Need Advise and Suggestions...on Pics

[DKF]

I am fairly new to the light tent aspect of photography....I have a Canon Powershot A95. I am shooting the pens in macro, and in the "foilage" Scene setting. Foilage because it is said to pick up details. I am not crazy about how they are coming out....Here are two pics of a recent pen...which one is better? The second photo has the lights moved to the front of the tent. My pictures are not doing them justice and I see some pretty amazing pictures around here. Suggestions? And thank you. I hope it is OK to post pics in this forum but knew of no other way to ask for advise here....

 

[RogerGarrett]

I did a little work with photoshop to fix white balance, hue saturation, and sharpening........more work would result in even better results. Let me know if you think it looks a bit closer to the original.

Best,
Roger Garrett

 

[DKF]

Roger

Yes...Of my two pics, the first one is the closest, as the second one looks washed out a bit. I think the pen looks somewhere between my first photo, and your fix....I have Picasa, and I do have some of the fixes you made....I guess I'll have to mess with those. Is Photoshop a better set-up? Thanks

 

[ahoiberg]

you can do most of the simple editing with photoshop elements, which is what i've been using. but, it's nice to get a picture into photoshop and not have to fiddle much with it. i think your first picture looks the best, like you said, the second one is a little over exposed.

what kinds of lights and how much are you using? i know everyone is big on light diffusion, but i've been shining my lights right on the subject. for pens, i feel it shows off the finish better and does a great job of illuminating. your camera should have everything you need to get great shots, your first one looks pretty darn good to me, i'd suggest messing around with the lighting more to get it how you want it.

also, try setting the subject toward the front of the tent, closer to the light instead of back by where the background curves... unless i'm seeing it wrong.

 

[Mikey]

Roger, no offense, but the picture that you redid looks even worse than the first two that were posted. Also, I kind of posted in the casual conversation, but I'm wondering why everyone needs to use photo editing software so much. Is it the camera that makes you do this, or is the lights source just not good enough, forcing you to edit?

 

[ken69912001]

DKF, here is the first photo retouched using Picasa. All I did was first crop then sharpen,adjust saturation and then used Im Feeling lucky. I use picasa for all my photos.

 

[DKF]

Andrew...Thanks for the reply and the suggestions...I am using the 20w lamps that came with the light tent kit...I will play a little more with placing the lights in front. Thanks again.


Ken....A couple of Picasa questions. I am able to do all the adjustments on Picasa as you did, but when I send it to the desk top, it does not send the adjusted photo....Somehow I am tied to Jasc (it is on my computer as well)and it has the original photo on my desk top. How do you up-load your photo directly from Picasa? Thanks

 

[ahoiberg]

don, if you're only using two 20w (compact fluorescent i assume?), you need more light. particularly if you're diffusing it. try two at least 40w or higher bulbs. you can usually find them at home depot or walmart or something like that. look for the compact fluorescent with daylight finish and at least 5000k temperature. up to 6500k.

if you need the use of a filter called saturation, then you need more light. []

oh yeah, and i agree with mikey, the better you can get it with the camera, the better it'll be in the end.

 

[DKF]

Thanks...I will go ahead and get some 40w bulbs and see how that works.....I appreciate your suggestions.

 

[MDWine]

It sounds like the basic problem is the amount of light. Putting the lights in front defeats the purpose of the light tent to some degree. I think I use 2 or 3 of the 90W type of curly lights. Just IMHO, but I like getting rid of the shadows that 'front lights' create! Just keep pluggin' away at it. Also, try to get closer, and use your 'depth of field', that way you get more detail as well! HTH

 

[DKF]

Thanks to all....Kenny got me straightened out on the Picasa situation...will fiddle with the lighting and see if I can improve upon what I've got going....

 

[RogerGarrett]

Originally posted by Mikey
<br />........I'm wondering why everyone needs to use photo editing software so much. Is it the camera that makes you do this, or is the lights source just not good enough, forcing you to edit?

Yes

Best wishes,
Roger Garrett

 

[jkirkb94]

Don, I really think that somewhere between your 2 pictures is about right. Check the background in the pictures with the actual background and check the metal on the lower aspect of the pen with the original pen. I manipulate my photos with iPhoto (since it is easy) then manipulate it in Adobe Elements to get smaller kb. Still learning myself. Kirk[8D]