A second attempt at still life photography

[Christie Photo]

So you would suggest a harder light source, or maybe at a steeper angle to bring out the textures?

If by "harder" you mean a greater ratio of highlight to shadow... then yes. You have a bit going on, but I think you'd like a greater ratio than what you used here. If you place your fill light in a position so it creates hardly any shadow, then you will have light covering the entire scene. This should be giving you detail in all parts of the composition.

Then add your main light (or modeling light) off axis to the camera. A good starting point is to have the main light twice as bright as your fill. Think of it this way: The fill is lighting the entire scene with one "unit" of light. If your main is twice the brightness of the fill, then it will deliver two "units" of light. The results is a total of three units of light where the main light is falling (you added two to the one provided by the fill).

So you would have a lighting ratio of 3:1. You can then adjust from there to create the ratio you wish.

AND, yes... moving the main to a place that creates shadows (greater angle) will help communicate shape and texture of your 3D scene in two dimensions.

I hope this helps.

-Pete