How To Photograph Projects

[Cogs]

I'd like some help on how to get good pictures of leather work. What would you recommend for; Lighting sources, background, positioning... bla bla bla...

I don't have a nice studio, nor a computer editing program. I can, however, resize the photo to fit on the web site and have an incondesent drop light or two.

I've struggled with a few pics and found yellow, shadows, glare and fuzzyness. (Wait, is fuzzyness a word?) :}

Please help before I throw that darn digital camera into the river!

Thanks,

Bill

[Ferg]

I'd like some help on how to get good pictures of leather work. What would you recommend for; Lighting sources, background, positioning... bla bla bla...

I don't have a nice studio, nor a computer editing program. I can, however, resize the photo to fit on the web site and have an incondesent drop light or two.

I've struggled with a few pics and found yellow, shadows, glare and fuzzyness. (Wait, is fuzzyness a word?) :}

Please help before I throw that darn digital camera into the river!

Thanks,

Bill

I think we need to know what kind of camera you have. Digital covers a lot of territory. Does it have "White Balance"? Use a tripod, those light bulbs aren't going to do you a lot of good.

If you can change the white balance on the camera move your item to the outside on a sunny day if you can find one. Do not photograph with the sun shining directly on the object, use the brightness of the natural light. Set the WB to sunlight. Slab stone makes a good background as well as wood. Place the object with another item that it is compatible with. Wallet? a purse or key fob. Everything doesn't have to be made by you. Use props. DO NOT hold the item in your hand while taking a pic. Most of your problems I believe, are because you haven't practiced with your camera

ferg

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Cogs,

Backgrounds should be simple, so they do not distract fro the item being photographed.

Incandescent bulbs will give a yellow tint to pictures.

Tripod will eliminate fuzziness. It is spelled with an I not a Y, you were close.

Even all over lighting to prevent shadows. This may mean several lights sources from different sides / angles. Try putting something (paper, cloth, translucent plastic,etc) between the light, and the item to diffuse the light. This will prevent glare in most cases.

More details are needed about your equipment, as Ferg said.

Many community colleges have photography classes, and there are some on Meetup.com here in my area. Meetup is a worldwide activity website, there are over 800 in the Las Vegas area alone.

[azrider]

If you have a point an shoot type digital camera, see if it has a macro setting. This allows it to focus while close up. Mine has a flower icon to turn the macro on.

[TwinOaks]

We have a thread on it here....somewhere.....I'll see if I can find it in a few minutes. In general, for indoor pictures, you need to use a light box . You can build one from cheap PVC and wrap it with a white sheet. The idea is to give you a good diffused light, so there are no shiny spots on the project. nor shadows created by a direct light source. A darker backdrop will do well to emphasize the item. Though you don't have a graphics program, you can get them for free. Irfanview is a good program that will do most common editing that you'll need. GIMP is another one that will do just about everything (including multi-layer compositions), but has a bit more learning curve.

ETA: Here's one of the forum topics on this....http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2260. Go down to post #3 for pictures.

[Chief31794]

Bill,

On the fuzziness, one mistake some folks make is to leave the camera on total auto, that makes the ISO setting automatic and the camera will raise the ISO to get "lower light" shots, set the ISO to the lowest ISO setting you have (normally 80-100) on most cameras. Then only move it off there if absolutely necessary. That reduces "grain" to a minimum. The other main causes of fuzziness are 1) hand held in low light situations resulting in "camera shake", 2) Low Resolution, make sure your camera is set to the highest resolution possible, cameras allow you to reduce the resolution to get more shots on a card set it on high, additionally fill the frame as much as possible remembering that you need a small border around all sides to prevent cutting off sections.3) Camera doesn't have sufficient resolution, normally depicted in Megapixels, most modern cameras (point and shoot) are in the10-12 MP range, I use an SLR with 15MP but the newer ones are going to 18 and some of the really high dollar ones are over 20MP. 10-12 is sufficient for very sharp pictures.

One recommendation for the lighting is to use a Photo Light Box, you can get as extravagant as you wish but you can significantly improve your photos with a simple one that is very cheap such as the one depicted in the link.

Hope this helps, there is a ton of info on the internet about photography.

Ken

[JustKate]

I second Ken's remarks about how poor lighting can affect the clarity of the image. For controlling the light conditions and background, nothing beats a light box. The one linked to is a good solution. Here also is another thread on this forum with some photos to show how to build one of just about any size with PVC and a translucent shower curtain:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2260

If you want to take closeups, as azrider mentions, you need a macro focus feature which allows the camera to focus on a subject less than a foot away.

On the different types of lighting: I try to use bulbs that cast as white a light as possible, and sometimes the so-called "daylight" bulbs are in fact very blue. A typical "soft white" bulb is usually somewhat reddish or yellowish. I did find a florescent bulb at Home Depot, called a "bright white" bulb, which is almost perfectly white.

But as Ferg pointed out, regardless of what bulb you use, you will still want to be able to adjust the white balance on your camera for any lighting situation to get the colors right. If you know how to use that feature, you can still get the color right even if your lighting is not perfectly white.

Kate

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Glare can also be from the flash. I have a diffuser that I put on my Canon 30D to cut the glare. It is really high tech-a yogurt container

As to megapixels . More isn't necessarily better. The lens is a big factor as well as the sensor being used. Optical zoom is far better then digital zoom. Then it comes down to how big of a print is to be made. The less pixels the smaller the blow up will be before the graininess gets too bad. The Canon 30D is only 8.2 MP but it will work great for this type of work, and on up to some decent sized posters. Now if you only wanted to do large pictures like 24"x36" on up more MP will be needed to keep the sharpness. I know a landscape photographer who is still using a large format film camera because he doesn't want to spend the $17,000 for the 50mp Hasselblad digital back.

Again I would suggest finding a local photography club, meetup group, or photography class to learn more about all of this. It really helps to have someone right next to you with more experience when you are getting started.

[whinewine]

move your item to the outside on a sunny day if you can find one. Do not photograph with the sun shining directly on the object, use the brightness of the natural light. Set the WB to sunlight.

ferg

To clarify a bit: you would prefer a 'cloudy bright' day, rather than a 'sunny' day. Sunny day means lots of direct sun, which causes hot spots & glare, especially on shiny finishes like neatlac/clearlac/supersheen, etc. On a sunny day, you've got to move your item around to find the the best lighting. Cloudy bright means lots of indirect, diffused light (as in a light tent)... On a sunny day, you've got to find the right area that is still bright enough but out of the direct sun, whereas on a cloudy bright day, you can place your objects whereever you wish & still have consistent light.

[Cogs]

Well thank you all very much! This is a great help. I conjure-up a few things and put 'er together. I sure appreciate the help from all of you!

Bill

[RobDude30]

I spent the afternoon yesterday making a light box from a cardboard box and a frosted shower curtain. I should have done this a long time ago. Now I need to learn to use my camera and make some really nice shots. BTW, I have about $5 in the light box and another $4 in a CFL daylight light bulb. It's not pretty, but it works well.

Here's a pic taken with my Droid 1 phone using the lightbox. A good camera and someone that knows how to use it would probably take some awesome pics.

The bad thing about the lightbox is it really allows the flaws in my leatherwork to be seen! Bad photography hides some of the defects. LOL!

Edited January 18, 2011 by RobDude30

[TwinOaks]

The bad thing about the lightbox is it really allows the flaws in my leatherwork to be seen! Bad photography hides some of the defects. LOL!

That's what the graphics editing programs are for.......

[RobDude30]

That's what the graphics editing programs are for.......

Yep. You are correct!

[CitizenKate]

Nice work, Rob, on the box, the photo, and the wallet. You might be able to tip the subject a little more out of the glare with a little more adjustment.

Kate

[budd4766]

I got one of these for Christmas. Haven't used it yet, but definitely looking forward to it!

Think Geek

[JJLeatherworks]

Get a 18% gray card and learn how to use it, it's not hard. Your blacks will come out black and whites white, and you get the full range of color in between.

You can use two or three of the portable halogen shop lights (pretty cheap at Harbor Freight) and place at a 45 degree angle forward of the subject for lighting. For a softer lighting effect face them away from the subject and reflect them off of a white piece of foam core or stiff poster board.

Product photography is not much different from portrait photography. Lighting techniques are the same.

[RobDude30]

Nice work, Rob, on the box, the photo, and the wallet. You might be able to tip the subject a little more out of the glare with a little more adjustment.

Kate

Thanks Kate. I think I could have moved the light a little farther back to get rid of the glare as well. As with everything, it will take a little practice to get it right!