Interest in photography manual?

[Jdubfudge]

I'm a photographer and have been using Photoshop since the mid-nineties. If there is interest, I could make a photography manual that may helpful to some people. I know there have been some posted here, but they seem pretty outdated to me or poorly written. I could do something similar to the NatGeo photography field guides. Something like this would take some time, as I'd shoot all the photographs and have to write it, so I'd only do it if people want it.

Topics could include:
Color theory
Principles of light
Principles of photography
White balance
Exposure
Focus
Camera equipment
Lighting
Composition
Macro photography
Photo editing (Photoshop or would people prefer Lightroom?)

If there is interest please let me know. Also if there is a specific subject, let me know.




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[jeff]

I think it would be well received.

 

[Jdubfudge]

The. I'll do it. If anyone wants specific things covered let me know and I'll add it.


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[jeff]

I've been using PaintShop Pro for years, and I still haven't mastered anything past the basics. I don't suppose you're conversant with that package? :biggrin:

 

[magpens]

I would be very interested in a photography manual with emphasis on photographing pens.

In particular, I believe I could benefit from discussions of color balance, exposure, and depth of field.

I think you have taken on quite a large task for an audience with a huge variation in skill/knowledge level.

A suggestion ... not too technical at first . Most of us just want to show off our pens to good advantage

 

[Jdubfudge]

I've been using PaintShop Pro for years, and I still haven't mastered anything past the basics. I don't suppose you're conversant with that package? :biggrin:

It's been years, maybe 10?, since I've used paint shop pro. My section on editing (post production) will have an emphasis on the technical side of it. So it will cross any photo editing program (photoshop, Lightroom, paint shop pro, gimp, ect) as it will cover how to adjust color, contrast and exposure. With editing programs, most of the tools are the same.


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[SteveG]

I would be in line to get a copy of your proposed manual. I would particularly benefit from a "Quick Setup Guide" section which could get me in the ball park initially, and then I could work through the expansion and refinement of photo skills from there, as time permits. I think it is a great and useful project. My area of interest would be narrowly focused on pen photography. The Photoshop "Elements" might be the software that most casual level pen photographers would be willing to buy. I have Elements 11.

 

[lorbay]

I would be very interested.

Lin.

 

[thewishman]

I would love to learn more.

 

[76winger]

I think it would be an excellent topic to cover as well. Like Jeff, I mostly use Paintshop Pro, with a couple of attempts using Gimp. If I were comfortable using it, I might try Lightroom, but PhotoShop is way to pricey for me as a casual photographer.

 

[Jdubfudge]

I would be in line to get a copy of your proposed manual. I would particularly benefit from a "Quick Setup Guide" section which could get me in the ball park initially, and then I could work through the expansion and refinement of photo skills from there, as time permits. I think it is a great and useful project. My area of interest would be narrowly focused on pen photography. The Photoshop "Elements" might be the software that most casual level pen photographers would be willing to buy. I have Elements 11.

I like the idea of a quick setup guide as well. I'll add that. The format for that will be kind of like a cheat sheet that could be printed out and kept in a camera bag (or elsewhere if people are using cell phones for their equipment.


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[Jim15]

I'd love to learn more, my pictures are not very good.

 

[tbfoto]

I've been a commercial photographer for about 20 years. There is a lot of material already written on many of the subjects you mentioned in your first post. However in my opinion I think there would be great interest on how to build a simple light tent and how to use it to best photograph pens. I've seen many posts about this subject over the years and some have attempted to explain how they do it. Everyone here is interested in pen making so keeping the subject closely related to displaying them would be key.

 

[mikeschn]

I have been migrating to the free photo editors, i.e. Gimp and IRFanview. If you could teach me how to better use those... :wink:

Mike...

 

[liljohn1368]

I would love to know more about photography. I use coreldraw X6 which is more for a vector art. But I have corel paint also.....

 

[darrin1200]

This is something that still vexes me. Everytime I think I've got it, I realize I don't.

I would also definitely like a copy of this manual. Your efforts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[leehljp]

I would like it also. I started with Photoshop with 2.5.1 in 1994, I think. (I got it with a 1200DPI epson scanner). I was overseas in a totally different language, so I had to learn PS through my own experience and from use of other graphics applications. I upgraded about every other upgrade.

There are still things I do not understand or know but I do know that I enjoy PS with photos. White balance, what it does and why it is important still doesn't gel in my mind. I use it until I get something close to what I want, but I don't understand the concept - if that makes sense. There are other aspects that I could certainly learn.

 

[Edgar]

This will be awesome, Jason. Thanks for stepping up to this project - I know it will be well received & appreciated.

I use Photoshop, but my skills are very rudimentary. I will definitely appreciate more info on using photo editors.

In the Camera Equipment section, I hope you will include suggestions on how to get the best results from smartphone photography. I have a DSLR and a couple of small digital cameras, but sometimes a smartphone is just a lot more convenient. I really like the camera on my new iPhone7+ and I'd like to be able to take full advantage of its capabilities.

Edgar

 

[Jdubfudge]

In response to many of the replies on this thread...

For post production (photo editing/retouching) I will cover the principles of editing and not actually specific tutorials because I understand that we use different programs and versions. For instance though when it comes to color balance. If you understand the color wheel and white balance, then you can make color adjusts to correct white balance. This can be done with changes in hue, saturation, levels, curves and other filters. Most photo editing programs have these tools. So I will explain color and white balance. Then show how it can be adjusted with available common editing tools.

For exposure, I will explain exposure and reading histograms. Then show how to adjust exposure using different methods (curves, levels, and other tools). While I'll be using photoshop, the tools I'll be using are available it most of the programs, so it can easily be applied across the board.

For equipment it will have three different sections for cameras, lenses and lighting. In the camera section I'll cover cell phones, consumer point and shoots, prosumer cameras such as mirrorless cameras, and dslrs. I won't cover large format and field cameras because that's probably too advanced and anyone who uses that equipment will already be passed this book anyways. For lighting, I'll cover available natural lighting, constant studio lights, speed lights/strobes. For this section, I'll show examples of different setups with the details on how to achieve the look.

For lenses I'll cover primes, macros, kit/consumer, and professional lenses. I'll also cover filters, to include white balance, macro, neutral density and polarizers. Again, for the filters, there will be examples.

For the studio set up, I plan on covering outdoor, indoor with no special equipment, and the backdrop that I use. It was asked to do something on a light box and how to make one. I actually don't like light boxes for pens because it severely limits the kind of setup one can do. I'll explain the pros/cons of useing a light box but that's about it. I will show how I made my set using 8020 aluminum extrusion.

This book will only focus on pen photography as well, as people requested.

Again if there are more requests for information, please keep asking. Realistic timeframe for me to complete it will be about a month as I'm waiting on some equipment from Amazon. I'm ordering so new stuff to make tutorials for using less expensive equipment.


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[Edward Cypher]

I think that would be awesome!!

 

[oldstoker]

I would like to get a copy of your photography manual, and appreciate the time and effort you are taking into making this manual.
Thanks.
Joe.

 

[socdad]

I am interested in what you are proposing, I have fumbled my way around trying to photograph pens ...

 

[Jimbes]

I think that's some undertaking for jdubfudge. I think there a many, many ways to photograph your pens. Probably the best thing to do is find what you like, then figure out how it's done. I've only recently started turning, and I decided I wanted something a little different. I chose to photograph on black velvet. That works for me for the most part, but recently, I've used a simple white "background" (I shoot down on my pens, not horizontally, so technically, it's probably not a background) and some "stones". Problem I had with the black velvet is it's difficult to so a sharp transitions from the wood to the metal. It looks bloated, when it's not.

Though new to pen turning, I'm not new to photography. Here's link (if I can do that here) to my website I've been using so far ( jimbessette.com should work, if not then: Art - Panoptic Photography )

I'm glad to answer any questions that I can. Not sure how jdubfudge is going to handle myriad of different cameras out there, but as he mentioned, white bal and color correction is part of most software these days. I mostly stick to Lightroom as that handles anything necessary for photographing pens that I need. I've used Lightroom since version 1.

Kudos to jdubfudge for his efforts.
Jim

 

[BRobbins629]

There have been some great posts and info on this forum. Most deal with features available on higher end cameras. Those who own those are probably already somewhat proficient. There are many more of use who rely on cell phone cameras. I see you will have a section on them, but I would like something specifically geared to those not just a small section. Thank you for your efforts.

 

[Jdubfudge]

There have been some great posts and info on this forum. Most deal with features available on higher end cameras. Those who own those are probably already somewhat proficient. There are many more of use who rely on cell phone cameras. I see you will have a section on them, but I would like something specifically geared to those not just a small section. Thank you for your efforts.

I just bought some cheap lights off Amazon, specifically for this. As a professional photographer, my kit consists of about $25k worth of camera equipment but I agree with what you have said. I'm not going to use high end dslrs with expensive strobes for this project.

But that being said, most of the stuff will be shot with my point and shot and not my cell phone. But it's a setup that anyone could have with the sales of a few pens.


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[jeff]

Applicable I imagine to any small product photography on the scale of pens? I'd love to get good results without the light box I use. It really causes me more headache than it's worth.

 

[jttheclockman]

I too will be watching this from the point and shoot camera angle. breaking down into the hobby we enjoy penturning will be helpful because the subject matter is so small and has shiny things on it but it is important to show the blank for which we spend our time with. Good luck.

 

[wouldentu2?]

Would appreciate info on lighting and tents. Please keep material from places like HomeDepot, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joanns etc.

 

[Jdubfudge]

Would appreciate info on lighting and tents. Please keep material from places like HomeDepot, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joanns etc.

I will try to keep it with basic materials, but already I use a setup with stuff not from a big box or crafts store. My backdrop was made from some 8020 extrusion I have sitting around in my shop. But it could just as easily be built with any materials.

Also, I live in Hawaii and don't have easy access to the stores. The nearest Home Depot or lowes is about an hour away so I only go there about once a month.

But one of the lighting setups I'll show is with some el cheapo lights I bought online and won't be using soft boxes. Instead I'll be softening the light with home made filters from vellum.


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[jeff]

Would appreciate info on lighting and tents. Please keep material from places like HomeDepot, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joanns etc.

I will try to keep it with basic materials, but already I use a setup with stuff not from a big box or crafts store. My backdrop was made from some 8020 extrusion I have sitting around in my shop. But it could just as easily be built with any materials.

Also, I live in Hawaii and don't have easy access to the stores. The nearest Home Depot or lowes is about an hour away so I only go there about once a month.

But one of the lighting setups I'll show is with some el cheapo lights I bought online and won't be using soft boxes. Instead I'll be softening the light with home made filters from vellum.


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The only reason I use a box (mine is a cardboard box with "windows" cut out and covered with translucent paper) is to soften the light. I've tried making filters for lights, but I can't seem to avoid the glare as I can with the box. So I'll be very interested to see your lighting solutions, as I think that's 95% of my problem.