Reshooting, any better?

[momo3boys]

I am shooting pictures for a book. These pictures are going to be thumbnails but I really want them to be the best they can be. I shot this first one without checking my ISO. A really bad idea with my D200.. So I am re shooting and including a picture from my phone of how I am shooting. I would love some advice on how to get this shot better.

The theme of the shoot is decisions. Some decisions are hard, like picking a car or a new camera, some are easier like picking which M&M to eat.

Here is the shoot from today. Light box (my SAD light), no flash. my new 28mm 2.8 lens.

Here's the product. My first thought is the DOF is too small. I only touched it up a little in PSE.

Any advice on how to improve it more would be appreciated. And yes, I payed my 'patient' model in M&Ms.

 

[DiskoJoe]

next time use a tripod.

 

[momo3boys]

Can you see any blur from camera shake? I was taught that as long as you are over 90 you can do it handheld..

 

[DiskoJoe]

Not in the reshoot. But for product shots it is easier if you use one due to having to take multiple pictures. This way you can focus on other things and have the camera in a fixed location. The light you are using is causing unnatural glar on the candies. The triple dot. Try reflecting the light off something.

 

[MTVision]

Can you see any blur from camera shake? I was taught that as long as you are over 90 you can do it handheld..

Maybe a tripod would help because it would let you use a smaller aperture. I'm not on my computer so I can't check exif - so I don't know what your settings were. But, there isn't much distance between you and your subject so the DOF is going to be smaller - even with smaller apertures.
But then again - I don't always know what I'm talking about. Love the concept though!

 

[pgriz]

A good reason to use the tripod is to preserve the camera position. For instance, you get the shot properly setup and lit, take the shot, download it to your PC, check the histogram, sharpness, etc., and then go back to the camera and make whatever adjustments are necessary. If you're shooting handheld, it's tougher to get the exact same position.

 

[KmH]

Use a gray card so you can set the white balance so the sheet isn't pink, iron the sheet, have the model clean under their fingernail?

 

[momo3boys]

Thanks everyone. I have one more bag of M&Ms before I have to get more, so hopefully I'll get it right this time. I'll set up the tripod, (I need to for another experiment anyway), I'll try and see what I can reflect the light off, (any ideas?) and I'll find a white sheet that will iron flat. (I figured I could just whiten it in PSE but I really should do it right in camera, its muslin, so that explains the pinkish tint)

I didn't even notice the triple dot until you said something, thanks DiskoJoe!