i've done photography exhibitions and had modest success with photography

your sense of composition and balance is very good

that photo is under exposed. make your aperture wider (smaller f number like 2.8) or set your shutterspeed slower to let more light in.

play with this curves tool in your image editor to get better tonality (contrast) as yours is a little flat

try auto color settings and then maybe some kodak portra nc filters for darkroom or vsco. don't overuse them.

edit: also you should largely be composing with shadows in mind.

This is not the place to teach you photography, as while the basics are not complicated, it would be quite a long post :)

I can tell you now though, this image's two main (technical) problems, are underexposure, and poor lighting.

You need to make the image a bit brighter. While this can be done in post production, it is always better to get this right in camera, as brightening an underexposed image in post will always increase noise. Either use a slower shutter speed, or widen the lens aperture. Even with a digital image.... getting in correct in camera is the best way.

You appear to be using one light source, from the left, and it is fairly hard, meaning it is a small light source that casts hard shadows. That in itself isn't necessarily bad, but it does give a contrasty image with forbidding shadows. You can decrease this contrast by using a larger light source, but the easiest remedy is to use a reflector (a large piece of white card is ideal) to the right of the set to bounce some light back in. You could also add a second light, but be careful here, as a second light will also add a second set of shadows. It is often best to manage contrast using a reflector, or adjusting the size of the main (key) light before you add more light sources. Altering the size is best done by using a diffuser such as tracing paper in front of the light. The bigger the diffuser, the softer the light. Also the direction the light is coming from can be changed to alter the mood of the image. This hard light source from the set's 10 o'clock position lends it a fairly sinister feel with just one light and the deep shadows.... as if a bedroom door has been opened at night.. you almost expect the shadow of an axe wielding psycho to move across the desk. :) Consider mood, and feel... these are not technical matters, but something to consider. It's the 'meaning' of an image that is often most difficult to teach rather than the technical aspects.

Be aware though, with exposure adjustment, while you can use either shutter speed, or aperture to adjust it, the two are related, and each have their own affect. Depth of field is the one you need to be concerned about, and this is adjusted by aperture. Basically a small aperture number such as f1.8 (larger physical aperture) will mean that objects behind, and in front of what you focused on will be more blurred, and a larger aperture number such as f22 (smaller physical aperture) will allow more front to back sharpness. Look at that pair of milky yellow switches in the foreground.... see how they are blurred? If you used a really small aperture of f22, they may have been sharp. If you used a much wider aperture of say f1.8, they would be even more blurred. When you adjust aperture though, you need to also adjust shutter speed to compensate and maintain the same exposure. This is called reciprocity law and something you may want to research. If are using an auto exposure mode though, which you probably are, the camera will sort this out for you, so at this stage don't worry too much. I've no idea what you do, or do not understand at this point. Just remember depth of field is a product of aperture, so with a still life image like this, adjusting shutter speed would be preferable, so as to not change your depth of field. With auto exposure cameras though, you often don't get to choose which of these aspects to control, so again, without knowing what you are using to shoot the image I can only give general advice. Be careful you don't overdo the whole shallow depth of field thing though.

There's a lot that could be discussed at this point, but until I know what level you are at, and what you are using to create the shot, it would be difficult to give any more advice.

Keep the set clean. You will be shocked at how much dust is there when you zoom into a shot.

I hope this helps.

David

BA (Hons), MA, FRPS

The thing I love most about this sub is on display in the comments.

We all knew that this isn't the place to ask that, but kind folks have great advice rather than a dozen rude, unhelpful comments and insults.

I've had a really, really tough year, mental health wise, and this sub usually helps to remind me that we can be supportive and kind to each other as humans.

Thank you all.

close the aperture down so you can get the whole board in focus. f6.3 or f8 maybe.

use a tripod, so you can use slower shutter speed to make up for the loss of light.

diffuse the light source, so you can get softer shadows.

my 0.02

Thanks everyone! I pulled out my tripod, cleaned the desk more, cranked up the aperture, extended the exposure time and decreased the harsh lighting! Unfortunately I wasn't able to diffuse the light more since I'm on my desk and is just using a lamp.

Any tips on lighting, props and camera angle will be greatly appreciated.

Not a photographer but the image needs to be brighter. The gray keycap area specifically should have a light shining on it.

• Clean up everything thoroughly (I can see plenty of dust and a least one hair), then after that clean up again, and again, and again.

• Diffuse your light. Diffuse your light. Diffuse your light! You can use tracing paper (several layers), white transluent plastic bags, bubble wrap roll, packaging foam (the translucent one), etc. Place it between your light source and the scene. Be cheap, recycle, don't buy costly diffuser screens. An old plastic bag can do wonders.

• Bounce the diffused light with a reflector (oposite side of the scene). It can be a white sheet of paper, a polystyrene plate, mylar emergency blanket (crumpled), etc. And/or use a second diffused light source.

• Don't go crazy with your aperture. Full open is seductive (so much bluuuuuuuuuuur)... But you'll have way less focus/optical problems if you close your aperture one or two stops (for example: for an optic at 1.8 full open I'll go f2.8 -> still plenty of blur, and a way better optical quality). Keep in mind your optic is at its absolute best on the middle of the aperture scale (typically between f8 and f5.6).

• On photo hardware side... Old and cheap is good. The old Nikon flash (sb-24 sb-26) you bought for 15$ at the flea market does exactly the same thing than a new modern crap (200$) in full manual mode.

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I actually think you did a great shot here with the exception of one thing: exposure. Break out the tripod, set a timer (so that you can open the shutter without your hands shaking the camera) and do a longer exposure.

Lots of advice here is assuming you dont want the shadows in their current config (I rather like them). Also, opening your aperture would make your DoF too short imo. With still shots like this, long exposures are easy to pull off.

I think the photo itself is pretty bang on, just underexposed as others have said and perhaps a bit neutral, which is personal preference