New Photobox

[FHL FERG]

Built me a new photo box to capture my work. Now I just gotta learn a new hobby, photography......

[dirtclod]

Looking good on your box and a nice looking seat to.

[FHL FERG]

Thanks!

I am still having some problems with glare off the leather and the background getting washed out in the photos. Today I am going to ue a piece of 1x2 to move the light out a little farther and see if that reduces the glare some.

Here is the full pic with my trusty sidekick hard at work....

[FHL FERG]

I think I am getting the hang of it, this is more in line with what I wanted....

[dirtclod]

That one may more of what you want. But if i'm looking to buy i'm going to pass it by because i can't see any detail because it's to dark. JMO

[JustKate]

Instead of moving the lights farther away - you need all the light you can get - try changing the angle of the seat so the hot spots are reflected away from the camera.

Kate

[Ferg]

I think I am getting the hang of it, this is more in line with what I wanted....

I have a light box that is white fabric on all sides, even where you place your camera but that side is movable and fastens with velcro.

As I said before.... Take your item outside and photograph it out there. Since you are having a bad time with this, try it!

ferg

[FHL FERG]

Thanks for the input everyone. I agree its still a little dark, but it's moving toward what I want. I have a bunch of others from the shoot I did that I am playing with on the editor. I'll post something up in the next few days when I get some time at home.

Ferg

[FHL FERG]

Also, I'm finiding that the white background here on leatherworker.net plays with the contrast as well. When I have the above photo on a screen with a black or brown background my photo appears MUCH brighter with a lot more visible detail. Interesting...

[Brisbane]

i think you will find that your photos are darker with a bright background because your camera is measuring a centre weighted average of the brightness of the entire field of view. the bright white makes the camera think it has to darken the picture so that it isnt over exposed [it thinks all images average to to a medium grey, which they do not], and then the dark parts where you want detail are too dark.

there are a number of fixes for this. look and see if the camera you are using has a spot metering option, and then meter off the dark part of the field [normally done by pressing the shutter button half way], then align the picture as you want it and take the photo. if you have a manual setting, try for a small aperture [on manual] to get a long depth of field [DOF] where the front and back of the seat are in focus. to do this you will have to increase the length of the exposure, so use a trypod and the cameras timer to eliminate movement when you press the shutter. hope that helps. i think that items stand out much better on a white background, so it may be worth the hassle to get the desired impact.

[Northmount]

And take multiple shots, bracketing the first exposure setting. Use small lens opening f/11 or f/16. Adjust the exposure time for longer exposures and shorter exposures to find the one you like the best. Then in future shots, still bracket one on either side so you have some room to play with in your software. If you can include a white object and a fully black object at the edge of your photo, at about the same distance as your object, you can use them to adjust the black point, white point, and to remove any color cast introduced by your lights or fabric.

Tom

[Jeff L]

I have played with photography most of my life... Even took many college photography classes. I can tell you "Product" photography has to be one of the most difficult things to master... I suck at it... Black gloss surfaces on a white background are the DEVIL!