Question For Everyone

[Jovial]

So I have been lurking around on the forums for a long time now and contributed a year or two ago showing my work but never really spoke up about anything. I have been laid off for awhile now and finally got my workshop setup again for my leather and have been reading the forums far more obsessively. I have been doing a bunch of video tutorials and write-up for friends and figured I would poll around here to see if anyone would be interested in what meager knowledge I can share.

I have been using a digital SLR camera and Adobe creative suites for years now and while I am not a pro I figure I could share something. Would anyone like a tutorial on anything particular concerning the photography of your leather and/or the software?

I use the Adobe programs exclusively but as far as the photo editing (Photoshop) is concerned the knowledge is easily transfered to the open source (free) equivalent software Gimp.

Just let me know if anyone would like me to give it a shot and I'll whip something together according to what everyone would like to see. If the tutorials wind up blowing chunks and not help anyone then let me know when we come to that and I can just let someone else more qualified do it.

Time to grab some more coffee!

-Jesse

[Billsotx]

I'm interested in anything you willing to post, especially in the what and how in lighting. I don't have a SLR but anything you share would probably be beneficial.

[Sylvia]

I'm interested in anything you willing to post, especially in the what and how in lighting. I don't have a SLR but anything you share would probably be beneficial.

Hi Bill:

I use a point and shoot digital camera. I find that if I am having a problem with glare, a piece of plain old kitchen wax paper (grease proof paper to you Aussies), taped over the flash diffuses the light enough to stop that problem in it's tracks. You might give that a try.

[radar67]

Hello Bill,

If you can shoot outdoors in a shade, you will get good results. Inside, a good light tent is best. A simple way to create one is to build a square PVC frame and drape a white sheet over it, leaving just the front open. Place a lamp, or clamp type light shining at an angle from the left and right side. (these two lights should cover the top and both sides in light, but not pointing inside the tent from the front). If done properly, your flash will not fire at all and the sheet diffuses the light inside the tent to keep the shadows to a minimum.

[Pounder]

By all means, do the tutorial. Some of us out here may know leather working but don't know squat about taking good pictures or the use of Photoshop or GIMP. Any knowledge is helpful, chunks and all. I look forward to reading it.

[TwinOaks]

Please do share your tutorials! There are enough options in GIMP that since I don't use it regularly, I forget some things and the pic work takes twice as long as it should.

[Mike516]

Hello Bill,

If you can shoot outdoors in a shade, you will get good results. Inside, a good light tent is best. A simple way to create one is to build a square PVC frame and drape a white sheet over it, leaving just the front open. Place a lamp, or clamp type light shining at an angle from the left and right side. (these two lights should cover the top and both sides in light, but not pointing inside the tent from the front). If done properly, your flash will not fire at all and the sheet diffuses the light inside the tent to keep the shadows to a minimum.

I use something like this for taking pics of small objects like jewelry, old cameras, etc. http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent that is what I made. It's not very durable, but it works. My next one will be made out of pvc, as Radar suggests.

It makes life a lot easier to get indoor pics with no glare and they look pretty professional. I started using daylight bulbs in the lamps, and the light is so much better with them than regular bulbs. If the top of your tent is square, you can get away with one light shining in from the top, but one on each side looks better. Just my two cents

[DoubleC]

OMG, I take the worst pictures in the world and just YESTERDAY took my old digital with me to my voc counselor meeting and I had someone else use it so I could see if I needed a tripod only or a new camera AND tripod (very shaky hands) and I have been on this forum months and never noticed this specialty. As you see I'm however the queen of run-on sentences. I feel like a light bulb went off, pun intended. I have two bazillion questions.

[DoubleC]

OK, read and bookmarked the light box. How easy is that setup? And I have a desk lamp already so just need to pick up the paper and the full spectrum light bulb.

[dochertyinbc]

Whatever lights you choose to use, adjust the white balance settings appropriately. You can do it with your camera, including most point & shoots, or you can adjust it with more advanced post-production software. This is a great start to accurate colour and detail reproduction.