Ok I've been racking my brains for February's calender contest....and came up with these...Searched high and low for these stupid nasty candies...they're hard to find after Valentines Day and took probably about 60 pictures...using different lighting, etc... These are my 2 favorites out of alot of bad ones, so as usual I'm asking for honest opinions of these....do they work? How can I improve them? Should I forget about entering this month :~P.

Here's the second image for you to pick apart.

I pretty much gave up on February myself. (I think)Valentine's Day is international enough for this group? I like the pretty colors, especially in #2.

Yes, two is my favourite...you can really make out the texture of the candy in that one. Misha, gave up!? After that wonderful entry last month? I was looking foward to seeing what you would think up! Oh well... ;-)>

I like the idea you have here :) The 2nd is my favorite for all of the reasons posted above.

Oh man this is a tuffie. I like the second one also but I also like the first. Is there some way to combine them both? Perhaps I'm just hungry? One thing I thought of is to retake say the second photo but clearly show what the candy says also there should be at least one "negative" candy in each pack. For example mine has a candy that says "No Way" or you could use a candy that says fax me or something. i do think you are of to a great start. Have you considered using chocolate candies and perhaps biting through one of them? OK I made up my mind. I like the second one the best! Bsteph

Good ideas from bsteph, but if I tried that there would be no candies left (no self control) I've changed my mind, I actually think I like the first one better on another review of these images...

LOL! Bsteph I like your ideas but like PC I have no self control....chocolate disappears into my mouth as soon as I see it! I don't like these heart thingies so I still have a whole bag left, just have to hide them from the kids. I like the second one for the colors...but I like the lighting on the first one. I tried merging two images together but I didn't care for it all that much. I could try picking all the pretty colors out and rearranging them by hand, but I pretty damn sick of these things already! Maybe tomorrow I'll try some more. :~)

I think I like the first one better, it really give the impression of a mountain with goodies. In Sweden we don't have this kind of candy. But Valentines day comes more and more here too.

I'd go for the first one, everyone is so stuck on texture!! I like the softness for a Valentines idea, & I like the way the words are faded out except "yes dear" ; D

I like the first one best because of the lighting. Makes the image seem softer. I also like it better because the scene seems "fuller". I agree with bsteph that more of the candies should have their slogans showing. And yeah, those really are some nasty candies. Hard as diamonds. Chalky. And the slogans are dumb. But it's a good symbol of Valentine's Day. It's amazing what we do in the name of tradition!

I like the first one, clean and good lighting. But yeah, I agree, some candy words should show. (*

oh, ditto..... I agree with those about the First but is too lazy to type it all out - oh, actually, I've probably just typed as much typing that..and more if you include that second bit and this bit... d'oh!!! (",)

I love the idea Michele! Nice =) Have you spend any time on sorting out those with a valentine-ish text, and put those up front a bit ? I'm sure that with more readable-text it will be a winner! =) (I mean, not showing words like 'love' or something would be a missed opportunity :)

My "studio" consisted of a kitchen counter with recessed lighting above....and one of those little halogen lamps with the flexible necks from behind. I took the image into PS. Then I copied the background layer and used the unsharp mask filter, changing the blending mode to luminosity and the layer opacity down to 50%. An adjustment layer for saturation to boost the colors a bit. And another background layer to play with lighting effects, which may be why the shadows are confusing you...I added a directional light from the lower left corner to brighten that end up somewhat because I felt it was too dark. PS...I was really lazy and just tossed these babies around, didn't bother sorting out text and stuff. I could try.....just that I know I'll never be able to duplicate this image exactly again.

mmmmmm mmmm, pills, yummy yummy pills... err, I mean, WHAT UIS THE MEANING OF THIS??!?!?

Valentine candy. Sigh. I don't know what's wrong with you people. 1. To really enjoy them pick out the negative ones. And save them for later. 2. RE:Their hardness. Let's face it. The candies taste as artifical as their colors. There is probably plenty of preservative present. Plus they are probably 5 years old when you bought them. To resolve this problem. Open the package and place the candies in the refrigerator for a few days. This lets them soften up. Now you can eat them to you HEARTS content!!!! UMMMM. Yummy!!!! :-) > ( Yes I like my candies this way. It's not an acquired taste. IT'S A WAY OF LIFE ) :-) > Bsteph

LOL! Well I'll tell ya what...when I'm done you can have the whole bag! I bought like a whole pound of these things from an old fashion candy store (remember penny candy when they were actually a penny).....scooped 'em out of a big glass jar with a spoon. :~)

So many missed threads to follow, and so short comments on my behalf... :)

The second is my favourite as it omits a very strong high-key background (as in the first pic), and leaves me alone to enjoy the colors, textures, and shapes without being distracted.
Also, the shallow DOF and the blurred parts work better for the overall composition of the image in the second one.
Beautiful shot...

RE: Buying the candy from a jar at a candy store. So, I wonder how much extra they would've charged if you'd told the sales person that you only wanted ones with positive sounding slogans on them? :-)