General websites, books,
etc.
Your own photos
....used as
record
... used with clay
....made into "sketches" or other special
effects
Cameras --basic types
...SLR's...
point-and-shoot cameras
......using film... using slides (transparencies)
....video
cameras
....digital cameras
General
Info re photography
....fuzzy photos, glare & flash, etc.
Natural
light set-ups
Artificial light
set-ups
....types of lights & bulbs (fluorescent, incandescent-halogen,
Ott-lites, other bulbs,etc.)
....whole
room lighting
....light boxes,
light tents, etc.
......types
.........smaller... larger
Backgrounds
Kludgy close-ups
Depth
of field
Problems colors & printers
Photoediting
(resizing images, lighten/contrast/color, fancy special effects, etc.)
(where
to find)
......free online services
(including at social networking & photoediting sites)
......already on
your computer
......purchased software.... free software downloads
SCANNING,
scanners
Scanners vs. digital cameras
Other photo options
PHOTOGRAPHY , SCANNING, PHOTO-EDITING SOFTWARE, etc.
PHOTOGRAPHY
GENERAL WEBSITES on photographing small objects
online PhotoCourse on digital photography which covers lots of areas of photography, printing, etc.... much applies to any photography as well http://209.196.177.41/contents.htm
Ganoskin's photographing small objects
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tree.cgi
Amy
O'Connell's info on photographing small items (earrings/necklaces, etc.)
:
propping tricks ...light box ..... slides... film
... camera
...http://lapidaryart.com/projects_2.html
many
topics, including Learn to Shoot Close-Up Objects and Jewelry
...http://www.webphotoschool.com/ir/
all kinds of info re taking photos
with a digital camera and buying one
...http://www.shortcourses.com/index.htm
free
software to allow you to crop, resize and compress
an image (for eBay, a website, etc.)
http://www.irfanview.us
http://www.deadzoom.com/member/nktower/tutorials/IrfanView_Tutorial.htm
(what the software does)
discussion of how much to change the
resolution, compress, etc., and in what order, for best results
(eBay,websites,etc.)
http://www.deadzoom.com/member/nktower/tutorials/Photographing_Small_Objects.html
Dale
Lynn's discussion re the "color" of various kinds of ight
and artificial light (temperature)... flash, incandescent, fluorescent,
full spectrum, filters, etc.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/10237/214/index.php
"learning
to see" composition: backgrounds (shadows, distractions,
constrast), relative image size
http://www.mimidolls.com/DCC-Techniques/Photography/PHOTO.HTM#Learning
Kim2
info on slides, prints, film, processing, when photographing
craft items
http://www.mimidolls.com/DCC-Techniques/Photography/PHOTO.HTM#Contents Kim2
...both links from Dollmaker's Community College (substitute polymer items for
dolls)
Over 70 posts on photographing
your work: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
(newsgroup is rec.crafts.polymer-clay, use the word photographing)
....Check
the same archive search engine http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
for the "Photographing your work" thread on alt.crafts.professional
. . . Look especially for Mary Winters-Meyers post; cogent and thoughtful.
Books & Videos
someone in the rec.crafts.jewelry newsgroup recommended Steve Meltzer's book, Photographing your Craft Work. I've read a lot of his columns in The Crafts Report. I know he's supposed to be tops in the field. Randi
Small Scale Photography --Video and Text Book: This text and video lecture combination gives excellent lessons on how to set up a home or studio photo booth to take professional quality photographs and slides of your small scale art work such as jewelry, ceramics, glass and so on. Taking your own quality pictures save you money and time. The system (less camera & tripod) costs less than $60.00 to set up.. http://www.ganoksin.com/kosana/brain/brain.htm JodyB.
Amy O'Connel's favorite book on doing your own photo set up is "Small Scale photography" by Charles Lewtin Brain available through Brain Press.
as a record
First
of all.......DO take photos of the things you've made!!
....both to keep a record of them, and also to act as a reminder of
all the things you've done (and may no longer have)
Don't take photos of your
work only
if you're submitting slides for entries or putting them on the Web!
--I try to take a photo of everything I make
(since most of it gets used as gifts, auction items, things for school, etc.).
They eventually get put into an album, which is very self-validating,
and also surprising --"I made all that!?!"
--also good for reference
later, for yourself or for others
--who knows?. . . one day you may want to
create a website and then you'll have lots of fodder for it ! DB
using in clay pieces... or as inspiration for clay, etc.
There are many ways to use your own previously taken photographs (or those which you could take at any time) with polymer clay.
Any of your
photographs can be used to make "transfers"
onto clay
...there are lots of ways of doing this, and some of the
techniques allow them to be applied to other surfaces as well --like cardstock,
metal, glass, wood, etc.
...(non-densely-saturated areas of the photos will
be transparent in the final result, or they can be made opaque, whichever you
choose)
In order to be transferred, photographs must be handled one of
several ways:
....transferred into digital format
and put in a computer by scanning, or captured from any image on the internet
or e-mail (which is otherwise copyright free)... these will be ink jet-printed
onto certain papers for transferring with various media.
.........(slides
are more of a problem but there are devices for scanning slides into a computer...
also, though you would lose some detail, slides could also be projected onto a
screen then photographed with a digital camera to capture the image digitally).
....non-digital images can be transferred directly such
as photocopies of photos, drawings, text, whatever (must use toner-based
copiers), and also those images already available on slick papers like photos
in magazine and brochures.
...the photos can be manipulated in various
ways before transferring... and/or after transferring and applying, they can be
embellished in many ways with clay or other media
........for example,
it might be fun to scan in one of your photos, then turn it into a black and white
"sketch" in the computer, or use one of the other distortion methods
available in most photoediting software; if b&w, these could
be first colored with colored pencils, etc., before transferring as well . . or
a sheet of metallic leaf could be placed behind (a transparent) transfer image
before application, etc.,etc. . . .after reducing the size of some photos, they
could be made into pages of little books or used as greeting cards . . you could
take photos of textures or fabrics you wanted to use in your polymer pieces and
turn them into transfers .... in other words, the possibilities are endless!
(...see Transfers page for all the transfer
methods)
....many other pages here at GlassAttic will deal with other ways
to play with transfers
....... for example, some of the framing
techniques will be on the Frames
page under "Pins & Pendants" ...books &
bookmarks will be in Books,Covers
...greeting cards in Cards....
etc.. )
(see also Translucents-Glow-in-the-Dark
Clays for glow-in-the-dark clay info (transparent transfers can
be very cool on GITD clay), and also for info on photographing clay or other items
under black light)
(...also, most? photos --at least those printed on "yearly school photo" paper-- can also be baked in an oven with polymer clay without becoming transfers, and not be damaged)
You
can use your own photos as a pattern for creating clay
"paintings" and scenes
in various ways:
...polymer clay or liquid clay thinned with Diluent, etc.,
can yield thin-to-thick polymer pastes and paints,
which can then be applied to clay or other canvases with brushes, fingers,
palette knives, or other tools
.... or puzzle-piece
clay images can be created fitting together pieces of flat clay (of diff. colors,
and maybe textures) into a final picture which is the same as the original photo
...or photos can be used a patterns for "bas relief"
or onlay
(.....see Paints,
and Onlay, and
Sculpting-gen > Bas Relief for more info)
...landscape and other " canes" can be
created of your own photographic images
(see Canes-instr.
> Landscapes)
Sandra gets
inspiration for some of her pieces (not polymer) from photos she takes,
using simulations of the images or just general patterns, colors, etc.,
in them
http://sandramiller.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=FGP1
photos made into "sketches" or other special effects
You
can take photos located on your computer and do all kinds of cool things with
them (before turning into transfers or using any other way).
Various "filters" can be applied from Adobe photo software (Elements, etc.) and other photo software (or from Windows software?), but there are also free downloadable software programs and even some free sites which will do many of the same things (on their sites) with no download necessary.
free online (no download nec.):
...whole dumpr site
can do all kinds of cool image-changing things (+ photo lessons) ...no downloads
necessary
http://www.dumpr.net
...dumpr
page for creating sketches http://www.dumpr.net/sketch.php
...dumpr
page for creating puzzle pieces from photo http://www.dumpr.net/puzzle.php
free
downloads:
...Photo to Sketch 3.2 "sketch" function software
http://www.download.com/Photo-to-Sketch/3640-2192_4-10609080.html?pn=2&sb=0&v=1
http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000376,39180842s,00.htm?r=1
IMPORTANT NOTE..... when buying any camera!! (but esp. digital)
Camera models (both point-and-shoot
35mm and digital). vary
in the amount of close-up they can take!
....many cameras do have the capacity to do "close-ups" nowadays,
but there CAN be some problems with just how close up
the manufacturer considers that to be!!
....e.g., some may consider 2 feet to be "close-up".... some 12 inches
...some 3 inches, and so on.
... it's important to really press
salespeople about the exact details before deciding on one to buy
(often asking them to bring out the model's manual), because many
of them will just say "oh yes, that camera
has a close-up capability" but they won't know anything more specific
......(and
unfortunately, they may don't even understand the difference, or they may just
make up a number because they don't think it's important)
....the amount your
camera offers will make a big difference to you later though, and could restrict
the things you can shoot well ...IMO the closer, the better!) DB
"SLR" camera (single lens reflex)
--uses 35 mm film
--its lens can be removed and replaced with a diff. lens, either a fixed-length
lens (normal, or for taking close-ups or enlarging images from far away) or "zoom"
lenses which can go continuously between two distances, e.g. a 80mm-200mm zoom
lens will capture an image anywhere between the enlargement of an 80mm lens and
a 200mm one.
--has settings that CAN be made manually--like f-stops and exposure
time; may also have some "programs" which automatically select settings
--has
the ability to provide a *direct look* through the camera lens (using mirrors),
rather than using a viewfinder
--the image seen through the lens is much larger
(and prettier!) than one through a viewfinder
--usually bigger cameras than
point-and-shoots
There is a difference between "close-up
lenses" and a real "macro lens"
....My
35mm SLR has a separate macro lens which replaces the normal lens,
and will focus down to about a half-inch, I think... it takes extremely
sharp pictures if the camera is held still enough.... It will also correct
the mild curvature that happens with wide angle ("close-up"?) lenses, but
this isn't usually noticable (unless you're photographing more than one little
bottle, for example --the middle one was straight, but the other two leaned slightly
out unless the photo was taken exactly perpendicular).
.....I assume the term
close-up lens means the flat "filter-type
lens" which just screws onto the front of an SLR lens.... these magnify
the image and often come in sets of 3 strengths --+1, +2, +3 -- which can be also
combined
The disadvantages to having
an SLR and a macro lens are cost, of course: for the camera, for the lens, and
for continual film & developing
...plus having to wait for the photos
to come back so they can be scanned into the computer if you want them there
"Point-and-Shoot" camera
--uses 35 mm film or slides
(some older ones still use 110mm film?, etc.?)
--may or may not have a zoom
capability, but lens is not removable
--some may have settings which can override
the default settings, but not as many options as slr's;
--look only through
a viewfinder (which is usually higher and to the left of the lens), as
opposed to looking directly through the lens via internal mirrors; viewfinders
create more problems for close-up shots because of this, though many point-and-shoots
will have a special frame inside the viewfinder which will allow a better approximation
of what the lens is actually seeing
--image seen through the viewfinder is
much smaller and not as clear as one seen through an slr (in fact, I usually look
for the largest viewfinder possible when I'm shopping for a p-&-s!)
--usually
smaller cameras than the slr's
(--reasonably good close-up shots can be taken even with point-and-shoot cameras that don't have close-up capability --not the $15 ones though --it's a little kludgy, but see below, under Miscellaneous)
using film
I then get the film (Kodak 200) developed at an ordinary photo shop . . .
Same for me but I usually use Kodak 100 film for tighter grain. I seem to be able to get away with it, shooting at 1/60th or 1/30 (or whatever is needed, if using a tripod) and getting sharp prints. (I don't stop all the way down, but do focus at a point 1/3 into the object to get the maximum depth of field--a trick I learned in my old camera club--see Depth of Field below.)
Like you, I generally get mine printed at my local developer, actually it is a machine inside a Long's Drug Store. You do have to be careful though of some of the 60-minute places--I've been told they don't all recalibrate their machines as often as is really necessary for the volume they're doing--and they're more expensive to boot. Check around, then stick with the place you like. They will all usually work with you on a particular print or two to fiddle with the color, etc., but it's a hassle to have to keep going back and/or insisting that it's still not right. Diane B.
using slides (transparencies)
see more on slides for submission, etc., in Business > Submitting Slides, etc.
info on slides, prints, film,
processing, when photographing craft items
http://www.mimidolls.com/DCC-Techniques/Photography/PHOTO.HTM#Contents
Some publications or juried shows may require a transparency image of your submitted item, rather than a print (or digital print); this is slowly changing, but still the norm for many of these situations (in the case of the shows/contests, they want slides so that a number of judges can quickly go through all the submissions at the same time, then begin eliminating/voting, etc.
It's important to think of our photos as works of art just
as we think of our pieces. Karen Fl(
....see also above in "General Information"
re the proper kinds of backgrounds to use for different kinds of shots
... "glamour," gallery, how-to's... especially for submission to books)
If you go to a company that specializes in photographing items for ad agencies,
artists, etc. they will be able to photograph your work. Tell that that you want
a color transparency (a "slide"). What this is is a piece of
film that sort of looks like a photograph...in the sense that it is not a negative
image from which a regular photograph is made, but a positive image similar to
a photograph but on the see-through material.
I make my living as an artist.
I have all my original works photographed professionally and have them supply
me with an 8 x 10 colour print and a transparency that is sort of 4 x 5
or whatever. I live in Canada so any prices i quote will be sort of meaningless
to you, butI'll explain a bit about it anyway. The photo agency i go to charges
me something like $18 for the colour print and $35 for the transparency.
I can use the transparency to have other prints made at a later date (though the
color won't be as saturated? DB).
The reason I mention the price at all
is only because other "professional photographers"
who are not in the business of doing these artsy shots charge prices
as if they were shooting a wedding for heavens sake. I've known people who have
paid $90 and more for a single photo of their art
work. . .nokomis1
...article for those of you thinking of hiring a pro photographer:
http://www.sunshineartist.com/magazine/jury_slides.htm
nokomis1
Costs for professionals can depend on
many things:
.....whether you're going to their studio or they're are
coming to you for one. If they come to you, it should be more.
.....also
where you live can influence costs. Photogs near Hollyweird can be way
spensive
.....be sure to ask for samples of similar stuff before
you buy.... Not everyone has talent for photographing "art." Kim
I
have had photos taken by 3 professional photographers and the prices have really
varied. It has been a real learning experience.
....The first time I used
someone who assured me he did jury slides, only I later found out that
he generally shot quilts (not close-ups). The slides
were cheap ($75 for a whole roll of slides), but completely unusable. Scratched
background, no depth of field. bleech
...The next time I used someone a friend
in the guild recommended. He was much more expensive even though we had done
a group deal. I think I paid about $150 for a dozen shots with the group rate.
It would have been closer to $300 if I had gone in myself. Some were good, but
he hung the necklace incorrectly, so they weren't
very useful either.
...Finally I found a local photographer who would
let me come and help arrange my items. I think it took us at least
a couple of hours to shoot one necklace and two sets of beads. I paid $200 and
received 10-12 slides of each, overall shots and detail views. The slides are
fine, but not knock your socks off.
....The other
option if the slides are really critical is to send your work to one of the big
name photographers, Robert Diamonte, Hap Sakwa, George Post and Jerry Anthony
come to mind. Libby
Just make sure --whoever you use-- that
you very clearly communicate how
you want your items to be displayed in the photos.
Libby (see just above)
I you're in a big city, look in the yellow pages for a shop that does ad agency work or work for catalogues. Otherwise head on down to the very best professional photo supply shop that you can find and ask them for advice. Usually they'll have contacts with people who will know what you need done. nokomis1
check the ads in your latest issue of Crafts Report. You might have to check web sites or make a few calls, but there are a number of photographers advertising in there.
Also check your copy of the book 400 Polymer Clay Designs ---very photo has a photographer listed. Google them and see if you can find contact info, Irene
A suggestion to find a skilled photographer: the instructor at
a college who teaches photography might like to supplement their
income or have an outstanding student who can take the photos. Patty
....If you're trying to save some money, check out a college near you and ask
the photography teacher which student(s) study this type of work.
The student could earn a grade by using the school's studio and make a little
$$. Community colleges have talented students with empty pockets. Kim
...You
can also look for a photography club in your area and contact them to see
if any of them do craft photography. We have a free weekly local paper that has
clubs and organizations listed. .Irene
...one professional photographer
who takes slides (expensive but good....Julia)... can mail him your pieces http://www.juryslides.com/
Be sure that whoever you use is experieneced in crafts photography, specifically in something similar to what you make. Irene
I didn't know this until recently, but you can get some pretty great looking slides
from digital camera pictures. I was skeptical, but had to try it out when
I took a whole roll of film to get developed for slides and they were awful! Cutting
it close to deadline for jury slides, I asked if there was any chance they could
convert some images I had that I liked from my digital camera. I was in luck!
One Hour Moto Photo had the equipment to do it! Of course, it couldn't
be done in an hour, but in about 4 days. I was very happy with what I got
back. They were $6 an image, but that was MUCH cheaper than the rolls of
film it would have taken ME to get it right. You might want to try out one image
before you invest the 6 bucks each for a series. You just take them the disk.
Call first, as I know only one of their local stores had the right equipment.
**lori
...I've had a lot of digital pictures
turned into slides and so far, they have been pretty darn good! Most of them were
scans that I did. I have the name of a place in Utah that does them for
me so if you are interested, e-mail me and I'll dig up the address for you. They
only charge $1.49 per image and to date their work has been great. Dotty in CA
...you CAN scan slides using a scanner that has a slide
attachment. Many of the new ones have this and they really don't cost much
more than a scanner without one. I love mine and have had to use it a great deal
...Dotty
...check out this site: http://www.prodigitalphotos.com/price.html#photoshop_services
...they will transfer the image to a slide for a very good price.
I would bet anything that these would at least be okay for jurying, if not for
publication. With a large file it would be difficult for them to realize that
it is digital unless they project it onto a large screen. A regular lightboard
or slide viewer wouldn't give it away. Dotty in CA
...If you do a Web search
on "digital images to slides" you'll find many places that
will put your digital pics on slides. What the quality is, I can't say since I
haven't seen any but it didn't look expensive, so I think it may worth a try to
find out. Dawn
... it's pretty likely that any photo
shop is using fairly low-grade equipment,
mostly because they probably get little demand for doing that these days. By contrast,
any publishing company will have a very high quality slide scanner
that will generate digital images that can be run directly into the page layouts
(for their books/mags).. . . professional scanners (regardless of technology)
do a much better job than any home scanner on the
market, mostly due to the quality of the CCD unit.Larry
. . . However, here is one idea to try. If you have a digital camera that is a 2.1 megapixal or higher--the higher the better, take the best quality your camera will take. Don't reduce it. Just leave it with a large file.. . . Dotty
I advise against any background other than a solid neutral color (not a
bright blue, e.g.), or a neutral dark-to-light fade. Coffee beans or sand
might be good for an advertising photo, but not for jurying. Such a photo
would be completely different from all of the others and would look out of place.
Irene
... In my case, the publisher wanted all of the how-to photos to have
exactly the same background. Eggshell or off-white. Dotty
Make sure that the slides and the IMAGE are yours! Sounds simple enough doesn't it. But some photographers claim that you only own the slide and that the image belongs to them. If you use that image in a book or magazine, or an advertisement, you have to pay the photographer a fee. They can legally do this so make sure you have it in writing that you can do whatever you want with the slide and that the image belongs to you. They may want to reserve some right to it, which is okay, so that they can use it as an add for their work, or anything else they might want it for. But there should be no fee that you have to pay if your copy of the slide should go into a book etc. Dotty in CA
Unfortunately
only a few book publishers have switched to digital photos. But one day
they will all use them, at least I hope so. My publisher, Sterling, won't accept
them, even high resolution. Dotty
...most publishers aren't set up to take
digital photography. . . . the books I've worked on don't have
a jurying process for the gallery images - the image an artist sends is the image
that gets used (or not). So if it's not a good image, it's not used. Why no
(preliminary) jurying process? Because gathering a bunch of submissions, viewing
them, choosing, and replying to everyone is a lot of work. Then to rely on the
people who are accepted to send better slides - what if they don't? What if they
either space out entirely and don't get additional photography done or they do,
but the quality is no better? Then there's a rush to find images to fill the space
that was allocated to those images..
....Selecting images for the book (or
selecting artists for shows) is done by projecting the images onto a large screen
(this is more a final selection process than a preliminary viewing/"jurying").
If the images aren't all in the same format, it's a hassle to show a bunch of
images on a screen, hand a bunch of photographs around among the jurors, and then
all crowd around a computer screen to look at digital submissions. (Digital photos
projected onto a large screen will often show up very pixilated.) Irene
(see above for slides link, and also in Business > Submitting Slides)
Video cameras
Now, many video cameras can take individual photos as well as video. I don't know much about those because I don't have one (yet!), so don't have much info on them.
There's
also special software that can be purchased
to freeze any frame of a video tape, then manipulate it to improve or change the
image, and save or print it.
.....If you
already have a video camera then you could also think about just getting a thing
called a 'Snappy III' (also Snazzi?). This device is a video cature
device that works with a software program you load into the computer. The nice
thing about this as I use it is that I mount the video camera on a tripod and
the work on a turn table. I can then activate the program to show in real time.
Now I start moving the work and the lighting to the desired effect. Then I 'click'
the single frame capture button on the computer. I then save off the file. You
can also even save off an anamation file of the subject being turned around. (these
files at the time I started were not compressed so were very large files. but
how they are being reduced.) The Video capture device is a lot less costly than
the camera. You can also take the video camera on trips and when you get home
select the frames from the tape that you want. Lysle Shields
--don't
use film; use magnetic encoding instead
--usually used in conjunction with
a computer --which reads the photo and displays it on its screen (these images
can then be stored on the computer or on floppy disks, printed out, sent to another
e-mail address, or uploaded to the Internet for webpages, etc.); they can also
be taken to special services to create normal photographs or have the info stored
onto floppy disks
--some have special monitors in addition to (or instead
of) a viewfinder, which show a larger version of the exact image the camera is
seeing
--often have some kinds of override for the settings
--require
much less light to take photos than cameras using film.... usually don't need
flash, and generally better photos without it
--often used in conjunction
with "photo editing" software to improve or change the image
(--see above under SLR's for close-up lenses vs. macro lenses)
IMPORTANT
NOTE, especially when buying a digital camera
...... the closer, the better!
Camera
models. vary a
lot in the amount
of close-up each is able to take!
....and this will make a huge
difference when photographing small items (in other words, without
a very close closeup function, you won't be able to get a very
large image of your small item ...and your items will be out
of focus if you try to get closer than your camera allows)
....many
digitals do have the capacity to do "close-ups" nowadays, but there
CAN be some problems with just how
close up the manufacturer considers
"close-up" to be!!
.......e.g., some may consider
2 feet to be "close-up".... some may consider it 12 inches ...some
1 inch, etc.
.. it's important to really press
sales people about the exact details
before deciding on a digital to buy (often asking them to bring out the model's
manual), because many of them
will just say "oh yes, that camera has a close-up capability" but
they won't know anything more specific
......(and unfortunately, they may
don't even understand the difference, or they may
just make up a number because they don't think it's important). DB
Digital cameras come with varying
numbers of features and capabilities, often depending on price.
...the
simplest cameras are basically "point-and-shoot type," are less
expensive, offer a fewer number of features, and may have a less sharp lens
...medium-priced
ones will have more features, cost more, have better lenses, and take longer to
learn to use
...really high-end ones will allow you to have loads of
features (and can be quite a learning curve!).... e.g. exposure features like
"f-stops" or something equivalent, capability for using tungsten lighting
(from indoor lamps, etc.) more specifically, have interchangeable lenses?, sharper
lenses, cost more, and be are usually bigger.
Desirable
Characteristics in a digital camera (for me, anyway) .. (written
several years ago though!)
--small size, light weight
(although this creates more shake in closeups! --usually I can handhold my regular
camera down to 1/30 of a second)
--some kind of "flash card" capability (so
wires were not necessary to connect the camera to the computer --mine fits in
a special floppy disc)
--an "optical" zoom, rather than digital zoom
--a
viewfinder, as well as a viewing screen
--large, bright viewfinder
--least
wide-angle lens, if no zoom
--self-timer
--extreme close-up capability
(mine focuses down to a very satisfactory 4" or less in its closeup mode --be
sure and check this "closest distance" for each camera!!--sometimes the salesperson
will say something that isn't quite true! --see just
above)
--high resolution mode (mine has 3 modes: one takes 39 photos,
one takes something like 18, and the highest resolution takes only 9)
--camera
that could use the nickel metal hydride batteries (or whatever are the names of
the ones that don't have a "memory" --maybe all digital cameras can use them?)
The
major things to consider when buying a digital camera are:
1. Your price range!
2. What are you going to use to for so that you will know what features are
important to you? How easy is the camera to use? Go to a camera store to have
someone demo the ins and outs to you. Then, buy the camera where it is priced
the best. Research pricing online. Macro for close up work, Zoom to get close,
optical lens, resolution, frames per second. Batteries? How many picture
modes?
3. Check compatibility with your current computer system
or are you willing to upgrade your computer too.
..... going back to how
you connect your camera to the computer for uploading the photos. Does it
have cables to Parallel, serial, or USB ports? Card readers
and what kind of port does it require? Floppy disks? . . . Susan L.
lots
of info about digital cameras, brands, how to use, and photography
... http://www.dcviews.com/ (click
on Cameras, Top Tutors, or Photography)
all
kinds of info re taking photos with a digital camera and buying one
...http://www.shortcourses.com/index.htm
(see
photo sites at top of this page for much more general photography
help, including digital)
I have also found that the
better a digital camera's low light capabilities are, the better
too (without flash)
. . . . I frequent a website that does in-depth
testing on all digital cameras to a degree beyond my capacity to understand...
they take pictures with each camera under many lighting sources and settings
and report on them, as well as showing the resulting photos. That particular camera
I had mentioned was cited as being particularly good at low light photos and it
is. That site is :
http://www.imaging-resource.com/?DIGCAM01.HTM/
and is a very good place to explore if you're in the market for a camera as well
as listing many places on line you can order them and customer reviews
of those places as well. -- Dawn
THE
FOLLOWING CAMERAS ARE ALL PRETTY OLD!
...I
have an Olympus C3040..... it was pricey, but I got it for a really good
price on Ebay (new! Don't buy used). I had a Sony Mavica with disk
before that.... the Olympus has better clarity but the Sony was good for general
stuff. Alexa
...I got a Minolta Dimage Z1.
It's got a zoom like a 35mm slr ...it even does video too.... the color comes
out beautifully. It was $325, with 3.2mb and 10optical/4digital zoom. I'm quite
satisfied. Irene
...Those
pictures with my project (polymer clay embellished pot) in the June Arts and Crafts
are all digital!!! Taken with my Ricoh, not my Mavica, but my Mavica was
working right along side for setup and web photos..syndee
…check out the
Nikon Cool-Pix 800. That is the camera we finally settled on and we have
been getting some great pictures with it. You can take photos as close as 1".
We tried that close once but the detail was so massive that we backed off to 18"
to take pictures of canes; and even at that we have to reduce the pictures by
about 50%. The camera cost about $525. on Photopoint (photopoint.com). Kat
We bought the Nikon CoolPix 800 a few months ago and I have been extremely pleased
with it. It is very easy to use both to take regular snapshots and to take pictures
of my work. I did go buy an extra memory chip,(48K,if I remember right; the camera
came with a 8K memory chip which would only store about 16 pictures. This 48K
takes 96 pictures. There are chips with even higher numbers, but they get expensive.
I paid a little over $100. for the 48K. If you want to see a very amateur at work
with the Nikon, look at my Photopoint site. Almost all of the pictures were taken
with the Nikkon. Kat Photopoint site @
If
I had any money, and a USB port, I would go for the Nikon Coolpix. It has a focal
length of .8". Everything I want to photograph lends itself to macro--plants,
insects, artwork...Jane
...My Olympus
didn't have many features, but for closeup work it was fine. My Kodak camera
has digital zoom, high resolution, and 3x optical. I got it from UBID for $189.00
The same camera is selling retail for $299.00. Yes it's refurbished, but it still
came with a one year warranty. Whereas new my Olympus came with a 90 day warranty.
Go figure! The Kodak was very lightweight and I could put it in my pocket. The
lens cover on the Olympus slides over and the camera turns on. The lens cover
on the Kodak is a soft plastic lens cap attached by a cord that you put on and
off. But that it also means that you have one less thing to go wrong mechanically.
Susan L.
...I needed a camera with macro focus
for taking pictures of my jewelry. After some research, I bought a Fuji Finepix
2400 Zoom and am CRAZY about it. It has more resolution than I'll every need,
great macro capabilities and also has an optical zoom, which is good where
I live for taking wildlife shots. I paid $278 at Beach Camera's web site
and bought extra Smart Media cards and a reader for a great price at Newegg.com.
If you don't need the optical zoom, there is another model without it for about
$40 less. ...Anyway, it's a GREAT camera without putting you into the poor house.
Marti
...I also use a Kodak digital and
I am sold on their product. I plan to upgrade to one with the macro lens capability
soon but I will most likely stay with the Kodak brand. The images it captures
are so crisp and clear it has even beat out some of the better cameras on the
market that my friends own. The good news is, the Kodaks are on the lower price
end of the spectrum. DixiePixie
...Some
of the photos (at my site) were taken with our digital camera, an Olympus D-340L
(some were scans of photos that had been taken with my old Minolta SLR or my point-and-shoot
Pentax Zoom 70R film cameras). Diane B.
online
articles about using digital cameras:
http://www.cliffshade.com/dpfwiw/
reviews
of digital cameras (from Kathndolls):
http://www.dpreview.com
http://www.pcphotoreview.com
http://www.imaging-resource.com?DIGCAM01.HTM
http://www.photo.awskey.net/reviews?
more
reviews (from Ann)
http://www.dcresource.com/
http://photo.askey.net/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/
Each of the manufacturers also has a website, which will give you
info about digital cameras or any of the other cameras they make (for Olympus,
e.g., go to :
http://www.olympusamerica.com/sitemap.asp?sm=1 and click on
Filmless Digital Cameras). Diane , P.S. If you can afford it, go for the Nikon
J
Digital Camera Magazines' Buyer's Guide
discussion forums... Ask the experts at Digital Camera Magazine http://www.photopoint.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi
newsgroups
for digital camera info
rec.photo.digital and fj.comp.dev.digital-camera
(SouthrnPen)
....Here are some of the resources I used to find help me choose
what kind of digital camera I wanted for photographing my jewelry for the net,
and for everyday use, too.
There's a newsgroup rec.photo.digital.
It's a HIGH TRAFFIC group, but skimming for advice on kinds of digital cameras
can be done. I asked about choosing a camera for photographing my jewelry and
received a few good answers. I also read posts by others who were asking similar
questions.The Nikon CoolPix 950 and the Olympus 2020 are highly rated by the rpd-ers.
News about sites that have great deals on these cameras (and on others) are posted
here, and warnings from folks who had a problem with the vendor they bought from.
A site that rates resellers is mentioned often, to help buyers avoid problems.Sites
with photographs taken by "regular" folks are often mentioned, especially when
someone gets a shot they think is great (They're usually right!) Ann
GENERAL INFORMATION re photography
fuzzy photos?....a few
things that might make a difference are:
....movement....If are you
using a regular or digital camera, have you tried using a tripod? (I found
I couldn't hold my new *digital* camera as steady as my SLR when doing close-ups,
probably because it's so much lighter in weight). I found a really small, cheap
tripod that's a unit of 3 (very short) bendable legs which screws into the bottom
of the camera, for only $10 at my local (large) camera store--hadn't even realized
it WAS a tripod until I read the package! --very handy.
...do you have
sufficient close-up capacity on your digital camera? (see Digitals)...
or if you'ree using a 35-mm SLR, are you using a macro lens?
...Actually,
lots of people just lay their items (even 3-D ones) on the window of their scanner,
sometimes putting a box or something else over the back of the whole thing, then
scan away! Those work very well, surprisingly, and are very sharp (see Scanners
below).
...in photoediting software, there is a Sharpen command
that might help some, but I usually increase the Contrast for sharpness...
no amount of those will help for really fuzzy images though! Diane B.
For
any photography, photos will generally look better without flash
....
flash gives a harsh, flat effect ....unless it's
"bounced" or shot though a translucent surface or more than one is used
by someone who really knows what they're doing!
....digital cameras
have an advantage here because they need much less light than film cameras
to take a photo (just suppress the flash function for each shot, or at
least put a tissue over the flash
....for the most flattering and
dimensional shots, try to use either available light or a light box,
etc. (with either digital or film camera)
"good shadows"
produce a soft edge and give a 3-D effect
...bad
shadows cause harsh edges, leave your image looking flat, and distract
from your object. creativepro
There are diff. looks (and backgrounds)
for different kinds of shots. . .particularly in books:
..."glamour
shots" are the photos that show the end result of a project (instructions
usually follow)...using props (other objects, fancy textures, etc.) is
appropriate for glamour shots or for advertising photos, but it's not recommended
for jury or book gallery photos ....also the purpose of that photo
is very different from that of a gallery or jury photo; it's part of the how-to
section (all of which we did with white, blue or gray backgrounds). . . Irene
As
for correct exposure and correct color rendition, I sometimes cheat
:-) and use my "18% gray card" under the object while photographing
(purchase one at good camera shops). Then the camera automatically selects
the correct exposure. . . Diane B.
........Amy's set up for shooting a suspended
necklace using a gray card (this background will look graduated
because of lighting that falls off with distance) http://lapidaryart.com/project_images/prj1018.html
straight-down
shot of an item (necklace) lying on a horizontal surface...
item not suspended
....Amy's camera is held above the work on a
tripod so that it will shoot straight down onto a table top (like
using a copy stand)... the tripod legs must be almost closed to make it as close
to 90 degrees to the table as possible, and the work as close to the edge as possible.
invisible
ways to prop or hang earrings or other small items
so they can be photographed as if floating
... one way is to suspend
the item from a horizontal wire, then erase the wire with a photoediting
program
... the other way is to prop from underneath the visible surface
. . .Amy bends a wire into a spiral, leaving a tail which is bent
90 degrees; she then bends the spiral perpendicular to the tail, and hammers both
parts of the wire flat . . . the tail is stuck through a tiny hole in the paper
from the underside and attached to the earring back with poster tack, and
the spiral then lies against the underside of the paper surface (prob. attached
with more poster tack or tape) and will be unseen from the top
http://lapidaryart.com/project_images/prj1017.html
.....Amy's photo of shooting a suspended necklace using a gray card
(looks graduated) http://lapidaryart.com/project_images/prj1018.html
I
used to do a bit of photography (Before-Child) and have played around with a lot
of different things, including special effects and trick photography. So I know
a little about a lot of areas, but unfortunately can't guarantee that everything
will be completely accurate--however, there may be tips that some people might
want to hear about, so here goes. (Another warning is that some cameras have changed
in the last ten years, and I'm going mostly on what I know now.)
. . . I (used
to) take all my own shots with a SLR, a macro lens, and natural light, and people
often ask me where I get them "done," so they can pass pretty well (now I'm using
a digital camera too). If you have a reasonably good sense of composition, you
should be able to do at least some of your photography yourself (especially
the smaller items --larger ones do get into more complicated setup and lighting.)
...If you don't have photo editing software, using film cameras rather
than digital cameras requires more attention to exact lighting, backdrop, composition,
and exposure, because problems can't be easily corrected after the shot is taken.
On the other hand, photoediting software can only go so far in correcting
some things like unsharp or very underexposed photos. DB
It's important to think of our photos as works of art just as we think of our pieces. Karen Fl
glare & flash
Flash
is often way too strong when used
at close range, and often "overexposes"
things. Kim K.
.....it's best if you can use extra light from elsewhere and
not use flash at all, that will give the best shot
........this is
easier with a digital camera because they require less light...
or for a film camera, get more light or use a tripod + longer exposure)
Using a flash does several things to
the photographed objects:
...Flash tends to make an object
look flatter, because it eliminates any shadows
on the front surface of an item
......if the item is lit by light coming from
the side rather than straight on (best from 2 sides actually),
slight shadows will result in the crevices of textured or dimensional objects
and allow the object to look more 3-dimensional and the texture or details
to show up
...Also, flash generally
creates areas of glare or hot
spots on areas which are smooth or shiny (reflective) on
the front surface of an item
Does
anyone know if there's a simple trick to photographing objects with reflective
surfaces? Desiree
.....no flash would be my first suggestion
....cover your flash with a piece of 'tissue' (ie-Kleenex, Puffs,
off brand...or T.P.(LOL)... I have a piece that covers just the actual part that
'flashes'...I just taped it on with office tape... I cuts down on the glare and
also gives you a softer light! (I learned this trick from a professional
photographer) ....I think that it helps to prevent that awful red eye too! Kim
K.
tent your item with a material
which will diffuse the light coming from the flash
... tent a sheet of tissue
paper over your piece - it keeps out the hard-edged light reflections but
doesn't cut down the amount of light that's actually hitting the piece.... smooths
out the lighting to make it less directional.
... my favorite secret for overall
lighting. ...a white sheet draped over your piece...will diffuse the light
and you will have no glare. Kim K
( light boxes of all kinds and
sizes can help in avoiding glare and hot spots, and some are fairly simple to
make... see much more on those below in Light Boxes)
If
you have a light source, either natural or artificial, shining on your shiny object
you are going to get a "picture of that light" bouncing off of your
glossy surface.
.... You need to illuminate your object with even, (and)
reflected light. (Think of the photographers that you've seen with the big
white umbrellas BEHIND them.)
.... I would recommend that you place your object
on a medium-to-dark background, and that you stand with your back
toward a white-or-light-colored wall (to increase the *overall* illumination)
.... make sure that no lights are shining directly on your
object.
....If more light is necessary, shine it onto the white wall BEHIND
you, and allow it to reflect onto the item you're photographing. (Check for your
shadow and move if necessary.)
........you could also reflect additional light
with white posterboard sitting to the sides, but angled toward
the front of your piece. Linda M.
The best way to photograph
your objects of course is to do it before putting the final
finish on, whether it's a glaze or buffing.
There
is a dulling spray made by Krylon that will work. It's a little gunky and
isn't permanent, so don't handle the object much, but it gets rid of those "hotspots"
that a high gloss has..
.... A cheap way to achieve the
same effect is to pop your object in the freezer for a few minutes. When
you remove it, a thin layer of condensation forms and dulls the surface
slightly (this effect is short lived, but can be repeated indefinitely).
you can (bounce the light from your flash) point your flash towards the ceiling or towards a piece of white board, it will eliminate the hotspot as well. Jacqueline
if you have, or can borrow, a "polarizing"
filter (its job is to reduce glare and increase definition), use that over
your lens, rotated to the position which decreases the glare the most
....(If
you're borrowing one that doesn't exactly fit your lens, hold it to your lens
while camera is on a tripod, have someone else hold it, or hold it on temporarily
with Blue Tac --be sure to take these shapes into consideration when framing the
item in your camera!)
...as a desperate measure, you might try using polarizing
sunglasses, or the flip-up type, though your resolution probably wouldn't be as
great). Diane B.
If there are reflective surfaces on your subject, try to have your back to something dark (or not, if you want to intentionally highlight the reflection) --sometimes I try to hold an open black umbrella over my shoulder, but that can be a little tricky. Diane B.
There are also plastic(?) sheets
which come in some frames for photographs which are anti-glare,
I think.
....It may be possible to put that sheet between your item and the
camera, but again it may not have quite the resolution
that glass would have (is there perhaps anti-glare glass? ...ask
at a framing shop.) Diane B.
....Jean says using anti-glare glass gave her
photos a weird color, but could be corrected with
a photoeditor??
You can reduce some of the glare
in photoediting software, but sometimes it's hard to do because it's just
a washed out area
....... start with lowering the gamma and
contrast, I would think... though it might tend to degrade
the image overall. Elizabeth
....many photoediting
software programs have a "cloning" tool (or a clone stamp)
that makes that easier. Jacqueline
........(the cloing tool allows you to
copy a section of your photo, say beside the glare spot...
then paste it over another area of the image, in this case the bare spot caused
by the glare)
Possible SET UPS for Film or Digital Cameras
NATURAL Light or EXISTING Light
Wonderful
shots can be made outdoors
...preferably on a slightly
overcast day (deep overcast may not be
good), or under a tree in the shade, etc., if the sun is out ...there's
always more light outside than inside, whether the sun's out or not!
...the
area should be well lit though --very late in
the afternoon isn't usually as good
.. but watch out for
dappled sunlight.... you want the light to be as
even as possible.
...there will still be some directionality
to the light, so turn your item (or the item on a TV tray/table) around
until the brightest light falls either on the front or slightly to either side
of your item, simulating sun in the sky at any time but high noon. ...having the
light hit from slightly to one side will increase the contrast and 3-D-ness of
any texture and shape you may have.
...use a
table or the ground for your item
...you can use some sort of
backdrop or not
.......if you use one, the farther away from
the background your item is, the less that background
will be in focus and distract from your item, leaving your item
to be the star.
.......the background shouldn't be busy,
of course, or textured, because that will often distract
too ....a nice dark green hedge or shrub can work
(not too close though).
....if
you need to bring in an actual backdrop, a piece of unwrinkled.
fabric or art paper is good... if whatever you use will bend,
place either of these in a curved L shape so that part of it is
under and part of it is behind the item.... or if you have only a stiff
background to use, you can place one under and one behind, and it's not usually
too distracting
....or you can suspend your item and shoot it vertically
(and not show what you're suspending it from)... or possibly lay flat it on a
non-glare sheet glass or plastic so it will be held away from the background
...If
you have a photoediting program, you can do wonders with most any photo
that isn't actually blurrry or really far away. Diane B.
If there isn't enough light in the shade, I take it into bright sunlight and tent (the item or the box?) with a piece of thin white material such as a handkerchief. Kim2
(natural-ight light box).... I have a white box with
one side and the top removed
...I put the item inside
the box... then I reflect as much light inside the box as I can
(having a friend helps here... have them hold a piece of white poster board so
that it reflects the sun back on to the item). Kim 2
Julie B. shooting her
items on fabric/blankets, etc. on the ground outdoors
...note also in
the photos she took this way that there is a deep shadow on one
side of each item... could place a reflector of some kind on the shadow
side (anything white with its flat surface pointing toward items) to tone those
down
http://www.azpcg.org/members/julie_blankenship.htm
(keep clicking > arrows till get to last
photo)
Another way to photograph is to use a screen
in direct sun
...I place the clay object on the hood of my car,
and then I put a screen between the object and the sun.
....
screen is just a piece of frosted white shower curtain liner
that I've stapled to a cheap wooden frame, 16x20 (or 20x24)
...If
necessary, I also bounce light into the shadow side with a large piece
of white or lite board/paper. syndee
Get (yourself and your object) under
a white sheet. ...you can do this outside in the full sun and it works
great.
....If you need something to keep it off of you, drape it over a
chair. Kim K.
No matter what you
use, make sure that the background you see through the
lens is reasonably consistent in texture, and more neutral
than your subject (e.g., bushes can be nice, but you don't want part of
a bush or something else that contrasts competing for attention with your subject).
If there are reflective surfaces on your subject, try to have your
back to something dark (or not, if you want to highlight the reflection)
--sometimes I try to hold an dark umbrella over my shoulder, but that can be a
little tricky (also see above in Glare & Flash)
If
you have dark areas or shadows
you don't want... you can shine a diffused light from whaatever
angle lightens them
.... or you can redirect the existing light
into any dark areas on the item with objecst that act as reflectors
(white cardboard pieces or boxes --or white paper can be taped to these--the whiter
the better)
... these can be held at different angles by various kinds
of propping, using an open pizza box or book, or clipping
to a clothespin-and-bendable-wire-in-a-stand thingie, etc.
To keep the best overall focus, any set-up will work which keeps the front of your camera body exactly parallel to the front suface of the item you want to photograph.
Using
a tripod can be very helpful, especially if you're shooting something small,
or you don't have as much light as you'd like
....(if you don't have a tripod,
you can use a stool/TV table plus a stack of books, or anything else flat).
...most
people can hand-hold a shot of 1/60th of a second with a film camera
, but getting closer than 3-4 feet from the subject or not having a lot of light
falling on the subject can result in a fuzzy or a too dark image.
The solution
for this is to have the camera absolutely still while shooting so that it can
leave the lens open as long as necessary to get enough light without moving at
all. You can also use your body as a tripod by bracing your body or your arms
against a stool, tree, table, or your own knees. Breathe all the way out, hold
it, then squeeze the button --don't punch it. Even better, use the timer
on your camera, or a cable release.
You may be able to buy one kind of small tabletop tripod for only ~$10...it looks like just a black rod in the bubble pack, but I think its feet telescope out at the bottom end.
camera stands (you can buy
one for $$$, or there may be some tripods with heads which can rotate
90ş and also telescope out far enough not to see their
own legs
... you could also put a stack of video tapes or books between the
legs of the tipod to elevate the item, possibly avoiding the legs problem)
...or make a light box, or use outdoor light (see below for more)
Whether you're using a tripod or stack of books, etc., also try to use the self-timer
if your camera has one. That will prevent any additional shake from pressing down
on the shutter release button.
... Adding more light will often help the photo,
but won't reduce shake problem (think of binoculars and how hard they are to hold
steady). Diane B.
If you're going to photograph a
number of things over time, you may want to set up something more semi-permanent.
For digital shots indoors,
I sometimes I simply set the object up on my kitchen counter, with background
paper under and behind it, then use my elbows on the counter as a tripod.
I have natural light coming in from skylights, but reflectors (white paper, etc.)
can be used if necessary. DB
Here are a few more
cheap, quick and dirty possibilities:
1. sit camera on
a stack of books or videotapes, and blue-tac the item onto a flat vertical surface
(or sit on a tiny shelf there)..... could use a neutral-colored piece of paper
glued onto the vertical surface for background
2. camera on a *tilted* stack
of books; item laid on a same-tilt-angle piece of cardboard, etc.
3. camera on books; place the shorter of two boxes just in front of the taller
one and drape all with non-reflective cloth (or curved paper); stand items on
short box alone or lean against back box. DB
(see much more on lightboxes and backgrounds, see below)
esp. near a door or window
I use the floor just inside
my sliding glass door
.... I sit the item on an 18% gray
card (see below) or other neutral background, facing up (propping inconspicuously
if nec.)
.... then use two tall, flat boxes (could use pizza boxes)
covered with a sheet of white paper, as reflectors to shine the
door's light back into the shadows on the object to be photographed. .....I either
stand them together like a V, opening toward the door (with the object in-between),
or lean them in, if possible, in a V or somehow against the legs of the tripod.
. .in a hurry I just wing it without a tripod though
I'll try that, so
if the items are on the floor, you are practically hovering over it when you take
the shots? Do you just make sure that your shadow doesn't overcast the item?
...Yes, I am *really* hovering over the item when I'm taking the photo,
trying to keep the camera as level and still as possible (looking
straight down on the object usually works okay --exhale first though, and don't
breathe while clicking).
....There is no shadow to worry about from my body
because the light is shining in the doors *toward* me.
....When I do have
a bunch of photos to take, I usually use my "camera stand" (which holds my camera
on an arm exactly parallel to the floor) ...that adds total stability and is easier
on the back for long sessions!
...I put a few photos of this setup and results
on my Photopoint site (see link above--gone) (DB...
add again)
.....So, the first photo is of my setup by the sliding glass
doors (can't have direct sunlight
or patches of sunlight shining through the door though).
....
You can see that I have two flat mailing boxes (or you could use pizza boxes with
white paper taped on them) flanking the shadow side of the item to be photographed;
the boxes can be tipped forward a bit for the best light reflection.
...If
I just want to take one or two quick photos, I handhold the camera
against my knees, hanging over the item (focus well, breathe all the
way out, and sque-e-eze the shutter. I can handhold a SLR fine down to
about 1/30 of a second, even with a macro lens, but doing that with a digital
is harder because they're so lightweight (the focus will be affected both any
movement and any variation in the optimal distance from camera to item).
....The other two shots are parts of a lesson I did once on making pop-up figures
with polymer heads, for a kids class. They lost some definition in the transition,
but you get the general idea. Hope this explains a bit better.
...You can
use this same set up with standing objects, but you'll need the backdrop
to extend up behind the object --adjust the reflectors as necessary.
Best to use a cable release or the camera's timer if using a very slow exposure with a tripod, due to lack of sufficient light.
You can use a table beside a window tooo --but again, no direct sunlight.
This can work really well for slides and other objects which won't be manipulated with photo-editing software, since the light is natural light and doesn't have to be compensated for.
There are different kinds of ways to shoot with artificial light .... some are more complicated than others.
Types
of light & bulbs
(fluorescent, incandescent-halogen, Ott-lites,
special bulbs, photofloods, etc.)
incandescent bulbs and halogen
bulbs (which are also incandescent, but not usually referred to that way) both
use a small heated filament to create light (filament is straight
in a halogen and looped in an incandescent (also looped in the halogen"spotlights"
used indoors?)
...halogens have a truer color (daylight, "full spectrum")
than ordinary incandescent bulbs (like the ones in your lamps) because
they can burn hotter, creating a higher "color temperature"...but they
also create more heat in the surrounding area
...some halogens have
a long life, some less long (like the indoor spotlights)
...portable
quartz halogen 'work lamps' are now available at hardware stores
for $15-35 dollars, and can be very good for open rooms (some may be too bright
for light boxes tho)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_bulbs
fluorescent
bulbs, including Ott lights & other compact
fluorescent lights (CLF's) &, I think, Verilux,
etc.? bulbs of various types,
use a ionized gas (in a larger area)
...they can create different
"colors" of light depending on the phosphors used
.....common fluorescents
are usually greenish, but more expensive ones can be a truer "daylight"
color
.....Ott lights usually have a true "daylight" color, and also
show details well
.. they produce less heat because of the larger area of the
gas and of the bulb, and waste less heat/energy
...they both come in portable
units, or in not so portable ones
...they last a long time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_light_bulb
special
photoflood bulbs used to be used by photographers with film
cameras (before digital camers) when taking photos indoors... the bulbs were used
in special units with reflectors, often on stands
...photofloods are tungsten
(incandescent), or these days more often tungsten-halogen
...they may be used
with either daylight film or tungsten film, but may require a filter
over the light or the lens to correct the light given off by the bulb depending
on its "temperature" and which film is used
... the bulbs and stands
for the reflectors and sockets can be expensive
(floodlight = diffused light...
spotlight = concentrated beam of light)
Ott-lites (fluorescent)
http://www.epinions.com/content_154483461764
NOTE:
Ott Lights come in at least 2 versions...
Natural Light .and True Color ...both
are "full spectrum" lights, but. . .
.......the newer
True Color line has somewhat truer color as measured by CRI
(color rendering index) (95 out of 100) than the older Natural Light
line (those are found at stores like Office Depot) (84 out of 100).
.......True
Color has also redesigned reflectors to enhance color-matching
... (same problem?)
Be aware that not
all Ott-lites have (come with?) colour correcting bulbs....
A friend got me an ott-lite at Office depot at a bargain price ($45 Canadian)
last year. I tried it out but kept thinking colours didn't look any better, in
fact they looked blue. Turned out this lamp had a (different) version of fluorescent
bulb - to get the colour correcting bulb was another $40. Yikes. Liz
Best
prices are a Staples or Office Depot. Trina (but they're not
the newer True Color?)
...sometimes there are sales too
...I
bought an Ott Lamp from Home Depot for @ $30... but
it doesn't have a top handle. Since I carry mine to and from classes
& Clay Days in my rolling workshop, no handle isn't a problem. I made a drawstring
bag out of some scrap quilted cotton so protect it in transit. Karen S
....I
don't know if any other utility companies are doing this, but I got my Ott light
for $25 through a catalog put out by our local electric company
...
you can use your sales coupons from JoAnn (i.e. 40% or 50% off regular
price) to purchase this light, even though it may be currently on sale. Debbie
....I
have three, well two now, Ott Lights. One just stopped working and I sent it
back to the factory as it was under warranty. They claimed never to have gotten
it, although I had a delivery confirmation. They also did nothing about replacing
it--- I think it is a great light, but I think that they are a "really cheap-o"
company to deal with. I got the lights from a rep
at ACCI and he made many deals (and at different prices) to different people.
...Dec 2002: I purchased the new graphite-colored
(dark grey) floor
model, and after 3 uses it quit working
completely (the bulb was fine). I returned it. . . the service desk person told
me that they have had a *LOT* of people returning the graphite model for that
reason, and that it was a huge loss for the chain. ....She also hinted that they
might stop accepting them back as returns in the near future, and make the customer
deal directly with the mfg.
..... I then got the older, light grey
model instead and it's been working great so far.. Debbie
Ott-lites:
http://www.lumenlight.com/qna.html
.... http://www.hofcraft.com/ottlite.htm
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/equip.html
(freestanding flip-open light ... and clampable, flexible
light)
Ott-lite
bulbs ?
...Save yourself some bucks here since the
Ott lamp's secret is in the bulb not the fixture (maybe
not true though).
.......If you have
a fluorescent desk lamp that uses a standard 13 fluorescent bulb,
just buy the replacement bulb for $9 or so and switch it out.
.......
Office Depot has the 13 watt replacement Ott-lite bulbs for 8.99. We bought
one and it fit in my swing-arm florescent lamp I got on sale at Staples for 14.99
also 13 watt. The cheapest Ott-lite I could find was 39.99. Christine
...HOWEVER....
putting an Ott bulb into a regular fluorescent light fixture isn't the
same as using an Ott bulb in an Ott-Lite fixture, I've read, because of the
(reflective?) finish inside the Ott-Lite.... It's probably the next
best thing though. Randi
.....It may also be that using an Ott bulb
that way won't give as bright a light,
or give as long a life though.
How
much less like "daylight" are the fluorescent Ott lights than halogens?
....I don't know exactly but I just took two photos of a dragon with the Ott Light
and then my halogen work light and the Ott Light gave me a truer color. Also there
seems to be fewer shadows with the Ott light but that might be because you can
position the light right over the piece.
Also, being florescent, the Ott
Light is much cooler. I have a feeling that when it gets into the heat of summer,
the halogen light is going off and I will use my Ott Light more. I like the halogen
light most of the time because it is in a swing lamp and it lights up
a bigger area of the table, but that advantage will decrease rapidly when
it gets really hot and humid<VBG Kat
Other bulbs
Verilux
bulbs - ("full spectrum natural light")... fairly expensive bulbs
.....fluorescent
bulbs of various types made to fit in both fluorescent and regular
incandescent fixtures
.... I bought mine at Menards - don't know
if Lowe's or Home Depot might carry them and they are available on some web sites.
.........the 24" fluorescent bulb cost me $4.99 and they are just wonderful
- I couldn't believe the difference, it was just amazing. Two fit in the desk
lamp I already had - so for $10 I got great light without buying a special lamp.
....(Ordinary incandescent bulbs) "are very rich in the color yellow,
and cause the other colors in the spectrum to appear dull. Verilux shows colors
accurately and increases the contrast between black and white, while reducing
glare, eyestrain and fatigue." Terri C.
...And
I think there's one called "TruSun." My workshop has several ballasts (fluorescent
fixtures) with Verilux bulbs in them. caneguru
Reveal light bulbs by GE... filters out the intense yellow in incandescent
lite. I got some and put them in my hobby room and WOW what a difference. nitefalcon
...I was disappointed because my Reveal bulb lasted only
MAYBE 600 hours or less (though the package
says 750 hours)
...And at the higher cost
per bulb, that can add up to an awful lot of extra money. (the Ott light bulbs
I have in the lamps at my work area have already lasted a lot more than four times
as long as the reveal bulbs did, and they still don't show signs of needing changing.)
Kimba
...I like the Reveal bulbs much better than the Verilux....the
Verilux bulb was very expensive too. Libby
...I have some GE Reveal bulbs
that I use around my clay area. I will never go back to using a regular bulb in
my work area again..... I do have an ott light that I use right over the area
I do most of my work, and you know, I don't know that I can tell the difference
between them. kellie
....Maybe GE sells a different product in Canada...mine
are called Enrich and they say that the two bulbs will last 750 hours......
I use them at craft shows and in the room where I work. I think they're
awesome! Michelle
Blues Buster
bulbs (full spectrum light, achieved by using a special blue-ish? glass which
removes the yellow and brownish spectrum colors) incandescent with special glass
as filter, or fluorescnet?
.... for my playroom... I have two 100 watt bulbs
in the ceiling and two lamps with 60 watt bulbs on my work table. ///Nice difference
in the light, and since I use my work table for lots of photographs, it's good
for the pictures, too.
These "Blues Buster" and Verilux and a couple of other brands of color-corrected bulbs re available in Lowe's, Home Depot, some grocery stores and Bed, Bath and Beyond that I know of. Probably other places, too. . Elizabeth
I use
my multiple lights.... a portable Ott light, an old lamp with a GE Reveal bulb,
and another old lamp with a Verilux bulb. The color in the pictures is much better
than it was before. Michelle
Halogen bulbs & lights (incandescent)
Halogen
lights are very similar to daylight. . . how are they different from Otts?
....halogen
lights are incandescent (they use a filament, and are hotter),
where Ott lights are fluorescent (and use ionized gas, and are cooler)
....... both can create a daylight color though
...I don't know
exactly but I just took two photos of a dragon with the Ott Light and then my
halogen work light and the Ott Light gave me a truer color. Also there
seems to be fewer shadows with the Ott light but that might be because you can
position the light right over the piece.
...Also, being florescent, the Ott
Light is much cooler. I have a feeling that
when it gets into the heat of summer, the halogen light is going off and I will
use my Ott Light more. I like the halogen light most of the time because it is
in a swing lamp and it lights up a bigger area of the table but that advantage
will decrease rapidly when it gets really hot and humid. Kat
portable quartz halogen 'work lights' are now available at hardware stores for $15-35 dollars, and can be very good for open rooms (may be too bright for light boxes though)
*Leigh’s
foldable set up for digital photography (illustrated). .(takes bright clear
photos)
http://www0.delphi.com/polymerclay/poleigh/photo.html
--tri-fold foam coard board, cut in half horizontally; hinges reinforced
with clear tape
--black knit fabric clipped to top of center board
(wider than center panel, and pleated in center to allow for draping at bottom);
back of white synthetic leather clipped on top of black fabric for second option
--2 velvet "jewelry boxes" under the fabric on the work surface
(on one side, next to pleat); offset-stacked to allow for different levels to
place polymer on; fabric draped around boxes
--Video Light on mini-tripod
(to counteract incandescent lighting) a few inches from a large sheet of tracing
paper suspended in front of it as a diffuser
--she also uses a gooseneck
lamp to shine on the closest side panel (to offset the video light) &
sometimes other pieces of foamcore for light reflection
You
need a NON-Reflective cloth or paper as a background! …And I have a "video"
light that I use as a flood lite, with a piece of tracing paper as a filter!!!
Leigh
I set up with the Ott light
(instead of the video light). . . The set up was working, but I had alot of shadows
from the ott light, so someone lent me a second ott light
... ... if you take
a look at the set up, it's like a three sectioned screen that fits on the table...
I had one ottlight on one side and one on the other side,
... I Kept the camera
settings pretty neutral, since hubby says it's easier to lighten a photo
than to try to darken a glare!!! This really worked!!!
…Another
advantage, I didn't have to use anything for a filter!!! Not much in the way of
glare off the lights, only on very very shiny things, and then I just used a piece
of parchment held in my hand to break the glare!!!
http://www.lumenlight.com/qna.html
... http://www.hofcraft.com/ottlite.htm
When
I need to photograph my work, I use an old lamp with a GE Reveal bulb (incandescent),
plus my portable OTT light (full spectrum fluorescent) and another old
lamp with a Verilux bulb ... the color in the pictures is much better.
.....BTW I like the Reveal bulbs much better than the Verilux, which was very
expensive too. Libby
I have
a photo area made from white foamboard, which is covered with fine white
silk (for a backdrop)
http://www.dxdjewelry.com
...and
I have two 3-light floor lamps with 100w Reveal bulbs, and 2 one-light
floor lamps with 200w in each
....(I turn off the flash of course)
...
set the exposure to +1 (to lighten the photo), set the distance
to closeup, and the sharpness to the sharpest setting ...and set
the lighting selection to "tungusten" (indoor artificial light)...for some shots
I also use a 7x (zoom) lens.
...I almost always ned to increasing
the lighting in my photoediting software as well after I take the photo. dixie
Light Boxes (light tents, etc.)
These
give soft and even lighting (no hard shadows
and little glare) to the item being photographed
.... the light is
reflected all around the item.... and also can be diffused by shining
the lights through a translucent material
(light boxes usually make
very good photographs)
good introductory
material by Stephen Dow to the gen.concept of using light boxes... plus
lessons on making several
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
(2 pages)
...(see
also some websites above in "General Information" near
top of page ...as well as also other places on this page; to find those, use ctrl
+ f keyboard command with the phrase light box)
types of light boxes, and making them
Light box set
ups can be:
...any size (small to large -- most items photographed this
way are reasonably small)
...complicated or simple to construct
...portable to much less portable
...made from many materials
--"hard" or "soft" (stiff
materials like cardboard, translucent plastic sheets, white foam, etc., vs.
woven, drapable materials such as tissue paper, bed linens, etc.)... and
translucent or opaque (lights will be on outside of box if
using translucent sides)
...used with various types of light sources,
usually one on each side
.......for digital cameras,
regular incandescent lights or halogen lights (Ott lights,
e.g.) can be used...one person used sunlight on a bright day
.......for
film cameras, special bulbs, special film or
special filters for the camera will be needed to compensate for the yellowness
if incandescent lighting is used
...used with diffusing material
placed over the whole box set up...or over (or held in front
of) the lights
(...used with cameras which have a close-up
function, or sufficient zoom to "fill the frame:" with the item)
Light boxes also allow one to take photos in the late afternoon or at night, or when it's rainy or heavily overcast outside.
(see more good introductory explanations about lightboxes just above, at the link for creativepro.com)
SMALLER ones
creativepro's Fast-and-Cheap
set up... (tissues + tape + tripod + paper ... or pillowcase)
...put
camera on a tripod (on floor?), camera pointing down
...place item on
white sheet of paper (neutral background & minimize reflections) on
a tabletop (as close as possible to top of tripod's legs?)
...position
camera over the object on table ...tape tissues to camera so they fall
down around the item to sheet of paper
...place light on tabletop and
shine at tissue (toward tripod)
.......(must be able to focus fairly close
with your camera, because of tissue length)
...or, use a white pillowcase
or white fabric (for longer length and more even diffusion)
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
(middle of pg)
a
plastic translucent milk jug (gallon) with the bottom cut
out, and the top (hole) enlarged for the camera lens for a small item
(especially jewelry which may have reflective areas) is recommended by PhotoCourse
...
position the bottle over the subject, and shine a pair of floodlights
on the outside of it... the light inside the bottle will be diffused by the translucent
sides of the bottle
gallon-size
translucent plastic jug for water (deadzoom says milk
containers are "too
white"-opaque)
... the bottom of the jug has been removed, and
2" circle around the neck (or large enough to accomodate the camera's lens
area or barrel
...camera is over the hole on top of jug... and self-timer
is used to avoid movement
...camera's flash was used (see warnings
about using flash above in Glare and Flash though)
...OR, a portable
contractor's halogen light is used on the outside, shining through the
jug walls to the item
http://www.deadzoom.com/member/nktower/tutorials/Photographing_Small_Objects.html
I
found a translucent white plastic salad bowl ( about 11" diameter)
....
I cut out a circle in the flat bottom of the bowl using a dremel attachment.
I place a piece of soft gray card stock on my desktop for a background,
place the item to be photographed in the center of the cardstock and then invert
the bowl over the bead. I played with the position of the Ott light (halogen)
outside the bowl , placed my camera over the hole and snapped the picture.
This has been working really well in that it eliminates so much glare......
not all my photo's are perfect...but I do believe they are a lot better than taking
them 'bare naked'... studioschiek
You
can purchase a Cloud Dome
light box (actually an upturned bowl shape)...could
use translucent white bowl (see below)?
...the Cloud Dome is fine, but it makes
for a very "flat" look to the photos (too
diffused ...but could move light more to side). nf
http://www.clouddome.com/html/tutorials.html
Marty's light-box set up in a
rubbery- plastic container (translucent)
http://www.mav-magazine.com/feb1999/lighting/index.htm
Here's the best I can figure out from photo at that web page:
--translucent
box lying on one of its long sides (now consider this to be the correct
orientation)
--white translucent paper taped inside box (bottom, back
and a little on top) --bead puttied onto white paper at an angle (so camera is
higher than bead, pointed downish, but almost straight on angle-wise)
--(2?)
white boards for bounced light placed to reduce *most* of bottom shadow, but not
all (in front of box = half height of box, & also somewhere else?)
--large
drafting lamp pointed at bead from above and in front of box-and-object (so that
the light falls between the box front and the front reflector?
creativepro's
various translucent, plastic, sort of cylindrical or rounded items
...cut & used horizontally
.... paint can liner (from
hardware store) .....or plastic garbage cans.... or clear storage containers
(each
item can be cut lengthwise, so that the remaining part will sit flat on a tabletop
(like a Quonset hut)... he's left the top part of the paint liner intact (and
handing off the table, presumably because that area is thicker and harder to cut)
....the
curved top creates a seamless environment
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
(almost bottom of page)
set
up for lights (around the cylindrical plastic garbage
can or paint can liner, just above
... (would be similar for other light
boxes)
... 2 lights (100-watt incandescent bulbs in reflectors from hardware
store), clamped onto chair backs, on outside of shade facing opposite
sides of the light box, but placed at different heights to vary the angles
from each light and "encourage soft shadows"
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002-2.html
I
use a large lamp shade (14" and square) with a white
linen texture, and place it on a table (wide side down?)
.....I cut a mat
board to fit on the small side of the shade (facing up?), with a hole large
enough for my digital camera to peek through (3x3")
.....then just put lights
around the outside of the shade
.....I put a photo-grey square
underneath the shade (on the table) to use as a background, with the
art work on top of it....voiila!!! Great shots with no shadow!!! And I can change
the work quickly and easily. Kathndolls
..similar
set up (with the camera on a tripod) ... Connie shapes some double-thickness
white paperinto a cone-shaped "shade",
which barely rests over a disk (covered with photo-gray paper... on which
rests the item... the camera is positioned on a tripod upside
down (the center rod has been removed and put back in from the
bottom side of the tripod... not all tripods
will do this though; some may have a lip or wider area to prevent the rod's
removal)
....... the disk-and-shade sit on top of a plastic (paint or laundry)
bucket to raise them up
....... she uses 3 ordinary lights (for
digital photography anyway) placed outside the paper cone, which shine
through it diffusing the light
http://www.conniefox.com/Education/StudioTour/ST-DigitalPhoto.htm
..creativepro's
similar set up with medium-size white lampshade + tissues
+ tripod
.....lampshade (small side up) is fitted down onto a tripod
(legs out a bit).... camera is attached to tripod, then pointed down
.....item
is placed on table (near edge, on a sheet of white paper)
....tripod is pushed
up to the edge of the table, so that the lampshade surrounds the item
....tissues
taped to camera, falling around lampshade, to reflect back any light escaping
around camera
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
(bottom of page)
LARGER ones
someone had converted a huge Tupperware-type (translucent?) bowl into a light-box, too, cutting holes in the bottom .... one hole for straight-on shots, and one about 30 degrees down from the bottom of the bowl for more of an angle
lizboid's 90 qt.
translucent plastic container, using a gooseneck lamp + 2 Ott
lights (one to each side)... sheet of vellum over each light as a diffuser
http://www.libzoid.com/PhotoSet.html
a soft box is inexpensive and easy to
make using PVC pipe (& PVC connectors made into a cube
shape)
….I drape a white sheet over it, set up a background, adjust
the lights, and then shoot with a closeup lense. Works great, right on the dining
table! Dotty McMillan
....I use a shower curtain (white or frosted)
which is can also be draped. Trina
....Dale
Lynn's lesson on making a light box from PVC pipe, frosted and/or
nubbly plastic panels, and (rubber-tipped) clips;
.....his lighting
is from two "trouble light" units (have clamps on them)
with ceramic sockets which can handle up to 300 watts
.... they are clamped
onto the backs of two chairs immediately beside the box walls . . . discusses
light color and temp. too
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/10237/214/index.php
...Mine
is a very inexpensive way to do it, and the box can be different sizes
depending on the length of pipe.
.......The pipes for my PVC box are 24" long,
plus I made 2 pipes at 12" long so I could take pics of smaller pieces
and not have such a deep "box"...... I taped a piece of mat board on the back
and use another piece, or some fabric, on the table.
.......I usually
tape necklace chains on the PVC pipe to photograph.
.......When photographing
inside, I use a light above and one on each side. The light goes through the sheet
(over the box?) to diffuse the light. Judi
...Bill's lesson on making
a light box with PVC pipe, and curve-draping a background fabric from the
back
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/image/13989420
+ http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent
....Daphne's
PVC light box (at PCP yahoogroups photo files); she's hung her pendant from
the two top pieces so it's free-swinging (don't know why she has the colored
papers on the sides) (oh, and the cat found the hidey hole irresistible!)
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolymerClayPeople/lst
(gone..click on Daphne)
creativepro's
box "skeleton" + pillowcase + garbage bag
...cut
out (most of) each side of a tall box on it's 4 upright sides, leaving just enough
to allow it to stand easily
...cover 3 of the 4 empty sides with white pillowcases
(hold with duct tape)
...apply white paper to all exposed surfaces on
the inside of the box (for seamless background and only-white reflected
light)
...cover the remaining side front of the box with white plastic garbage
bag (& tape)
...mount camera on tripod at height you'll
want... then cut opening slot in bag for camera lens to fit through
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
(2/3 down pg... A More Flexible
SetUp)
Amy O'Connell's
set up for an adjustable light box, using wood and foam-core
ceiling board, etc, with 3 photoflood bulbs, and translucent
plastic sheets clipped in front of the lamps
http://lapidaryart.com/project_images/prj1014.html
lesson
on making a box using 5 sheets of foam core board (from art store,
etc.) taped together, with large notches to allow clamp-on lights to get closer
to the subject
http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography
Steve
S's enclosure set ups... one with various (disc) diffuser screens,
etc.
http://www.glassartists.org/Gal6979_My_new_photo_set-up.asp
http://www.glassartists.org/Gal2522_My_old_photo_set-up.asp
can purchase an EZ Cube --collapsible light box http://www.shortcourses.com/studio/featured.htm
large
cardboard box + piece of white fabric
--cut the top and front
out of the box.
.....then tut the two sides on a curve
from the top of the back, to the front of the bottom. The curve is arched (in)to
the bottom back. The remainder is left only to support the back in an upright
position.
--Drape the cloth into the box so that you have a curved piece
of cloth without any folds or creases. You might have to iron out some folds place
in the cloth when you bought/stored it. The nice thing about this is you can have
several different colors of cloth each that will augment the color of what you
are potographing
......(this is refered to as a 'white way' and is what is
done in comercials that do not have any floor or horizon lines)....
--Place
the camera on a tripod. Place the object on the cloth.
--(Get a flood light,
three are better, if you can afford it.)
--Place one light in front of but
slightly off to one side and up high (simulating the sun) and shining on the object.
The light must have an area that lights the entire front of the object with the
same intensity.
--A second, dimmer light will be placed to the other side
and down low. This light simulates sunlight reflected onto the object.
--Then
place another lamp shining on the cloth behind the object. Again this light should
be of a relatively consistant intensity. This helps kill harsh background shaddows
and is in effect simulating the sun shining on the back ground. Lysle
one elementary school art teacher's homemade set up for holding a camera directly above items (in her case, clay objects for animation) as one would with a copy stand (the camera can be raised or lowered by moving the slats holding the camera into higher or lower openings in the gridded plastic crate on each side http://home.neb.rr.com/monarchrose/lights,.htm
*Having a friend helps with some set-ups... have them hold
a piece of white poster board so that it reflects the sun back on to the
item
... or figure out a way to prop, hang, clip, tape, posterboard, etc. in
the right orientation
For the digital camera, I use a (light from a) lamp
bounced from some white card onto my object,
. . . and I put
a "daylight" bulb in the lamp - I think it makes a real
difference to the colour. I still have to tweak the images afterwards, but not
too much. Shelley M.
Amy's 3 lights are diffused and softened by opaque plastic sheets clipped over them
makeshift
setup, which sits on my desk:http://www.michelejanine.com/graphics/Dscn0729.jpg
(gone)
..I use 3 large, flat, jewelry
cases with glass tops (one case under the item, and 2
on each side angled inward)
......(as a diffuser in each of the cases, I use
that white, cotton fabric with a thin texture (light will go through it)
.....or
a couple of thin white scarves, or a thin sheet, or even thin white
paper (tracing paper might work?) --regular copy
paper wasn't quite thin enough to get the effect I wanted
.....the
sides cases are propped up with a thick piece of gray foam at the
back side (could show as backdrop too)
.....my Ott lights point
toward (and a little over top of) the side cases.
...with this set up, I can
shoot from the front ...or straight down from the top.
Jai
(outdoor)....I have just a white cardboard box, with one
side and the top taken off.
...I put the item inside the
box and reflect as much light back inside as I can (with sheets of white
things)
.... if there isn't enough light in the shade, I take it into bright
sunlight and cover with a piece of thin white material such as a handkerchief.
If you're using a flash for your lighting, cut up an old hankie and attach a small square of it over the flash which will give soft, even lighting and reduce the glare. Kim2
Backgrounds
are very important!
...the background shouldn't be busy,
of course, or textured, because that will often distract
too.
The farther away from the background your item is, the less
that background will be in focus
to distract from your item.
Doo't
use any background that's reflective... it
will be hard to keep it from being shiny somewhere, and distracting from your
item.
some things to use:
...a piece of
fabric (must be unwrinkled and non-shiny though so may need to be ironed)
...art paper, cardstock or matt board, etc. (get those in many colors
are art supply stores, craft stores, etc). DB
...sometimes a paper grocery
bag, flattened smooth, is the perfect low-tech bg. Kim K.
...I
like a neutral gray charcoal
paper(for drawing with charcoal?)
...I
also use large sheets of good handmade paper, or wallpaper...we
used all those for close up shots in my book, and also used colored industrial
floor mats (you see 'em at the bank, the store, the hospital....everywhere
there's a mat by the door, etc. ) ....they come in dozens of colors, and have
an interesting texture --black, gold, pink, green, blue....these are really
good at protecting the floor from raw clay, too. Sarajane
...for photographing
larger things like a room box or whole doll's house, I use the want
ads as my background. Because the camera isn't focusing on the background,
it will come out a nice neutral grey. Janey, in MN (only if using a camera where
the lens can be opened up wide or if it's far enough away from the camera?)
Amy
also uses Color-Aid gradient paper (sold at art supply
stores)
...could make gradient paper in some way? ... maybe create
it on a computer, print out, and use for small items
I've
use some very abstract colored papers I'd made with diff. watercolors
as backgrounds for non-polymer things
...they also might work well for these
backgrounds, as long as the area seen in the frame is very diffused in
pattern
If you have a
stiff background material to use, you can place one under the object and
shoot downward
... or if you have two stuff pieces of background material
(especially of the same color), you can place one under the item and one behind
it (though you'll see the place where they join)... I do this sometimes with my
18% gray cards (a photography supply)
If the background material
you use will bend, create a continuous background
by placing draping it in a curved L shape so that part of it is
under and part of it is behind the item, clipping or taping if necessary
...the
drop shadow effect adds a lot of drama to photos. nf
.....for
a "drop shadow" effect, Amy uses a sheet of medium grey art paper
attached to the top back of the box to create a curved ramp from the bottom
surface to the top of the back surface, which will create a gradient
background
...get
a cardboard box about the size that reams of paper come in, anda nice sheet
of neutral gray charcoal paper
........cut
off one of the long sides of the box ( or at least cut it at the ends so it flops
down flat)
........tape the charcoal paper to the top inside edge of the OTHER
long side of the box so it curls into the box. Do not crease it!
........you
can place small items, including sculptures, in the box
.........just position
the box so the daylight is coming in evenly (no shadows) and your camera
is facing into the box and you are set to go.
........you can also line
the ends with white reflective paper if you want to bounce the light.
Sherry B.
Stiff or bendable materials can can also be hung
on the wall then curved down onto a table, etc. ... or just hung flat.
...choosing
the best background (contrast, etc.),
...avoiding
shadows when using a flash, etc.
http://www.mimidolls.com/DCC-Techniques/Photography/PHOTO.HTM#Learning
SUSPENDING and/or FLOATING the item
To
get the background even farther away from the item, you can suspend the
item in some way
... this will prevent shadows falling
on the background around the item
....can be a dramatic, and
professional-looking technique
HORIZONTAL
... lay (your item)
flat on a piece of frosted glass that's raised up above the background
paper (and shoot downward). Amy ... there will be light coming from behind the
glass as well
...Matthew's cardboard box, with glass or plexiglas...
he opens up the box flaps, and cuts out one side of the box (for light source)
......then
cuts both remaining opposite sides horizontally from cutout-side to back
side, 9" above box bottom.... then slides his sheet of glass or plastic
(which should be wider than the open box) on top of the horizontal cuts
(which will act as a shelf)
......as a diffuser, he tapes a sheet of vellum
to the top of his gooseneck lamp's shade, allowing it to fall across the front
of the shade... then places the light and vellumt at entrance to the open side
of the box, pointing inside
.......then lays his background sheet on
the bottom of the box (below the glass)... shoots from the intact side
of the box (across from lighte)
http://createapendant.com/photobox.htm
VERTICAL
...
If there's a way to hang the item (earrings by their ear wires, or a pendant
by its cording, e.g.), hang it on a wire or rod, etc., held between two posts
......set
up lighting and background, then photograph the item from the front
......(can
move the whole setup farther away from or closer to the background, as you want)
(..you
can also tack the item to a vertical background with Blu Tac, a pin, etc.,
but there may be shadows)
(...for outdoor
backgrounds, see above under Natural Light)
(...for backgrounds
for scanners, see below in Scanners)
A short lesson in "depth-of-field," something you need to know about unless your object is flat and totally perpendicular to the lens face (less important for digital cameras?).
"depth-of-field" simply means: how much of the "field" will be in focus, front to back…
the "field" being the item you are photographing, as well as all the background which will appear in the photo (from your camera to infinity). (Think of it as distance AWAY from your camera --distance left to right makes no difference in depth-of-field, only front to back.)
For instance, if you shoot a photo of a dollar bill which is completely flat and standing on its long edge, facing the lens (completely perpendicular to it), the entire bill will be in focus (because it's all in the same plane). However, if you take the same dollar and lay it flat on the table lengthwise (sort of like an arrow pointing at the camera), only part of it will be in focus (the part in, or very close to, the *plane* which the camera is focusing on). E.g., if the camera is focusing well on George's face, then he will be in focus, but the long areas in front of and behind him won't be as much in focus.
(look
on these pages to see an illustration of the effects of depth-of-field:
http://www.photocourse.com/12/12-01.htm
and http://www.photocourse.com/04/04-04.htm)
The upshot of this is just that shooting flat or not-too-deep objects is easier than shooting "fat" or deep ones. This will be true whether you are using a macro lens, the close-up lenses/filters, or the close-up feature on your point-and-shoot. The things you can do to increase the depth-of-field (and therefore have the maximum amount of your fat object in focus) are:
--have
as much light as possible on the subject
--put the camera on a tripod or stack
of books (to avoid camera movement while pressing down the shutter button)
(-also helps to set your automatic timer to take the photo, OR use a cable release
)
(--if feasible, rotate the object some so that the distance from its front
to its back is as short as possible, as it faces the lens)
--use the smallest
f-stop possible (if your camera allows you to do this)
--if you can't do these things, then at least focus on the *most important part* of your object, a face for example, if it has one. That way, it will be in focus though other parts may be slightly out of focus.
the 1/3 trick
If you want your focus to be
as accurate as possible, here is a little trick. The greatest part of your object
will be in focus if you set the focus one-third of the way into its
depth --that's just the way the lens works. For example, if you want the dollar
bill to be as much in focus as possible, set your focus one-third of the way into
the length of it--between George's face and your camera--not half-way, which would
intuitively seem right.
(Hope all this info is more or less correct; please
post corrections if not… Diane B.
Kludgy method for taking close-ups with a camera without a built-in close-up capability
Does your camera not have
a "macro" (close-up) setting? Many newer point and shoots do, but "close-up" for
each may vary between 2 feet and only a couple of inches! (make sure you check
before buying!). If you don't have this capability, you probably cannot get any
closer than 2-4 feet from your subject (depending on your camera), unless you
buy an "add on" macro lens (SLR cameras only).
There's actually one
more (kludgy) option for getting close-ups on a camera that won't normally focus
closer than 2-4 feet. It's a relatively inexpensive set of "close-up filters,"
usually 3 per set, which screw into your regular lens area --they're made in various
mm lens sizes (diameters) depending on your individual camera--cost about
$25? They look like thin discs of glass bordered with a metal ring. Each one has
a different magnification: they're usually called a +1, +2, and +3 (or +4). If
your camera doesn't have screwing threads in the lens area, these filters can
simply be held in front of your camera lens as you shoot the photo (with
the now-famous third hand, or use a tripod, or hold them on with Blue Tac).
The instruction sheet that comes with the filters tells you exactly how
many inches from the subject your camera needs to be to have the item in focus.
(If you don't have a single-lens reflex camera, you can't go by what you see for
focusing partly because you're actually looking through a viewfinder, not through
the lens --though you must hold the close-up lens over the camera *lens* for this
to work!)
(Anyway, this is how I used to do it before I decided I liked doing
close-ups and wanted a macro lens, so it does work and it is cheaper than a macro
lens or new camera.)
Problems... with COLOR & with PRINTERS
(see solutions for fuzzy photos above)
1] if you print pictures to a colour printer, there is a difference in the way colours are formed and recorded by a digital camera as opposed to how the printer works. The camera film works by recording the levels of red, green and blue and combining them to form a full colour picture [this is called RGB encoding.] However, the printer uses cyan, yellow, magenta and black on the paper to make the full spectrum of colours. [this is called a CYMK image, black is called "K", and no I do not know *why* ;)] The computer software [either in the graphics program or the printer driver software] has to convert betwen the two methods of colour encoding, and you will get some differences in the colours on the screen and that on the printer. Some printer driver software and graphics programs have settings to compensate for this -sometimes called "image colour matching". How good / effective it is depends on a lot of variables [which are unique for each system] and can really only be determined by experiment.
2] digital cameras seem to be far more sensetive to the "colour temperature" of the light than film cameras (???) [although colour film sometimes also has this problem]. What looks like "white" light to humans is actually "weighted" towards certain wavelenghts of light. For instance daylight has a lot of blue light, as does a quartz-halogen lamp like you would use for video work or as a security light on a front door. A tungsten bulb (ordinary indoor houselamp bulb) has more yellow light [and some orange/red] light, as does a candle. This may well cause the colour casts you mention. Mr R? (see OTT lights too in Tools?)
As for exposure and correct color rendition, I cheat :-) and use my "18% gray card" under the object while photographing (purchase at good camera shops). Then the camera automatically selects the correct exposure. Also, if getting your photos printed retail, that particular gray should allow the printing machine to know exactly how to replicate the colors--*usually* works anyway. Diane B.
Do
you have access to Linux by any chance? If you do there is a great program
that is as or more powerful than photoshop and its FREEE. Its called GIMP.
It has a learning curve but so does Photoshop. For most of my stuff I use either
photodeluxe or the program that came with my scanner but I started playing around
a bit more and GIMP is VERY powerful and can do just what i was talking about
with scripts.
P.S. There are a number of free programs for Windows
also that can probably do what I was talking about if Photo Deluxe can't. (calibration
for your particular camera for photo editing software). You just need to look
around a bit.
***The other solution would be to get a Calibration Table
from your local photo store. They are produced by Kodak and I think AGFA makes
one also. Bascially, the idea is that the colors you see there are what are "correct"
With Photoshop and possibly corel, you should be able to save adjustment
settings. You can use that with and indoor and an outdoor shot. That way you can
(1) see if the colors really are off, and (2) you can use it to adjust your setting
to what is "correct" and then always automatically adjust your pictures.
NF
Or you can fix the problems
with photo editing software (see Photo Editing Software below)
PHOTO-EDITING & photo-editing software
Functions,
Advantages
The great advantage of having your image in a digital form (whether it's taken in a digital camera, or created by scanning from a printed image) is that after you have taken the picture, you can very easily improve it greatly by tweaking it with photoediting software of some kind until you get just what you want. DB
....While photoeditors are not magic (you can't really rescue an out-of-focus image, e.g., except perhaps by making it smaller), you might be surprised at how good your shots turn out with a little help from the software! Pat
..most photoeditors will also allow
you to resize the image in several ways
......this is important
for making the image the best format and size for the Web
too (...this generally means turning the image into a "jpg" formatted
image, and also "compressing" it to make it "smaller"
and faster to us)
...most indoor, digital shots will need
corrections for brightness (usually brighter) & contrast
(usually more)
...as well as for cropping out unwanted background,
etc.
...color balance
... it's easy to compensate for allover off-colors, etc in
a photoeditor, which can be caused by types of lighting present at the
time of shooting (fluorescent, incandescent, etc.), color being reflected
off a nearby colored wall onto the image (or different kinds of film when using
film cameras), etc.
... photoeditors also allow you to completely
change or otherwise have fun with a digital image by using
different functions, filters, effects, colors, etc.
...
you also may even be able to salvage a picture taken on a
non-digital camera which would be unusable otherwise.
Where to Find Photo-Editing Functions.... free, online
There
are various places online which will allow you to resize images (make file
size smaller usually) and many places now which also allow all kinds of editing
for photos & even special effects
.....all will take images from
your computer... some will take images from the web using a URL you provide for
that image or from a photo-sharing or social networking site
.....after editing,
you can save them to your computer, or send to bulletin boards, etc.)
...here are a bunch of them from a Google search:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=photoedit+online
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=resize+photos+free
resize + photoedit and special effects, etc.
Some
services offer highly developed editing tools at their sites (most are free to
use)
. . . and some of them are also used by photosharing or social networking
sites (free if you've joined that site)
stand-alone services:
...Photoshop
Express https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html
.....(photoediting
+ photo storage) https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html
.....can
edit photos from your computer, or from Photobucket, Facebook, Picassa
.....28
video demos of all steps and features: http://www.photoshoponline.com
.....has
5 or more "preview" photos at top of screen for many of the editing
options (choose one)
...FotoFlexor http://fotoflexer.com
......can edit photos from your computer, or from Photobucket, Flikr, Facebook,
MySpace, Picassa, etc.
......overview demo (at Photobucket) http://s0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/pbhomepage/Image%20Editor/?action=view¤t=fotoflexer_overview.flv
........
or (same at YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgo7_uc2Qo
...Picnik ... http://www.picnik.com
......do not need to register, or pay for
their premium service, to use... just click Let's Get Started, then
Upload Photo in upper right
...Imageshack.us (not
imageshack.com): http://imageshack.us
...Aviary...
...Phixr... http://www.phixr.com
......(resizing,
cropping, brightness/contrast, color saturation, sharpen, "despeckle,"
add text/speech bubble, special effects, sepia, add borders, frames, mix with
other photos)
photo-sharing sites + social networking
sites which have on-site photoeditors (sometimes one of
the above):
(list not complete, or maybe even accurate)
...Photobucket (uses FotoFlexer and ???)
...Flikr (uses Picnik... see
just above)
...Facebook (uses Picnik... see just above)
...Google's Picassa
resizing only
...ShrinkPictures... http://www.shrinkpictures.com
.......and this page at their site http://www.Shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar
is specifically for shrinking images down to avatar size
.......(for
more on creating an avatar, see Groups-Online
> Message Boards > Making Avatars)
...PhotoSize
... http://www.photosize.com
free photo-editors with computer or with other software you may already have
MS Word
(View > Print Layout .....Copy image to your clipboard from wherever it
is)
> Paste > drag a corner handle toward center of image till size desired
> offclick
(copy new image and paste somewhere else --or Print, or Save
As)
... can also use other tools to Crop, Lighten-Darken, increase-decrease
Contrast, or draw on with various colors, etc.
MS
Paint (Start menu > Program Files > Accessories > Paint)
>
File > Open > select photo by browsing your computer
> Image >
Stretch-Skew > (in the Stretch box) change percent number next to Vertical
& Horizontal to a smaller number (to keep the same proportions, be sure
to use the same percent for horizontal as vertical)
(copy image and
paste somewhere else --or Print, or Save As)
> Save As (or print, etc.)
....or
select a photo by right clicking on it, then click on Open with Paint (and continue
as above)
Most scanners come with photoediting
software included.
...fewer bells &
whistles than a stand-alone, "real" photoeditor (though
still useful for doing some important things to your images)
purchased photo-editing software
I use Picture Publisher, Digital
Edition more often than any other .... It has everything that I want or
need, is extremely easy, and isn't very expensive (I bought mine on E-bay, new.)
.....one
feature I especially like is its auto white correction....for 85% of digital
scans and photographs, this one click feature balances them up perfectly
(for overall off-color casts, or also for brightness?).....the remaining
scans can then be easily "fixed" by a few other simple features. Dotty
From
online, check out Paint Shop Pro
, a shareware graphics editor
with most of the same features as Adobe PhotoShop, but at about a third the cost.
They offer fully functional demos you can download and try out for 30 days to
see if you like it. --Pat
http://www.jasc.com
...Paintshop Pro is also a very good program, but I've found it is geared
more for drawing and developing graphics than my Picture Publisher
Digital Edition. Dotty
Adobe Photo Elements is less expensive than Adobe's full Photoshop, often used by professionals, but has a lot of capabilities in addition to the basic ones
Adobe
Photoshop is the highest level choice for
photo-retouching, and pretty much state-of-the-art..... but is quite expensive
.....also
it has so many features
that it can actually be confusing for the beginning
photo editor. Pat
Adobe has also put out
PhotoShop LE (Limited Edition) which is pretty inexpensive.
....I purchased
it bundled with Adobe's PageMill (web page creator) for $99 (there
was a $50 rebate on top of that, too, but I thought it was a deal even without
the rebate. LE does a *lot* --more than I think I'll ever need. My only gripe
is that it has only one level of "undo." IreneNC
.........Yep,
this "light" version of PhotoShop often comes bundled with Adobe's other software
(PageMaker, PageMill, etc.) I got by with it for a good long while before I was
able to upgrade to the full version. But it's not available
by itself.
.....Adobe
was bundling it's PhotoShop 5.5 with a terrific utility called ImageReady
(for free) at one time, which has just the relatively few functions
needed to prepare images for use on the Web. It's a great little tool, and not
available by itself. Pat
free downloadable
photo-editing software
free... download software:
HP Image Zone....resize
photos, alter the coloring, and more
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/free/software/download.html
Google's
Picassa http://picasa.google.com
other places for photo-editing
Kinkos/etc. and office supply stores usually offer these services (fee)
Places like Walgreen's, etc., often have little stand-alone kiosks where one can edit one' own photos (fee)
More on Selecting & Using Photo-editors
The
main thing with editing programs is to spend some time looking at and using all
of the things it offers
.. just set up any photo, and play with
it.
...Try out the gamma (color, hue) correction, and see what that does,
etc.
...Then try the zoom and go way in, then use the paint or pen tool to
take out or put in something (pixel by pixel).
Do this some every day until
it all comes easily and you can pretty much look at a photo and know what all
to do with it.
....remember that you can back step (undo)
if what you do looks bad. Most programs can go back one step, while others can
handle more than one. Dotty
Even the simpler photoeditors have learning curves though... might be good to get a really simple one... because most of what we'll do with our scans is only to increase the contrast and lighten-darken them.
I finally got a good photo that did not have to be edited
at all! (by doing in her camera what would normally
be done with a photoeditor)
....I use a Nikon Coolpix 880
digital camera (expensive camera --other
digitals may not have some of these features):
....I
use these settings: macro is on... the "shake setting"
(BSS) is on which won't let it blur.....florescent lighting setting (I
set it at FL3)... metering is set to matrix....(no flash is used
...ISO is set to auto)
.....exposure has been raised to +1.7.....
More Contrast has been selected under the image adjustment menu
....my
setup was 2 Ott lites on, and all other lights in the room OFF
(this way you aren't mixing "yellow" indoor lamps with white lights
together in the room)
.....here's the a close up photo straight from the camera
- no editing other than cropping it before uploading it: http://www.michelejanine.com/graphics/Dscn0726.jpg
... this is the first photo in I've NOT had to edit (brighten,sharpen,etc)
after taking the picture
....all the photos of new work on my
website http://www.michelejanine are shot
with no editing other than cropping to fit where I wanted them to. Jai
Drawing "Tablets" & Pens
I have a Aiptek
Hyper Pen to use with my photoeditor (Adobe PhotoDeluxe)
but haven't got a clue how to use them together.
....As long as your
pen is set up to work in Photo Deluxe, or any other photo editing program,
you shouldn't have a problem. ...You just use it like a pen, but also like
a mouse. It's just much easier to use than the mouse when it comes to making
changes in a photo or graphic, or whatever.
....I also have an Acecat III digital
pad and pen which makes editing much easier to do, so I can I go around
the image of the piece with black or white depending on which one will look the
best, using the pen…Dotty
Wayne's all-you-need-to-know about scanning (searchable!) http://www.scantips.com/*
Quick
Start Scanning Guide: For Web Images http://www.oit.umass.edu/publications/at_oit/fall99/michele.html
"Putting Photographs on a Web Page," http://www.oit.umass.edu/publications/at_oit/Archive/spring98/scan.html
First
you might wan to find the "sweet spot" on your particular
scanner (for most scanners, that's just about dead center on the glass).
....to do that, place a plain white sheet of paper
on the face and scan (set scanner at 72 dpi) .... now look at your monitor
.......where
you see shadows is NOT the place to put your item! Cheryl
H.
techniques for scanning thick (or thin) objects ...& backgrounds
If
you have a scanner, you don't need a digital camera for getting a digital
image of many items, even if they're 3-D. ...Scanners actually do a satisfactory
job of "photographing" the closer parts of a dimensional object (and that's
often all you'd be seeing in most straight-on photos as well).
..... just
place your item face down on the scanner glass, and scan.
Most of the scanners
I have used have scanned objects up to around 1" thick very well in
focus
.....(how much of the object is in focus seems to depend on
the lens inside the scanner and its depth of field rather
than resolution as such, IMO).
SUMMARY...There are several
options for scanning items and for creating a "background"
color behind your item (depending partly on the item's size):
--leave
the lid open, and get a fairly black background)
--mostly
close the lid, and get a grayish background
--place a sheet of paper
over the back of the item, and get a grayish background though with shadows
wherever the paper curves)
... or use a colored paper (....&
if you can't get shadows right, use a darker paper so they won't
show)
--whenever the previous options allow a open space
around he scanner lid where light can get in (or
out), a black or white fabric can be
draped over the entire scanner (this will keep the scanner light in,
or keep the outside light out, or will reflect back any light hitting
the sides that might escape)
--place a shallow box, box
lid, or frame over the item to get an even-toned background (of whatever
color you've used on the inside back of the box)
.....may have to play with
the depth of the box (by raising it with little feet, etc.) till you get
any shadow that might result the way you want, or to avoid it
.....do the
same thing with a neutral colored matte board, etc., placing the board
on risers of various kinds to elevate it
--drape the item with
some kind of fabric or stiff fabric like a carpet square ... this can produce
good results or funky ones depending on exactly how it's done, and how much you
want to play with it. Diane B.
Remember when
choosing a background, to keep in mind that contrast is important!!
....
so, if the item you're scanning is medium-to-dark, a pale background is
good... however, if the item is light, it can get lost
on a light background. Triche
many
examples of items which were directly scanned in various ways
can be seen at Sarajane's website... some have fabric or paper behind them, and
some have been scanned with a "rectangle frame" as described below,
etc.
http://www.polyclay.com
unusual
backgrounds, or just "framings" in certain areas,
can be created with rocks, beans, or any objects or materials
...place the objects and/or materials wherever you want them on the
scanner bed before scanning
...can put these totally so they appear to
be totally behind or partly behind the object so they'll block
parts of the object in the final scan, etc.(by placing the material on top of,
or partly underneath, the upsidedown object on scanner bed), or dump all around
object
...use a plastic sheet protector over the scanner bed
if any of these things might scratch the glass ...or could make collages
too
Pamelas lesson using small rocks to surround and "frame"
a photo of people at the beach
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_scrapbooking_memory/article/0,1789,HGTV_3318_4009625,00.html
You
can even scan 3-D sculptures. I do all the time, by simply laying the sculpture
directly on the scanner
.....the areas touching the glass are
brighter, but that's the only distortion.
......... if you leave the
scanner lid open, you end up with a black background.
..........to
create a gray or white background instead (depending on the closeness
of the paper to the glass), gently lay a large piece of white paper
over the piece
....You may not always get the point of view you want, but it
does work. Judith skinner told me you can do it about two years ago and I've been
keeping a record ever since. Katherine Dewey
I just
lift the lid off the scanner, lay my stuff down on the glass bed, and then cover
the entire scanner with a large piece of black fabric
(to keep outside light from washing out
the image, or creating lighter areas on one side
or ther other, etc.).
....for some, I also put
a piece of paper between the item to be scanned and the fabric
if I wanted a non-black background. Jules
I
just place a piece of white printer paper on top of my item, making
sure no edges will be included in the scan
......then
I cover the rest of the scanner bed, to contain the light
.... if the lid doesn't close well, I just leave it open as long as the scanner
bed is completely covered. Joanie
....parchment and handmade-looking
papers seem to work well for backgrounds too. Jules
I take the
(stiff) black velvet pad out from the bottom of one
of my jewellery trays, and position it face down on top of
the jewellery... this scans a nice deep black, and sets off the pieces very well.
....less "clean-up time", too! Sue/gar
...or make your own stiff
fabric backing with fabric attached to cardstock, etc.
You
can drape a white sheet or other fabric just over
the piece being scanned (...also results in less clean up for the background
later). Meredith
....(e.g., use a white
or a dark velour over the item )....and then close the lid.
....sometimes the reflection given off by the drape is just enough
to get a really good shot
You may need to experiment though
with the draping, to see if gently molding it around
the item improves the scan
... don't use
terry cloth though (...if you have to increase the size of your item later
...it really looks awful like a bad plate of rice!) Kelly
using
a box, a box lid, or risers
.....I
placed an unopened package of clay on each corner of the bed
....
then I lowered the lid .....and placed a black t-shirt over the
lid to keep the light out.
........(the blocks of clay keep the lid above
the piece so it doesn’t rest right on it at all...then
I also get fewer dark shadows
around my piece.
.....I taped a pretty
paper to the lid for a background. Denise
...I
used a stiff matte board (pale & neutral in color, for a background),
which I then elevated by propping up either end of it with floppy diskettes
(how many?) .
......(I try not to prop the matte board up
too high because this creates more shadows.)
Triche
especially
for larger items.... .How did you scan the doll? I didn't know that
was possible.
.... Well, I have a flatbed scanner so I just place the item
on it, detach the cover ...then place the cover back
on top of the item ...and scan it!! Sarajane H
It's
even better though use a large box ...or make a rectangle frame
....I
place a large box (white, or covered with paper) over the item (esp. for
a large item like a doll)
…...the inside of the box scattters light
all around (...creating a more even illumination and fewer shadows).
....or
I make a rectangle frame out of 4 strips of cardboard or foamboard
about 2-3" wide ... tape the edges together..... lay the doll
down inside the frame
..... then I put the scanner lid or a sheet of
cardstock or paper, on top of the frame to keep the light in.
.....scanning
the doll this way (or any 3-D object) often gives a nicer image than photographing
with a camera ...at least with my camera and skills! Sarajane?
(using
a rectangle frame or large box),
the thickest piece I've scanned is the purple
fairy puppet ... she's a bit dark,
but not blurry! http://polyclay.com/dolls.htm
.....beads do well with this method http://polyclay.com/beads.htm
...and even eggs http://polyclay.com/eggs.htm
.
.....in fact, most of the pics on the 50+ pages of my website are scans
(only a few from color photocopies) & 98% were objects laid on the scanner.
Sarajane H
You can save some clean up time later if you attach the pin to be scanned onto a white card (then onto the lid?). Results in less clean up later! Meredith
I actually scanned a 4x6" polymer box ....by setting its corner directly on the scanner.We
came up with another cool way to scan 3-D items that won't lay flat
......(hers was jewelry)
... the top of her scanner is removable so we removed
it, then we turned the scanner on its end ..... resting against
a wall, it scanned straight up and down)
....we had taped the pendant
to the top using a hang tag... and scooted the top piece real close the the scanner.
Stephanie
When scanning metallic (or shiney)
items .... I often tape the item to the top of my scanner
........then
I hold the lid a bit off the scanner
while it scans (does not take much of an angle, just 10 degrees or
so makes a big difference)
....this lets the light really capture the
glimmer that you can't get when laying on the scanner. Nanette
I know how hard it is to scan beads.
They keep wanting to show their holes! So I string
them with "illusion cord" and tape both ends of the cord to the sides.
....If you want the "loose beads look" leave some slack.... Then arrange your
beads with the best sides facing the camera/scanner. Karen
for
my thick sculpt of a boy with frog .... I wrapped the back side
of the sculpt in a cloth
... then stuffed that in a glass
bowl, with him face up... then I inverted the bowl so he was facing
the scanner. Annette
I thought you
were not supposed to leave the lid up while scanning because it can burn
up the lamp in the scanner. Jan
....That's what I was once told, but
I wrote to HP and asked them because I was really worried about it and they said
it made no difference because the scanner was designed to scan a page of a thick
book (which would keep the lid from going down), as well as thin flat items. Dotty
After scanning, I like to clean up the scan with a photo-editing program (a simple one comes with all scanners). Dotty (see "PhotoEditors" category above)
scanning resolutions ... scanner brands ... etc .
I
use my scanner all the time, but the scanned image will often need take some
cleanup work with a photoeditor afterwards . Dotty
(....forinfo
on "photoeditors" like those discussed below, see above
under "Photoediting Software")
Re "resolution"
or dpi (dots per inch), the only time you need a high-resolution
scan is when you're scanning "line work" for printing
...
but if you're scanning for display on the web, a lower
resolution is fine
...so less expensive scanners
are fine since the resolution of monitors is limited anyway
......color photos
(bitmaps) do not require very high resolution either (because TV sets are not
high res).
For type, and for other line work (as produced in programs like Freehand, Illustrator, or Corel Draw), which you're going to print, you want high resolution so that diagonals and curves dont' come out "jagged." Roberta
My scanner goes up to 900 dpi....so for sending to the internet
(or for e-mail), I scan at 100 dpi (minimum)
......but
for printing out, I scan at 300. ...yes it takes a loooonger
time (to scan), but is worth it. Sarajane
...I scan at 300-400 resolution...
then in ( my photoediting software) Photoshop I resize the image smaller,
and make any adjustments to the image needed.
...so I think scanning
at a higher resolution to start with, and then resizing later,
might be your answer.
...... Elizabeth turned me on to a great little program
called PhotoCrunch (http://www.imroncorp.com/photo.htm) ($8 and a bargain
at twice the price) that I use to compress the image to decrease the
file size (not a full photoeditor?) Irene NC
It is also important the
number you set your scanner to when you scan initially. For web display and email,
I scan at 300 dpi.
....Then I use Corel Photopaint (or can use a photoeditor)
to brighten, add contrast and maybe sharpen
the image (only a touch of the latter or it gets too
grainy).
....I then use a photoeditor to "compress"
the JPEG images so that they are no bigger than 30K or thereabouts
(being smaller means they will email fairly quickly and load rapidly
if on a web page).
....I use this method for photos of polyclay items, how-to
colour illustrations, and also for the things themselves simply laid on the scanner.
Sue H.
After you've scanned, use a graphic program
(photoeditor), such as Paint Shop Pro, Adobe PhotoShop Elements, etc. to
....crop
the scan image to fairly close to the item (eliminate most of the background)
....resize
to something fairly small, say 150 pixels wide (you may have to click "sharpen"
once after you've resampled the graphic)
...save it JPG format!!
(if you'll be putting it on the web or e-mailing it)
...... jpg's the most
common format for images on the web, and are compatible with all browsers
............(and
when the image has more than a few colors) they are much smaller than GIF's !!!
Cheryl Hahn
I never use the software that comes with a scanner. They don't seem to give me enough control. I use three others instead, Picture Publisher, Print Artist, and Photoshop 7. My favorite is Picture Publisher most of the time. That's the one I always scan into. It makes it easy to clean up and upgrade a scan. Print Artist I use for making greeting cards, business cards, stationary, envelopes, etc. But I often do the designs in Pic Pub, or Photoshop first and then transfer them. Dotty in CA
Keep in mind, browsers can only read 72 DPI, so don't try to scan at, say, 600 DPI trying to get a perfect image. All you'd succeed in doing is making a HUGE picture that will take forever to
For scanning, have your photos developed in a larger size. If I am going to scan a picture I always have it developed at Wal-Mart (They seem to have the best consistency in developed pictures and very accurate color.) and mark their 5" super. The larger size gives you better detail without any grain problems and you can always size it down and still have a really nice looking picture. Victoria
What matters for good color picture scanning is the number
of colors you use.
....for example,
a color photo scanned at 150 dpi with thousands of colors will look
much better than a color photo scanned at 1500 dpi with hundreds
of colors. It's the color variations that give the subtle differences such as
skin tones, and so on. Roberta
I bought a Canon scanner myself a
few months ago, I forget which model and it was terrible! It just didnt have the
depth of field needed to scan 3d objects. I finally got it changed for an Epson
which is great. Before this, I had another scanner that also didnt quite make
the grade.
... Unfortunately, because scanners are not technically meant to
be used as we use them, it is pretty hard to work out beforehand if a particulr
model will be up to the job or not. Emma
....UMAX makes an excellent
line of scanners....... HP scanners have been consistently reliable. Roberta
…if you have a scanner, you can scan negatives and using any program comparable to Paint Shop Pro that has a negativizing feature, "develop" the negative into a print. Using that, you can then do ink-jet transfers or print the image and photo-copy it for photocopy transfers. And if you have a bunch of old negatives hanging around that you haven't been looking forward to trying to identify...this'll do it! Kelly . . . others disagreed??
Scanners vs. Ditigal Cameras
As for the differences between having a scanner and a digital camera, it pretty much depends on where you want to get images ... what kind of images you want to have... and how much $$ you want to spend.
Scanners are cheaper than digital cameras. (most come with very simple photoediting software, but you might want a separate photo editor for improving both, so there they're equal). Scanners can capture quite good images of objects and can even handle somewhat 3-D images with a little propping, etc. (see for as what my scanner did with small polymer face slices --I did enlarge them a tad with software (website gone)). They can't take certain angles though or larger items. They are an essential route for getting any film photographs or other images (hand-drawn, from magazines/books, etc.) into a computer though, although I guess those could also be captured by camera first.
Digital camera
characteristics depend a lot on which one you buy, their features, etc. They're
definitely more expensive. (costs for both digitals and scanners are upfront and
don't really increase except for down-the-road battery or light replacement.)
Digital cameras will do some things that a scanner won't though, for example capturing
images away from the computer (outdoors, at guild meetings, shows, etc.). Lighting,
backgrounds, and camera angles can be manipulated much more with digitals. Large
items can be captured, and people can be included.
The quality of digital
images depends largely on the resolution of the particular camera you buy. The
higher the better of course, but if you won't be enlarging the image too much
or printing out an enlargement, the highest isn't really necessary.
The most
important feature IMO is the close-up ability. Just how close can the camera focus
on an object? one inch or one foot? Without any kind of close-up feature, most
cameras must remain at least 2-4 feet from the object--that makes for a pretty
small image unless your object is large. So called "close-up" features can vary
from 2 feet down to about one inch --a huge difference! (be sure you find out
for absolute sure; lots of salespeople really don't know the actual # of inches.)
Its really necessary to get the closest focusing one can get, unless you never
have small objects to photograph.
As for getting the photos on the Web, the time for both is approximately equal in general. Usually, I think, scanners are invoked through a photo-editing program, then the scanner must warm up, and steps gone through to capture the image, name it, save it to a file, and/or translate it into a jpeg for the Web. You can then compose an e-mail to photopoint.com (or anyone) and browse your system to attach the image. With a digital camera, after taking the photo you must transfer it to the computer. With mine, I remove the little Flash Card, slip it into a floppy disk, and insert it in the A drive; then using Windows Explorer I read the A drive and transfer the (unnamed) photos to a permanent or temporary file. I then open each one and give it a permanent name if I want to keep it. After that I can open my photo-editing software, browse for the image, manipulate it, and translate it to jpeg, then go through the e-mail process as above if I want to send it somewhere. As I'm writing this it seems that the digital takes longer, but I don't really notice any huge difference.
As to which one I use more often, it depends entirely on what I'm photographing. A digital comes in handy for all sorts of things (aside from clay). I use it for taking shots at the guild or at someone's house, or of many things my kid has done or participated in so that I can immediately put the images on Photopoint, or send with an e-mail, to grandma. With scanners you're limited to what will fit on your screen, be somewhat flat, and stay still. I use both a lot, so guess I'd say go for the digital too if you can afford it and you can get a real close-up feature (if you need that), or if you would use it away from home enough. Does that help? Diane B.
OTHER PHOTOGRAPHIC OPTIONS
I took her to get her picture made at JC Penney's tonight, those ladies always get such a kick out of photographing my dolls!! (for larger items only?)
If you decide to use glass (over your work), take photos of your artwork without the glass in the frame. I had a professional photographer try to photograph over ten pieces for me and the glare prevented her from getting a good picture---and she is a top notch photographer and specializes in photographing artwork. At least she did not charge me! She told me that it is very common that artists do not install glass until after photographing. I tried the non-glare glass, but all the photos took on a weird color. Jeanne
see also: Misc. > Putting your Photos Online
(also see Translucents
> Glow-in-the-Dark > Fluorescents for photographing polymer clay
or other items under black light)
(see Trick
Photography if you're interested in that sort of thing)
