Which one of these should I put on our Farm Web site?

[MiFleur]

Yesterday I made a delivery of 50 lbs of garlic to a local co-op, While waiting the dock to clear, I opened the trunk of the car and took of few shots of my cargo.


1

130214_8919 Garlic by MiFleur, Back to normal, on Flickr

2 on this one I wanted the shallow DOF, but it is too blurry... May be I should have increased the shutter speed, I had plenty of light

130214_8914 Garlic by MiFleur, Back to normal, on Flickr

3

130214_8906 Garlic Bulb by MiFleur, Back to normal, on Flickr

4

130214_8897 50 lbs of Garlic delivered by MiFleur, Back to normal, on Flickr

Which one of these should I put on our Farm Web site, to sell the garlic we have?

To refer to another thread, I know that these are on the dark side, but my originals are well exposed, this is just my choice to make them appear darker to create a mood.

 

[ceejtank]

I'm a fan of 3 and 4.

My parents have a farm, not a garlic farm. Garlic farming is TOUGH work. Alll the power to ya man. keep at it.

 

[Designer]

Do you have some that don't have little black spots on them? I presume you don't have any that are braided, but maybe you should, just for a picture.

I like the light in #4 the best, but there are so many bulbs that they sort of run together.

 

[Blitz55]

Number 4 for me seems the best.

 

[Mully]

My vote would be #1 or #4 but my wife who grows garlic likes #3 as well

 

[.SimO.]

#4

 

[snowbear123 54]

#4, then #1.

 

[RobN185]

No doubt for me #4.
Possibly mirrored to put the focus slightly to the right ?

 

[ATVrider43]

#4

 

[texkam]

For your stated purpose, #4 no question.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

I like 1

 

[Amocholes]

#4

 

[ceeboy14]

Four

 

[tirediron]

If you're going to put a picture on your farm's website, assumedly to showcase the product, why use an image that was really little more than a snapshot? Assuming you have no shortage of product and can recreate these images as required, take a couple of hours and produce a shot which shows the product to best advantage.

#1 really only has one full bulb visible, and parts of two others in focus. There's alos a large empty space upper right which is rather distracting. In #2 there's almost nothing in focus, and while it's kind of a cool artsy shot, as a product shot, it doesn't cut it. #3 has potential, but the bulb is dirty, and the outer skin is starting to peel. The lighting is also uneven and unflattering. #4 is, IMO, the best of the lot, but still suffers from uneven lighting, and distribution within the frame.

My suggestion: Start by taking the required number of bulbs plus a few extra (I have NO idea how many that actually is) and clean them all carefully, use a moderately stiff paintbrush to remove all dust and grime, and maybe even a very slightly damp cloth, and ensure that the outer skin is in good shape, or if it is peeling, then it is peeling attractively. Make sure that the rootlets are clean and dirt-free. I would also think about including some with the stocks as I think that imparts more of a 'fresh, just harvested' look rather than the trimmed and prepared look. If you do incorporate that, then some nice, clean topsoil might work well into the scene too.

Arrange the bulbs in a nice, random pattern such as #4, taking care to avoid any "empty" areas such as the left background. Light fairly evenly, but not quite flat, and include something to provide a scale. As-is, I have no idea whether this is elephant garlic, miniature garlic, or what... you could have them cascading out of a wooden vegetable flat or on/around an antique scale... that sort of thing. Shoot relatively wide and short to get lots of fore and mid-ground DoF and allow a gentle focus fade from far mid to background.

 

[MiFleur]

If you're going to put a picture on your farm's website, assumedly to showcase the product, why use an image that was really little more than a snapshot? Assuming you have no shortage of product and can recreate these images as required, take a couple of hours and produce a shot which shows the product to best advantage.

#1 really only has one full bulb visible, and parts of two others in focus. There's alos a large empty space upper right which is rather distracting. In #2 there's almost nothing in focus, and while it's kind of a cool artsy shot, as a product shot, it doesn't cut it. #3 has potential, but the bulb is dirty, and the outer skin is starting to peel. The lighting is also uneven and unflattering. #4 is, IMO, the best of the lot, but still suffers from uneven lighting, and distribution within the frame.

My suggestion: Start by taking the required number of bulbs plus a few extra (I have NO idea how many that actually is) and clean them all carefully, use a moderately stiff paintbrush to remove all dust and grime, and maybe even a very slightly damp cloth, and ensure that the outer skin is in good shape, or if it is peeling, then it is peeling attractively. Make sure that the rootlets are clean and dirt-free. I would also think about including some with the stocks as I think that imparts more of a 'fresh, just harvested' look rather than the trimmed and prepared look. If you do incorporate that, then some nice, clean topsoil might work well into the scene too.

Arrange the bulbs in a nice, random pattern such as #4, taking care to avoid any "empty" areas such as the left background. Light fairly evenly, but not quite flat, and include something to provide a scale. As-is, I have no idea whether this is elephant garlic, miniature garlic, or what... you could have them cascading out of a wooden vegetable flat or on/around an antique scale... that sort of thing. Shoot relatively wide and short to get lots of fore and mid-ground DoF and allow a gentle focus fade from far mid to background.

These are very good suggestions, much appreciated, I have no antique looking scales, but I get the idea of setting a mood by adding an accent and some point of reference to see if ours are huge or tiny.
Even lighting, Ok got that!
I liked the earthy look. Thanks for your input, maybe lots of customers will not and prefer the "clean look" but our farm is organic, so I think I need to go halfway between clean and earthy.
For the stalks shots, that will need to wait till next season.

You were very helpful, it gives me a clear image of what I should do,
thank you very much