On Fri, Mar 16, 2012, at 05:25 AM, Oli Glaser wrote:
>
>> Is there a cheapish half decent "general purpose" camera you
>> (or anyone else) can recommend?

The camera is only 1/3 or so of the solution.  Most cameras give
good results if you have decent lighting & rock solid support.

Also a good guide to equipment cost.  Spend 1/3 of your budget
on camera; spend 2/3 on lighting, grips, reflectors, & tripod.


> Get a tripod.

Absolutely.  Also have the object being photographed on a solid
vibration free surface.  Or be very carefull not to bump table
while taking the photos -- vibrations take time to damp out.

Use a cable release; formerly mechanical, now electronic.  But
it still prevents vibration of camera when tripping the shutter.

Use mirror lock up, if possible, if camera is SLR type; this is
particularly important if doing close-up macro work.


> For product photos, get a "light shed".

Or make one.  White sheet over wire frame.  White cardboard
taped at corners so it folds up for storage.  Same with white
polystyrene sheets or foamcore (available at office supply).
If kept far enough away from product, any rough surface
texture will be blurred in any case.

Source of free translucent plastic is milk (or juice) jugs.
You can use it in front of a flash to reduce harshness.  Or
make a small light tent for macro photos of small objects.
It also acts as a nice wind block for keeping flowers from
moving while "in the field".  Cut the jug into whatever size
& shape you need -- if you screw up or loose it, use another.


> And get two 500 watt incandescent lights with reflectors. You
> might also consider getting a couple of umbrellas.

Instead of incandescent bulbs, you can now get flourescents that
emit light at (or very near) 5500K.  You can use them to fill in
dark shadows while using mid-day sunlight (not direct, light is
too harsh; use light from open sky area) and color temperature
of artificial fill lights will match daylight.  Plus you will
only use about 200 watts instead of 1000 watts (and be much
less likely to burn yourself -- a 500W photoflood is _really_
hot and you _will_ forget and touch it sometime before it is
sufficiently cool).

B&H Photo has kits of one or multiple flourescent bulbs in a
reflector.  With multiple bulb heads, you control light output
by switching on different numbers of bulbs.

If you can use daylight as your primary illuminant (sun has
really cheap operating cost), but watch for high contrast.  A
contrast range suitable for screen viewing can easily exceed
range that can be reproduced in -volume printed documentation.
You can reduce the contrast by filling in the shadows using one
or more reflectors.  Use sheets of white foamcore board or white
polystyrene or white cardboard or purpose-built reflectors to
fill in deep shadows from your single light source.  (You will
need either stands/holders or assistants to hold reflectors.)


> Learn how to set the white balance.

Absolutely.  Use a gray card.  I like the Photovision Digital
Calibration Target.  Spring-edge cloth that folds up by twisting
corners (like car window shades).  One side of target has 3
strips; black, neutral gray, & white; use it to set white balance
and exposure.  Other side is white reflector for adding fill light.


One final thought -- the image capture has changed from film to
digital sensor but the fundamentals of lighting and contrast in
an image have not.  Look for books at your local library on how
to take product photos, set up photographic lights, etc.  You'll
probably be one of a small minority that bother to read stuff
that doesn't have "digital" in the book title. :-)

I have photo books dating back to the 1960's & 1970's.  Zone
system and photo lighting works just as well now as then.  Just
map "over-develop film" to the equivalent post-production tools
in Photoshop.

A good guideline both then and now -- get your exposure, white
balance, contrast, etc correct BEFORE you take the photo.  Don't
try to fix everything in the darkroom (now, in post-production).
Best quality and fastest work-flow comes from getting everything
right before you press the shutter.

						Lee Jones
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