PHOTO Composition of lighting

Image is located here. 


I tend to get this same rejection on almost every single studio shot I submit.  I thought I could troubleshoot it myself, but with another set of studio shots rejected, I figured it was time to reach out and see what the community has to say.  I am pretty new to stock (have about 48 images in my portfolio so far) thus I have quite a bit to learn.


The shot was setup as follows:


I utilized two off camera flashes - one camera left and one camera right shot through umbrellas on light stands.  Both were above the subject and balanced in a 2:1 ratio.  The shot was done on white seamless 


Shot at 1/10 sec f/16 ISO 200.  White balance and some spot removal on the subject to get rid of blemishes was conducted in post.


Thanks for anyones help!


 


The rejection is as follows:


We regret to inform you that we cannot accept your submission, entitled Yellow measuring cup on white from above (https://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/22794275/2/stock-photo-22794275-yellow-measuring-cup-on-white-from-above.jpg) for addition to the iStockphoto library for the following reasons:

We found the overall composition of this file's lighting could be improved. Some of the technical aspects that can all limit the usefulness of a file are:

-Flat/dull colors
-Direct on-camera flash and/or flash fall-off (bright subject, dark background)
-Harsh lighting with blown-out highlights that lack details and/or distracting shadows
- Distracting lens flares
-Incorrect white balance

For information about iStock lighting standards please see: 
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=524

For more information on iStock Lighting Standards, please see:
http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_2.2_lighting.php

Related Articles: 
Lighting and Shadows:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=46
Setting up your own home studio:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=14  
Custom White Balance:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=95

Decent Exposure:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=40

If you require further explanation regarding this rejection, please visit our critique forum for immediate peer to peer feedback.  To visit the critique forum please see:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_threads.php?forumid=26

(Edited on 2013-01-15 13:13:58 by OliverJW)

For an "on white" product style shot like this, we generally expect the white to be almost all perfectly white, except for some naturally-occurring shadow, and for the product itself to be well-lit (here the item is underexposed).

Moodier or more dramatic lighting is of course okay, but often doesn't work on a plain white background which just ends up looking dingy. I would suggest aiming for a brighter cleaner look when shooting on white, and aiming for a different or more environmental background when aiming to create atmosphere with the lighting.

Thanks donald_gruener!  That already helps a lot and I will implement your advice the next time I do a studio shot.  It helps to explain why some of the files I submitted when lighting similarly were accepted as they were all environmental.  Thanks for your help!

I did a really quick tweaking using levels and dragging the right slider to get a pure white background, and then made a selection around the shadow itself to remove that as well. It's not perfect but just to give you an idea. Also, try shooting at the lowest ISO whenever possible - since there is some artifacting in the photo.


To isolate shots on a pure white background it is helpful to put at least 1 light on the backdrop itself to blow it out... makes the post processing much easier.





 

(Edited on 2013-01-16 17:56:02 by tovfla)

Wow!  Thanks Tovfla for the editing and the advice.  I will be adjusting my lighting setup to today and reshooting the measuring cup to see if I can get better results by directly lighting the background and using a reflector to provide fill instead.  It is massively helpful to see where I should be aiming when isolating subjects against a white background.  I tend to underexpose my images slightly and my editing process can exaggerate this problem as well.  I will try to be more careful in the future.


Thanks again for the advice!