Suggestions for improving my photos?

[mbellek]

I don't even know where to begin. I am a relatively new woodturner, and I know very little about photography other than "Point, shoot." I have an Olympus Stylus 410 digital camera.

There are some pics of my work in my signature. For some reason, the earlier pics looked great with almost no effort (besides turning off the flash so that the light-colored woods would not bleach out and look like a blob) but lately, since I've been using some woods besides poplar, they have been fuzzy no matter what I do.

I want to sell my work eventually, but obviously I have a long way to go to get professional-enough-looking photos. I don't think I would even consider selling anything for at least another month or two, but I'm hoping that I can work on my photography skills during that time as well... And even though my work is just for me at this point, I do maintain my photobucket page for family and friends to check out, and I have several people who check the page almost daily. I'd like to post nice pics for them, as well.

Can anyone give me some pointers on what to start with? Settings? Lighting? Backgrounds? Is it better to hold the camera far away and use the "zoom" function than to hold it close? (It's okay to laugh at that question) Anything would be helpful.

Thanks.

Melanie

 

[alphageek]

For starters, look to build a lightbox (or buy).. There is lots of cheap ideas on the net. That will help a bit.

As for your last question, that may well be the key to your issue. You may be leaving the camera in normal mode and then being too close. The specs (seached olympus page as I've never used this camera) say min distance for normal focusing is 20 inches. You can do as close as 8 with macro mode or 3.5 in supermacro.

So either back up a bit or switch to macro if your under 2 feet away!

 

[gerryr]

There are several things you could do to improve your photos. The first thing is a light tent or box. If you do a search here in the photography forum on "light tent" you will find a lot of information about either making your own or where to buy one. You only need one about 12" on a side. The second thing after the tent is lighting. I use three 27W CFL bulbs with a color temperature of 5500K. If your camera doesn't have a custom white balance setting, and I can't tell from the specs I saw, the color temperature is critical if you wan the colors to be even close to accurate. Make sure you are always shooting in "macro" mode and that you're within the macro range, about 8" for your camera. If you're serious about trying to sell over the net, you will probably need to invest in a more sophisticated camera, not necessarily a DSLR, but a DSLR-like camera that allows more control than the one you have and also one that will focus closer than 8". You don't really need more than 6 megapixels, so something like the Canon Powershot S3 IS or Olympus SP-510UZ would be very good for what you're doing.
I wrote up a sort of tutorial for another site and Scott(Mudder) has a copy of it that he is going to be posting somewhere on the IAP. If you send me an email through the forum, I can send you a copy of it.

 

[vick]

The quick and easy
You need more light on most of them. I use 2 NVision 5500 bulbs (not sure the wattage)in two clip on holder I got from Home Depot. Other light sources work but you need to change the setting on your camera for light source to the appropriate setting ( for me flourecent)For my camera I can get a decent picture with these bulbs on auto but they look better when I change to flourecent. Turn of you flash. Find the brightness setting on your camera often for my lighting they look best at + .5 or + 1 on the brightness.

Diffuse the light. Light tents are great and work good. I rarely set mine up since it is too small for the the stuff I am currently making. I use the same shear white fabric I used for my light tent and just drape them over the light fixtures to diffuse them.

Direction - I got a tip from a photographer that seems to be working well. With a 2 light set up point a slightly more powerfull bulb at an angle accorss the front of your piece. The second light should be slightly weeker and go at an angle across the back, opposite side of the front light.

Focus - get a cheap tripod. set up you shot and use the timer on your camera to take it. That way your camera gets no movement when the picture is taken. I use the macro setting and take the picture fairly close to the piece. Do not use the zoom.

Final trick. Once you have gone through the trouble to set up the shot. Take several pictures from different angles.

 

[PatrickTaylor]

I use this phototent, and when combined with good camera settings, the photos are superb. http://www.jamiedonaldsonwoodturner.com/techniques.html

 

[txbatons]

Melanie,
This is not to be mean or sarcastic, but make sure you read the owners manual for your camera. Most folks don't, and there's a lot of features to cameras that people don't know about.

Like Gerry said, figure out how to check/set the white balance, especially if you're shooting indoors. White balance is the one item that people dismiss, but it's one of the first things that professionals check.

You can get good photos without a box (I don't own one) if you know how to work with available light.

Also, with the pics of your hairpins, placing something in the photo to give perspective (the battery) is a good idea, especially if you're selling them. Be sure to give the overall dimensions.

Good luck.

 

[PatrickTaylor]

Originally posted by txbatons
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You can get good photos without a box (I don't own one) if you know how to work with available light.

For $40 total in materials, I feel the box is well worth it. You'll never get as good a photo without good light and background. When selling, nothing is worse than a distracting background. If you get a simple light and background, you've almost made the box already anyhow.