Besides, most cups have white insides so it'd be hard to find one that wouldn't hide the milk drop.

I think the first thing I'll do is go back to the RAW file of the first shot, leave the milk drop alone and try to darken the white of the cup a little more.

thyme

Just a thought, but more tea in the cup retake the shot from a lower angle , then the milk drop will stand out against the orange backdrop, and you will still see the tea in the cup.

Necronomicon

thyme wrote: »

Just a thought, but more tea in the cup retake the shot from a lower angle , then the milk drop will stand out against the orange backdrop, and you will still see the tea in the cup.

Huh, that might be a very good idea!

thyme

Necronomicon wrote: »

Huh, that might be a very good idea!

If you retake the shot, adjust the lighting so you dont get the washed-out look on the left side of the cup and the inside on the right, and it will eliminate the shadows underneath the cup.And in turn should help the milk drop stand out more.