New Photo Setup

[Mattmck]

Ok, let me know what you think about this photo setup.

Matt McKinney
In the Georgia Woods

 

[rtjw]

Looks good, pens could be a bit larger so that we can see them better.

 

[Old Griz]

Lighting looks good, but the background is too dark for dark wood pens, something more neutral would be better.. one of the hard parts is picking a background that works with the color of the wood.. you don't want it to overpower the pen.. this dark background does that...
there are no hot spots to speak of and the focus appears to be dead on... Platinum (actually any of the silver finishes) can be tough to shoot because of reflected glare...
A larger photo (600 pixels wide) would be better to give you a more accurate opinion..
Now tell us what system you are using... in fact a picture of it would be nice too...

 

[Mattmck]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll get a photo of the setup next time I take some shots and post it on here. Still a work in progress, to say the least.

Matt
In the Georgia Woods

 

[Mattmck]

Ok, here you see a shot of my el-cheapo photo rig, and another shot on a lighter background.

Matt McKinney
In the Georgia Woods

 

[Old Griz]

Fantastic.... much better picture... you can really see the quality of the pen and no hot spots...
Nicely done... also interesting set up .. what wattage are those work lights.. and do you have any problems with color shift or are you letting your digital do the color settings automatically

 

[Daniel]

Matt,
I've been meaning for days to comment on this second photo. But have been caught up in trying to get one as good out of my new set up. havn't gotten there yet.
great photo. It needs to be in a catalog somewhere.

 

[rtjw]

Much better pic and love the setup. I am going to have to work on getting one set up.

 

[Mattmck]

Thanks guys for the feedback. My work lights are 500W each. I went to a Michael's craft store & bought that white card stock that is hanging down.. you know, the kind that is 1/4" thick with foam in the middle.

If you want to spend a little more, those work lights come with stands (Lowe's, Home Depot). I used some crappy roller stand tripods from HF. I am a cheapskate, so I got this done for $30 or so, not counting the fabrics I bought for photo backgrounds.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

WOW with all the money you have saved with your so called "cheapskate" set-up, you can spend your saved fortune on some great pen kits. All kidding aside, your second picture is worthy of studio quality. Thanks for revealing your set up, food for thought for us [would be] hopeful aspiring photographers.

 

[gerryr]

Excellent photo and a really good setup. The pen also looks great.