Need help critique on photos

[chrisann]

Have been trying to improve my photos and am could use some help to know if I am on the right path. I will show what I have done today and could ya'll please tell me where I am going wrong or right and how to proceed? The first batch I didn't have the white balance set right because everything had a very blue cast to it. the first is right off the camera I am using a old sony FD97 digital camera, using F11 with EV1+3 a photo tent and 2 lights one on each side of the tent aimed a little to the back of the tent not directly at the sides. Does that make sense? Anyway the first off the camera then the second with the levels adjust to make the background lighter trying to take the blue away.


Then I went and looked at the manual again to see what I did wrong with the white balance thing and tried again. the first three r right off the camera, 1+3,then 1+0 and then 0 then the second 3 is with the levels adjusted to lighten the backgound



Any help is appreciated I am using photo shop element 8
chrisann

[Laura B]

Many of these photos look great. I guess I'm not understanding specifically what you're trying to achieve.

[Shawn T]

Try taking the pic on an off white or light gray piece of paper. As your camera is not reading the white paper it will then read the other colors much better and therefore show the true colors in the pedant better. Then you wont have such a variant in the background.

[SuzyQ]

I'm assuming you can't adjust the exposure? If this is true here is a little trick to get your camera to overexpose. (which will get your white whiter to start with) Put a piece of darker paper with a little bead in the corner of your set up. Focus on it like you were going to take a picture (the halfway down push of your button) then move over to your pendant to actually take the picture. As long as you are moving only slightly the pendant should be in focus but the camera will expose for the darker background and give your image more light. Editing works better when you don't have that far to go.

[InsaneIrish]

When shooting on a white background it is always a good idea to place one of these somewhere in the frame of the shot: http://ttally.photobiz.com/cart/inde...start=products

Not anywhere that interferes with the subject, but somewhere it will show up in the photo. Then using the Curves Tool in Photoshop, use the ink dropper for black and white on their corresponding locations on the chart.

It will even out your whites and blacks making a more natural picture.

You will end up with something closer to this:



This is your photo, after just running the curves tool in Photoshop CS3

[Cosmo]

You need more light. Lengthen your exposure even more. Editing photos in Photoshop is fine, but the better the image you start with, the better you finish up with.

[chrisann]

Originally Posted by Shawn T

Try taking the pic on an off white or light gray piece of paper. As your camera is not reading the white paper it will then read the other colors much better and therefore show the true colors in the pedant better. Then you wont have such a variant in the background.

It is not on white paper now, I am using a mirror with a piece of 1/4" frosted plexi glass on top of it and sticking the pendant on it with museum wax. I set the white balance on the camera with a pc of paper before I started taking pictures.

[chrisann]

Originally Posted by SuzyQ

I'm assuming you can't adjust the exposure? If this is true here is a little trick to get your camera to overexpose. (which will get your white whiter to start with) Put a piece of darker paper with a little bead in the corner of your set up. Focus on it like you were going to take a picture (the halfway down push of your button) then move over to your pendant to actually take the picture. As long as you are moving only slightly the pendant should be in focus but the camera will expose for the darker background and give your image more light. Editing works better when you don't have that far to go.

Nope it lets me set the exposure these pictures are 1+3, 1+0 and 0 respectively, should I make it even brighter? Is it better to be over exposed?

[chrisann]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

You need more light. Lengthen your exposure even more. Editing photos in Photoshop is fine, but the better the image you start with, the better you finish up with.

Ok I will try that tomorrow and then post again, thanks. I guess I could find another light and put it over the top of the tent, would that be better? It just adds one more glare spot tho and I hate those.

[chrisann]

Originally Posted by InsaneIrish

When shooting on a white background it is always a good idea to place one of these somewhere in the frame of the shot: http://ttally.photobiz.com/cart/inde...start=products

Not anywhere that interferes with the subject, but somewhere it will show up in the photo. Then using the Curves Tool in Photoshop, use the ink dropper for black and white on their corresponding locations on the chart.

It will even out your whites and blacks making a more natural picture.

I will try the curves thing but that color slide thing cost more than my photo set up LOL

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by chrisann

Ok I will try that tomorrow and then post again, thanks. I guess I could find another light and put it over the top of the tent, would that be better? It just adds one more glare spot tho and I hate those.

You really don't need any more light (although it wouldn't hurt). You just need to let more light into your camera.

[InsaneIrish]

Originally Posted by chrisann

I will try the curves thing but that color slide thing cost more than my photo set up LOL

Yeah, they are not cheap, but if you are going to work in a photo manipulating program, they are indespensible for easy white/black/gray balancing.

On that same vein, if you open up your curves palette, click "options". Another palette will open up called Auto Color Correction Options. At the bottom are 3 color blocks white, black, and gray.

Click each block, a color palette opens. For each block plot in the following CMYK numbers and hit OK.

Black -- C=75, M=63, Y=62, K=90
Mids -- C=50, M=40, Y=40, K=10
Lights -- C=5, M=3, Y=3, K=0

Now, what this is going to do, is slightly adjust the hues for black, white and gray to what our EYES see. A computer judges hues based on finite calculations. Our eyes can't determine that fine of detail. Adjusting the hues to the following values will give your photos a more "natural" coloring.

Something else, it looks like your bead has a satin finish on it? I am assuming that is NOT the actual finish of the bead. I believe it to be a finger print on the bead. I'd wipe off/clean each bead with glass cleaner before photoing it. Then handle it with tweezers so you don't get finger prints on them. When shooting Macro, the littlest detail will show up.

Hope this helps.

[Cosmo]

You don't need any fancy tools or lighting or anything to take good pictures. I take all mine using a couple $8 flood lights I got from Lowe's loaded with GE Reveal bulbs and a piece of white rip-stop fabric draped over a homemade PVD frame. My total setup cost me less than $40 (not including my camera, obviously). It's just a matter of knowing what your camera will do and making that work for you. All these pictures were taken in my homemade setup:



Once the pictures were taken, all I did was crop them and digitally remove some hairs in the background. With 3 dogs and 5 cats, nothing I own is without hair.

What will be important though is learning how to use your camera. Take as many pictures as you can at different settings (it's digital, so you aren't wasting any film). The most important thing is to write down the settings that you use on each picture, and only change one setting at a time so you know what works. For instance, on my camera I took probably 40 pictures of the same piece before I got my pictures to where I want them. Now I know that I need to set it up so the light meter is reading +.3 and I know that if I do that, with my lights, my pictures will be close to where I want them. From then on it's just a matter of fine tuning.

[chrisann]

Here are my next try, I added a light above the tent as well as 2 already on each side. The only adjustments to these pictures are an automatic levels adjustment and cropping. the first three are with the exposure set at 1+3 then f5.6 f8 f11 respectively.


these are 1+7 f5.6 f8 f11 respectively


And 2+0 f5.6 f8 f11 respectively


and Last these 2 are 1+7 f8 no tent the first with full lights and the 2nd holding a diffuser under the lights

so here is my problem the last pictures outside the tent are truer color as they are more purple at the bale and the AP hazey outline around the petals is more subtle but I hate the amount of glare from the lights. I like everything about the other pictures except they have a more blue tint to the purple...does that make sense?
So what do ya'll think?
chrisann

[Bunyip]

2+0 f8 works for me. About the colors and the subtlety of the A/P Haze: Don't worry about it. Anyone who sees the piece in person is NOT going to feel shortchanged if they saw the photo first. I guaran-damn-tee that

[chrisann]

thanks chris

[Cosmo]

What Chris said.

[SuzyQ]

Deep purple is a really hard color to photograph anyway. You did an excellent job and the first two sets of pictures are great.

[chrisann]

Originally Posted by SuzyQ

Deep purple is a really hard color to photograph anyway. You did an excellent job and the first two sets of pictures are great.

thanks! I am working on them diligently, much as I hate it LOLOL. Getting a couple of gradient backgrounds printed at staples today that I made using Kevan's tutorial and my stupid printer sucks at printing them (which is another entire rant on it's own). Anxious to see how they turn out. Might have to wait till tomorrow eve to play with them as we might take the grandbaby to the beach for a stayover today.
chrisann

[chrisann]

Newest batch of pictures using my Canon rebel xsi, these are on manual, custom WB set with a pc of white paper. I am shooting on a gray background as I don't have any good backgrounds yet am looking into getting that and one of those frosted mirror things but that may be a few weeks. these are shutter speed 1/6, 1/8, 1/10 respectively on f11 I used the gray dropper to set the levels in elements 8 and auto corrected color & cropped I really don't know if I like these any better or worse than the sony pics. Sheesh sorry for the giant pics

[Laura B]

They still look great to me!

As shown above, you can always lighten the background for high contrast, but I think the pendants themselves are pretty terrific in most of these phtoos.