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Thread: Light Boxes?
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10th November 2008, 04:35 AM #16Turned a Few
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- Red Deer, Alberta Canada
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No need for fancy light tent, lights, tripods or expensive gizmo's for me.
I use this setup and works great for me.
Pen Photo Set Up
Camera: Digital Sony
Camera Model: DSC-H2
Lighting: My 2 Overhead shop florescent lights with 2 Day-Lite tubes
Back ground: White 12”X18” Easy Felt with 2 11”X14” sheets of bright white
photocopy paper placed underneath.
: Grey 12”X18” Grey cloth.
Camera settings:
Set on Automatic
Steady Shot Mode: ON
Color Mode: NORMAL
Metering Mode: MULTI
Set White Balance
ISO: AUTOMATIC
Picture Quality: FINE
Contrast: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Macro On
No Flash
Manual Adjust Image Brightness (EV)
Set Up:
I place my background on a backer board so I can prop it up to the angle I want to get the light reflection I want.
I place the pen on the color of back ground I want to use directly under my two florescent shop lights.
Raise the backer board to a slight angle and move around until I get the light reflection line I want on the pen.
The color and type of the pen material and plating will determine weather I use a White or Grey back ground.
I take all my photo shots “hand held “ ( No Tripod.)
I stand directly over top of the pen and use telephoto to zoom in on the pen.
I take several shots at different exposure values (EV) until I am happy with the photo.
I place all the photos on my computer and keep the ones that I like.
I don't use any photo editing software.
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10th November 2008 04:35 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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12th November 2008, 07:41 PM #17
I have a similar view to Les in that you don't really need a light box. I do things a bit differently to Les, however. I often use a piece of white plastic sheet or a piece of paper as my backdrop, with natural lighting (only on an overcast day to avoid harsh shadows) or a few desk lamps working well for me. Taking photos on an overcast day is the easiest option, however you may need to give the colour and brightness a boost in a photo editor such as Photoshop (or a free editor such as this one which you can use online: http://www.sumopaint.com/). It only takes around 2 - 3 minutes to edit the photo (or 10 - 15 if you are picky like me). I feel seeing as I only spent 1 minute pulling the plastic out of the cupboard and holding it up for the photo that an extra 10 minutes for editing won't really be wasting much time. Here are some before and after photos I have used using this method:
A vase of irises, using only natural light on an overcast day and using white plastic sheet for the background:
(Before)
(After)
And here's a photo of a model of a remote control for a Swatch® concept vacuum cleaner that I made for a uni project (I'm a design student). I used a piece of paper for the background and 4 desk lamps for the lighting (left, back, right and above):
(Before)
(After)
Duncan.
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13th November 2008, 08:24 AM #18
Les.
Quick question for Les. How do you stop your pens from rolling? The photo you posted was absolutely amazing. They are perfectly aligned. I have a problem of the pens not staying in the exact position because they want to roll right or left.
Thanks in advance. Timberbits.
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13th November 2008, 08:43 AM #19SENIOR MEMBER
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I believe he mentioned Bluetack or similar, somewhere along the line?
Russell.Pen Affair Craft Supplies - Cheapest Pearl Ex & Pemo Polymer Clay in Australia
http://craftsupplies.penaffair.com
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13th November 2008, 12:48 PM #20Turned a Few
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I have all my pens trained to sit for photos.
Seriously, to get my pens to sit, I place a piece of Shelf Liner under my cloth background and then tell them to sit still while I take a shot.
Some times I will place the pen on a tiny piece of Silly Putty to keep it in the position I want for the photo.
The Silly Putty dose not cause any problems with the finish.
Les
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13th November 2008, 07:34 PM #21
Thanks for the heads up Les.
Timberbits.
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14th November 2008, 06:11 AM #22
FWIW, I think the one in the ad *is* from China (most of them are, in the beginning) but
perhaps the seller provides service that the manufacturer won't.
Also, there's inexpensive cubes at Harbor Freight I think an 18" cube was $22 or so.
Nothing wrong with shooting outside at noon, but that's not always convenient or
repeatable. The cube just helps keep things consistent if you haven't got a setup that
works for you yet.
Also, the price in that ad seems steep, but I didn't do a conversion to US dollars either.
The stands look to be very inexpensive and the reflectors are often $10 in a photo shop.
The light fixtures are often less than that ($2-$3) because nobody seems to use them
anymore. You might have to blow the dust off of them.
If you use lamps that are less than the 200-300 watt range, make sure you have a good
tripod and a shutter release. The diffusion material cuts out a LOT of that light, and you
need to be able to hold the camera steady. Some people can do it hand-held, but most
can't. I can't either. Just pressing the shutter button can move the camera and give you
a soft focus as you'll likely have a long-ish exposure time.
But once you're set up, it goes quick and it is very repeatable. So you know pretty
much what you'll get ahead of time. And if your camera allows manually setting a white
balance, you can use whatever lights you happen to have closeby.
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14th November 2008, 08:32 AM #23
salt or sugar on white paper also works to stop rolling
bye Toni
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14th November 2008, 07:12 PM #24
Never thought of that before Toni, good idea, Amos
Good, better, best, never let it rest;
Til your good is better, and your
better, best.
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16th November 2008, 06:28 AM #25Member
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- Jan 2007
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- Deception Bay, Brisbane, QLD.
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Hey all,
I have been having trouble with photos with photo's as well so I have ordered this one from china http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Soft-cube-Light-Tent-Pro-Lights-Set-Photography-table_W0QQitemZ290275276993QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories?hash=item290275276993&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A3%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
What sold me on it was the acrylic stand. I like the reflection that it gives to the items. It also has the dichroic style bulbs (8 come with it!!!) so you can get them pretty easy from woolies. Tent (can be open front or fully enclosed), two light stands and backdrops. Oh yeah, free postage. Most of the others charge $20-30. Will let you all know how it is when I get it. It has to be better than what I do now.
Missus also wants to get a good digital SLR for Christmas time (Imagine that, SWMBO asking to get a toy that you actually want and need). I have a very good film Pentax SLR but they are seriously on the way out. Too much hassle developing.
BJWant to find a timber supplier in Brisbane. Check this link. http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=74808
My website. Moksha Writing Instruments.
http://users.tpg.com.au/bjtunnie//Moksha.html
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16th November 2008, 06:40 AM #26SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
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- Maryvale, Queensland
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- 2,338
Yeah that's the smaller version of the one I ordered. Mine was posted on the 11th, so we'll see when it arrives. Now I'm just annoyed I purchased a cheap camera that's not up to scratch for pen photography. Kids may get a new digital camera as a Christmas present, so I can upgrade to something better. Still a full digital SLR may be a bit of a stretch, unless I forgo a new Drill stand.
Anyone wanna buy a hardly used Canon A580?
Russell.Pen Affair Craft Supplies - Cheapest Pearl Ex & Pemo Polymer Clay in Australia
http://craftsupplies.penaffair.com
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16th November 2008, 07:59 AM #27Member
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- Jan 2007
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- Deception Bay, Brisbane, QLD.
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hey that camera will probably be fine. Just remember to use the timer function The problem with most digi cams is they get problems from shaking then the image gets all distorted. Put it on a stand, put it on timer, let it focus correctly then click. 10-15 seconds later you have a good pick. Just take five or six pics per pen, make slight adjustments to angles and lights and see what comes out. Quite often what you think is the best angle/condition isn't.
And remember the images you post up for customers only need to be .5-1MP. They don't want to wait for 10min while a 10MP pic is downloaded. Especially if they aren't really after that one. If they like a pen they may want more pics emailed to them then you can give them the big ones.
BJWant to find a timber supplier in Brisbane. Check this link. http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=74808
My website. Moksha Writing Instruments.
http://users.tpg.com.au/bjtunnie//Moksha.html
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17th November 2008, 09:26 PM #28
My light box finally arrived today.
Here are a few happy snaps that I will put on my web site when it is finally finished.
Huon box set, JNR Gent
I really like the black background and the reflection that comes off it.
Sorry for Hijacking the thread.
Timberbits.
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17th November 2008, 10:55 PM #29
Spiffy box, nice pictures. I think I like the white background best, but not sure. Very professional looking, in any case.
When all is said and done, there is usually a whole lot more said than done.
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18th November 2008, 06:16 AM #30SENIOR MEMBER
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- Sep 2008
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- Maryvale, Queensland
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Well, apparently mine arrived - at the post office in Warwick, and I'm stuck in Brisbane
What do they do if you don't pick up yout parcel within their 7-day timeframe??
Russell.Pen Affair Craft Supplies - Cheapest Pearl Ex & Pemo Polymer Clay in Australia
http://craftsupplies.penaffair.com
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