Smoke Screen (1 Viewer)

[Sigmundfries]

Hey everybody, I work at Sierra Toy Soldier Company in California and I took this for the store page yesterday. I'm relatively new to photography of any kind and I was trying to give off a chaotic "in-the-moment" kind of scene. I would like to improve my skills for later on, as I also want to do more stuff like this on my own time. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sigmundfries]

Ah, I just realized that the right-most part of the pic has been cut off when I downsized the image. Not a huge amount is missing, though the placeholder watermark is gone.

 

[ivanmoe]

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Can't offer much in the way of criticism, excepting my opinion that you've got a marvelous display there. It's certainly nicely photographed. The lighting and such do remind me of another poster's work, that of wwiibuff/Duke.

-Moe

 

[ivanmoe]

Ah, I just realized that the right-most part of the pic has been cut off when I downsized the image. Not a huge amount is missing, though the placeholder watermark is gone.

It might just be the forum interface at work. I can view the whole image by clicking on the pic, selecting copy, and then pasting the contents into the browser's address window. Looks even better whole!

-Moe

 

[Sigmundfries]

It might just be the forum interface at work. I can view the whole image by clicking on the pic, selecting copy, and then pasting the contents into the browser's address window. Looks even better whole!

-Moe

That's a huge relief, I was viewing it on my phone the first time so I couldn't be sure. Thank you very much!

 

[mikemiller1955]

this is really nicely done...especially like the ground work and tree trunks...

 

[joesgis]

Beautiful work!!

thank you for sharing,
Joe

 

[Sigmundfries]

this is really nicely done...especially like the ground work and tree trunks...

Thank you! The ground was done using dirt collected from outside, we've gotten some rain earlier in the week so it was dark enough to resemble muddy earth. The tree trunks were from W. Britain's WW1 series.

 

[Horus]

The diorama looks great ! Did you use polyester fibre cushion stuffing for the smoke screen effect ? If not what did you use ?

Steve

 

[Sigmundfries]

The diorama looks great ! Did you use polyester fibre cushion stuffing for the smoke screen effect ? If not what did you use ?

Steve

Thanks Horus! It was just two handfuls (and then some) of cotton balls that we have left over from some of our shelf displays. We have some more advanced stuff here but I decided to keep it simple {sm4}

 

[6th Wisconsin]

From a photography standpoint, there is a lot to like about this photo. The guy near the edge leads us into the frame, and there is good foreground and middle ground. One thing I like a lot about the background is that the smoke makes us imagine what is just beyond, and you have a dead/wounded soldier blending in a little with the smoke. I have seen photographers use smoke to add depth to photos before. One thing you could try and see how it works is to blend a few more figures into the smoke to break up the whiteness or add a little grey into the cotton for a darker smoke. However, that said, I like the photo a lot as you took it.

 

[Horus]

You could also use the same set up, but with figures wearing gas masks.

Steve

 

[Sigmundfries]

From a photography standpoint, there is a lot to like about this photo. The guy near the edge leads us into the frame, and there is good foreground and middle ground. One thing I like a lot about the background is that the smoke makes us imagine what is just beyond, and you have a dead/wounded soldier blending in a little with the smoke. I have seen photographers use smoke to add depth to photos before. One thing you could try and see how it works is to blend a few more figures into the smoke to break up the whiteness or add a little grey into the cotton for a darker smoke. However, that said, I like the photo a lot as you took it.

I definitely think I can add more figures in the background, even just one or two to break up all the white. The smoke itself would require some more finesse on my part, simply because it's what we keep in reserve for future shelf displays. However, seeing how well it turned out here really motivates me to try and experiment with it later down the line (as long as it's cotton I bought {sm4}).

 

[Sigmundfries]

You could also use the same set up, but with figures wearing gas masks.

Steve

That's a cool idea! Maybe paint it a sickly yellow or green to simulate mustard gas {sm2}