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Ok, I can't believe I'm actually posting this photo, but here I go, despite all of my hesitations about actually showing this image to anyone!!

I recently entered this image in a competition called "Shoot the Chef", which some of you may be familiar with. Well, I never thought I would actually win but I thought it might - maybe, perhaps - get a comment from the judges. No such luck - I was sent a very polite "thanks but no thanks and good luck next year" email saying I was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, there is no feedback with their rejections, so I don't really know what anyone else would think of it. Sooooo, as I'm trying to work out how the judges would have looked at it, would anyone like to (kindly, please!) give me their opinion of it, especially in the light of potential-competition material?

The competition criteria was, well, to "shoot a chef" and the blurb said they were looking for "off-beat and quirky", which I kind of thought was answered in this image of my (professional) chef friend and a model who was willing to lie there and pose for us. And before anyone asks, she was wearing a g-string!

Can you guys (meaning gals too) give me some tips and opinions? Please - be gentle!!

Thanks

Nikkofan

I like it, definitely is a little quirky and well gave me flash backs of Silence of the Lambs.

I actually had well not a similar theme, but a rather confronting artwork for my year 10 work at school. I was the only one to use photograhpy to document my artwork, and incorporate myself in it to make it performance art. Unfortunately the photo's were not "that great" but my teacher loved it for its orginality... I might dig them up and post some next time I visit my parents..

Ok some more actualy input on the photo (sorry got sidetracked).
I think if you could of achieved a more defined shadow of the chief and the knife (on the wall) it would of made for a great affect. However as your dealing with at least two in photo light sources, plus whatever else you were using to illuminate him from above my guess is this would of been really hard to pull off. I also wonder if a tight crop in portrait would not have achieved a more menacing effect (perhaps that wasn't what you were after). But I think balance wise having the guy "standing over her more" would of created a better sense of his control over her. (I could just be talking out my arse here..) If you want, I can try to crop it as I am poorly describing to try and show you..

Your last sentence sounds a bit 'Silence of the lambs' I hope you were referring to your photos

Alpha_7 wrote:I like it, definitely is a little quirky and well gave me flash backs of Silence of the Lambs.

I actually had well not a similar theme, but a rather confronting artwork for my year 10 work at school. I was the only one to use photograhpy to document my artwork, and incorporate myself in it to make it performance art. Unfortunately the photo's were not "that great" but my teacher loved it for its orginality... I might dig them up and post some next time I visit my parents..

it's very provoctive, conceptually it works, would someone slap me if i said it was sadistic in nature? no offence indended
but i think the female audience may have a problem swallowing it.

Congratulations on being bold enough to post it.

To improve the shot maybe light the scene up more so you see more of the woman, sex sells these days.

wendellt wrote:it's very provoctive, conceptually it works, would someone slap me if i said it was sadistic in nature? no offence indended
but i think the female audience may have a problem swallowing it.

Congratulations on being bold enough to post it.

To improve the shot maybe light the scene up more so you see more of the woman, sex sells these days.

I'd personally do the reverse and remove some the addition lighting, for me at least shots like this are improved through less light, more dark, dangerous and sexy.

But hey some do it with the lights on, some with them off I don't think anyone's going to slap you for the sadistic comment.. why wifes sole comment was "I didn't like it, as much as I didn't like your artwork"


Peter : I was refering to my photo's not my parents, they are still above ground

Hey, I'm really sorry if anyone finds it offensive. I didn't think anyone would, as the (few) females I've shown it to have laughed (including the lady at Fairfax who I submitted my entry to) and said they thought it was great! And the model was a really good sport and said she didn't mind the shot at all. There was truly no intent to make it look sadistic or offensive, I was just trying to meet the "off-beat and quirky" criteria. Last year's winner was a picture of a well-known Sydney chef sitting in a boat, so I thought my image might grab their attention by fulfilling their "quirky" request, but unfortunately not!

Nikkofan wrote:Hey, I'm really sorry if anyone finds it offensive. I didn't think anyone would, as the (few) females I've shown it to have laughed (including the lady at Fairfax who I submitted my entry to) and said they thought it was great! And the model was a really good sport and said she didn't mind the shot at all. There was truly no intent to make it look sadistic or offensive, I was just trying to meet the "off-beat and quirky" criteria. Last year's winner was a picture of a well-known Sydney chef sitting in a boat, so I thought my image might grab their attention by fulfilling their "quirky" request, but unfortunately not!

And you did it! well done!
It is very quirky and daring, have you seen the foreign film 'delicatessen'
by Piere Jeunet & caro?
your photograph reminds me of that delightfully witty movie

Nikkonfan, I hope you aren't reacting to any of my rambling posts, I think the shot is great, and by no means think that saddistic is a bad thing I think you consider the competitions critera and did a damn good job at addressing them in an artful way. There is sometimes a fine line between provocative and keeping things tasteful, but personally for me your well within the line. But other's peoples views are different... and their entitled to their opinions, I was actually waiting to see if someone brought up the whole "a women is a piece of meat", as it's pretty literal in this case

Actually, I shouldn't (probably) say this, but one person did say to me "you can tell she's a blonde, considering she's lying on a table, covered with vegetables and meat-cut marks and saying "what's for dinner, darling?" when there's a sign in front of her saying "rump"!! And, BTW, I'm a blonde myself, so I can say this!

Marcus I this what you have been up to.

Very interesting, very interesting.

Mic

Very ”Juicy Lucy” - would love to see what won the comp as your shot meets the criteria specified

Actually I think it might have worked better with a closer crop showing just the man and the womans rump.

I tend agree with a lot of the peoples comments so far. Would like more thought out shadows. Think they need to be to the right and down low and fairly close. Think of cartoons with the little mouse and the giant silhouette on the wall.
I'd also like to see (dont think the resize for web helps) the meat segment markings on the girl more clearly. I think the chef actually in the process of sharpening would look better than him rubbing the finger over the blade.
Plus you needed to get Leigh to put some fake blood on the blade and down the chefs white shirt

G'day Nikkofan,
Unusual and creative idea and execution(?)... Just trying to think of ideas (ie: rambling)... Maybe a tighter crop (maybe portrait?) without the surrounds centered more on the rump and the chef with the knife maybe? The blurred knife also seems to lessen the sense of the knife's edge/sharpness...

Great idea, creative and different...

Ok, I personnally like this shot but I would not have put it up for this competition. I just think it's a bit too "politically un-correct" to stand a chance in a mainstream competition... It also reminds me of those pics of men eating sushis on the naked body of a woman in a Japanese restaurant, it didn't go down well in Australia.

Maybe inverting the cliches - putting the chef naked on the dish and the model as the cook - would have improved your chance

Anyway I already find it funny as it is, thanks for posting

Link.

Hey there Nikkofan... some good thought put into this composition !!!

As link suggests it might be a little much for a mainstream competition... would be interesting for you to see any winning entries for comparison to check this theory. Let me tell you though... it's very tame compared to some things I've worked on.

As for suggestions for improvement... depends on what you were going for. I think I'd have liked to try for a more cartoonish image with the chef holding a really big knife and with a strong shadow showing him and the knife. Only other possible changes might be a little more selective with the lighting and maybe have her lose the shoes as they get lost in the darker end of the image (although that might be as much a contrast issue on my screen here).

Basically though I think you've done a great job.

Michael.

Well my first reaction upon seeing the pic the first time was a chuckle. It's a great 'fun' pic, and I don't know why the judges gave it a miss as I certainly thought it fitted the criteria, however with these comps there's no telling what hidden biases or agendas the judges have, so don't beat yourself up over it. You almost have to have insider information as to what the judges are REALLY looking for as opposed to what theme or idea suggestion they set to do well in them IMHO...

Hi again and thanks everybody

Craig - I'd love to see your artwork photos when you find them and, sure, if you want to try cropping out the image, go ahead. If anyone else wants to play with this one, please do. I'm interested to see different perspectives.

Wendell - thanks for the comments. No, I haven't seen 'delicatessen' - but I think I will now - maybe more ideas for next year's Shoot the Chef (ha ha)?

mic wrote:Marcus I this what you have been up to.

Very interesting, very interesting.

Mic - sorry, you've completely lost me!

sirhc55 wrote:Very ”Juicy Lucy” - would love to see what won the comp as your shot meets the criteria specified

Yep, me too, and I'm going in to the Art Gallery to see the finalists, when they're up there, out of curiousity to see what the judges preferences were.

Oneputt wrote:Actually I think it might have worked better with a closer crop showing just the man and the womans rump.

Yes, I thought of that, and tried it but then it lost the whole point of it being a woman and the shot lost the humour/shock/sex/quirk appeal and it could have been anything lying there.

kipper wrote:Would like more thought out shadows. Think they need to be to the right and down low and fairly close. Think of cartoons with the little mouse and the giant silhouette on the wall.

Plus you needed to get Leigh to put some fake blood on the blade and down the chefs white shirt

Kipper - I wish I had thought of your suggestions re the shadows but how would you have done it? As for the fake blood - pass! That would have been a bit too much 'Silence of the Lambs'y for me!

Link - thank you for your comments! It was the first time that it dawned on me that maybe the image was bit too quirky for the mainstream competition, which made more sense to me (sort of) - so thanks!

Michael - there you go - I've posted again!!

I confess, this shoot was done late at night the day after I decided to enter the comp (which was 2 days before it closed!) It was very quickly arranged and I only thought of the idea of the meat-markings, etc, on the day of the shoot. It just sort of evolved the more I thought about what I could do to meet the "quirky" criteria and fortunately my friend the Chef has a sense of humour and the model was willing to give it a go. I never thought of the scenario as having any sort of "silence of the lambs" or sadistic overtones. I just tried to set up the shot so he looked slightly evil, the shot was somewhat amusing and hoped to god that I got the lighting right, which was my biggest challenge! Actually, the reason that he's standing the way he is, chin up, is because otherwise his face would have been in shadow, so I got him to lift his chin and examine the knives, under the down-light he was standing under. The candles were there to add atmosphere and to add a bit of lighting. Unfortunately, they didn't produce the shadows I had hoped, but generally, I was pretty happy with the finished product. I had it printed in 8 x 12, which really looks pretty good. The only problem is ... what am I going to do with it now?? It's not really the sort of thing you have hanging in your lounge room is it?

Anyway, thanks to everyone who responded. I really appreciate your comments and encouragement and if anyone else wants to give any tips as to how you would have done it - especially re the lighting, I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Nikkofan

wendellt wrote:i think the female audience may have a problem swallowing it.

Hmm!

On the photo front, I'd prefer to see a more front-on view of the table, gets you closer to the action so to speak; I get the feeling I'm viewing the scene from a bit far away. Great concept though, love it!

Nikkofan, I'm no expert on studio lightning so I can't really say what to use and where to place it, and what strength to put the light etc etc etc. I just know that it would have to be fairly low to the ground and close to the subject to create a large sized shadow. Your best bet would be to talk to somebody like Sheetshooter on the exact sort of setup you'd have to use for the job.

Nikkofan wrote:Michael - there you go - I've posted again!!

I'm glad you have... nice interesting post too !!!

Nikkofan wrote:It's not really the sort of thing you have hanging in your lounge room is it?

True enough... best found next door in the kitchen above the knife rack

Nikkofan wrote:Hi again and thanks everybody

Craig - I'd love to see your artwork photos when you find them and, sure, if you want to try cropping out the image, go ahead. If anyone else wants to play with this one, please do. I'm interested to see different perspectives.

Nikkofan

Well apparently my wife knows where the photo's are (hidden somewhere) So I hope to have them posted up here sometime this week.

I did have a go at cropping it, in this shot I like the menacing dark behind him.. I do think this makes it more menacing...


Perhaps this one is too tight, but I still think portrait suits it better!

Lynn, great idea and concept. I like it a lot (then again I like most things with attractive women involved). I think you concept is good and thought provoking. Like Wendell, it reminds me of Delicatessen.

In my opinion, and there are many paths so dismiss this if you choose, I feel you have deferred to the modesty of the models. I would have preferred to see you embrace the concept more fully, and take two or three steps forward and shoot it much closer. After all you have organised the set, models, concept, lets not be modest in the execution, get right in there. My minds eye sees the image with you standing 1.5 metres from the table and the image extending from the models neck or maybe head down to her knees. Confront the viewer with your great concept. It seems a little soft, most likey purposely, again I would be f8 on a tripod, so the image was sharp. You could keep the photo intimate with lighting rather than softness. I believe that would add to the strength of the concept. For a competition, one thought is the image appeared a little like it could be taken with any camera, maybe even a good amateur on set, rather than a carefully composed work of art. Don't know if that works for or against but in the likes of this comp I would say against.

Really like it and sorry you didn't get the response you were hoping.

Good luck for the next entry