paws4God
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posted on July 18, 2003 06:08:29 PM new
Driving me crazy these shiney things are! How do you not get the reflection of the flash so bad?
I have a plate with gold bands half an inch wide and in the middle copper, silver, gold, rose gold etc. I can't get a clear shot of the design in the center without the flash messing it up, plus the gold bands look black. Also I have a large mirror to photo and I haven't even tried yet....puttin it off. The mirror is kind of like a reverse painted but it is decals of birds and branches with leaves so they need to show.
Someone on the board said he/she is a photographer so where are you?
This is blurry but the best yet....got to get a clearer photo.
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neroter12
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posted on July 18, 2003 06:24:39 PM new
Thats not such a bad picture. You can tell some is light reflections.
Somewhere on ebay and Im sorry I didnt bookmark it, but there is a photo page and they tell you how to mimimize light reflections with differnt lighting and backgrounds. Maybe try taking picture from a wide angle and then zooming in on digital exposure??
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zircon4
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posted on July 18, 2003 06:24:47 PM new
Hi Paws,
You will get much better results with indirect light. Try hanging a piece of white material around the area that you are taking your photo's in. I can see that you have material behind your plate as a backdrop. I can also see that you are using a couple of lights as well as your flash. If you shine the lights on the surrounding white material rather than on the plate it should photograph better. I have a sort of little tent that I made out of white plastic shopping bags that does the job nicely for me. Maybe you could try something similar. I am not a photographer but I do like to try and get the best shots of my stones possible. I hope these ideas help.
Cheers,
Adrian
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ohmslucy
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posted on July 18, 2003 06:39:54 PM new
Hi Paws,
I've had good luck with shiny things using available light - no flash.
Does your camera have an auto-exposure feature?
Lucy
Life's too short to drink cheap wine...
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paws4God
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posted on July 18, 2003 07:00:20 PM new
My camera has a "white balance default" and you can check auto, daylight, fluorescent or tungsten. It also has a "flash default" with auto, fill, red eye and off. I have the auto checked on both options.
I will try the tent thing and see how that works. I'm also am wondering if I should go outside to photograph it.
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max40
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posted on July 18, 2003 07:41:22 PM new
Nothing better than natural light. Outside in the shade on a sunny day = great.
There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
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CBlev65252
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posted on July 18, 2003 08:07:07 PM new
I have to agree with max40. My best pics have been taken outside. Just don't want to be doing that around here in December. LOL! I also try to make the room as bright as possible and not use the flash. I have an exposure compensation feature on my camera that's a great help. Your pic is not bad at all. Trust me, I've seen far, far worse. There was a thread about bad Ebay pics. Should have seen some of those!
Cheryl
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Roadsmith
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posted on July 18, 2003 08:51:17 PM new
One hint I've remembered and used is to photograph from the side, a bit, even if you get more of the room into the picture. Then crop the picture later.
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sparkz
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posted on July 18, 2003 09:45:29 PM new
Dump the flash and use natural light. A shady area is best in the summer, but cloudy skys are a natural diffuser in the winter. For mirrors, I lay them flat in the driveway and shoot at an angle that barely misses my reflection. If the reflection of the sky is too blue, use your editing software to reduce it. If you are selling silver, be sure to have a full charge on your batteries and be prepared to take several pictures at different angles until you find one that is good enough to post.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on July 18, 2003 10:03:42 PM new
paws4god,
I've been in the photography field for 20+ years. There are several things you can do to address this problem (many of them already discussed)
1) Take the picture from an angle. Think of bouncing a ball. If you throw a ball directly at a wall it will bounce back to you. But, if you throw the ball from the side, it will bounce off in a 90 degree angle to the wall. Same thing happens with light.
2) Take the picture outside on a CLOUDY or overcast day. (Sunny days could give you the same problem). Problem with this method is that you don't have as much control w/ back drops / weather condition (wind etc...)
3) Make yourself a diffuser for your flash. This is actually VERY easy to do, and my preferred solution. Take a piece of wax paper and cut it to the size of the flash on your camera. Use a piece of scotch tape to attach the paper over the flash. The wax paper will diffuse the light, allowing enough light through to capture the image, but dispersing it so that it doesn't bounce back.
4) You could also invest in external lighting equipment... probably one on each side and one overhead... and then turn the flash off on your camera. This is probably the way to get the most control out of your lighting... but also the most expensive, and the highest learning curve (I'd recommend studying a book on studio lighting before investing in this method).
There's probably some other innovative ways I forgot to mention... but I think these are your best options. By all means... try #3 first... it's the simplest, and will probably be all you need for such minor flares. Hope that helps!
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ohmslucy
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posted on July 18, 2003 10:44:36 PM new
Hi all,
As always, some great hints here.
The wax paper idea is great! I'll try that when I absolutely must use the darn flash.
I agree with the others, ditch the flash and use natural light.
I pretty much solved the problem of yellow looking silver by using GE Reveal lights in the overhead fixture and a lamp I use for fill-in. All of my pictures are done indoors, nearly all with the flash turned off.
(One of my own pet bug-a-boos is close-ups of very dark or black things. They fool my camera so much the color ends up too far off to correct in my editing software. Makes me crazy!)
Lucy
Life's too short to drink cheap wine...
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davebraun
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posted on July 18, 2003 10:51:43 PM new
Diffused light source. I have a frame with silk stretched across it. My light is placed behind the silk it softens the light and eliminates shadow. You can also polarize your light source and or use a polarizing filter. A good photo supply such as Adoramo or Porters has an incredible selection of filters, lights etc. to play with. You could also get rid of the reflections using a photo editor such as Photoshop.
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 18, 2003 11:17:41 PM new
I think Paw's photo looks better than 99% of the darn photos on ebay as it is. So many of them are super blurry or dark or a naked guy in a tea kettle. ( photo on link )
http://www.craptoons.com/picDefault.asp?ID=244
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
[ edited by AuctionAce on Jul 18, 2003 11:18 PM ]
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robsgarage
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posted on July 19, 2003 01:46:29 AM new
I spent 4 years and LOTS of my parents money to study photography, and worked professionally for a little while. Having said that, I can attest to the difficulty of product photography. Getting those "magazine perfect" pictures takes a long time, and lots of experience. But there are some shortcuts you can take to expedite the process for eBay, while still giving you excellent results.
Build yourself a cube-shaped frame out of pvc pipe. Drape the frame with white, thin fabric - an old sheet works well. Place the object you'll photographing within the frame. Light it obliquely (two lights at 45 degree angles) with a couple of halogen work lights (cheap). Use your camera's artificial lighting white balance. USE A TRIPOD!
A table top studio like this can be assembled for under $50.
This set up allows you to quickly photograph a wide variety of objects without glare or shadow, and enough light to see detail.
If you are photographing something with a trasparent cover and/or you still are getting glare, use a polarizing filter. You'll have to do some trial and error with a digital camera, because the corrected image does not usually display correctly - but that's the beauty of digital.
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toyranch-07
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posted on July 19, 2003 05:17:50 AM new
Or you can go to eBay and do a search on EzCube. I got one the other day, and wish I'd had one years ago. My pics are coming out so much better that I am redoing all of them.
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kiara
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posted on July 19, 2003 08:28:24 AM new
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2939800477&category=30082
What kind of lights do you use with yours, toyranch?
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Helenjw
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posted on July 19, 2003 10:18:53 AM new
A cheaper version of EzCube is a cardboard box with the top and front cut out. Line the box with white, dark blue or black velvet.
Helen
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toyranch-07
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posted on July 19, 2003 04:01:20 PM new
I have some photo lights, but if you get some clip on lights with reflector dishes and some of those coiled up florescent lights, that works well too (I tried it).
Yes, the cardboard box with top and sides cut out works OK, but you can't fold it up to the size of a stack of dinner plates and put it away quite as easily 
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Helenjw
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posted on July 19, 2003 04:18:13 PM new
OK, You win.
Helen
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paws4God
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posted on July 19, 2003 04:42:38 PM new
Thanks guys/gals (y'all) for all the great help. I may try to make a cube myself for now....sales are too slow to put out $96.50 at the moment. I can get some small strips of wood at Lowe's or Home Depot and some white lining fabric and make one until sales pick-up.
In fact I am not listing for the next week or so and get caught up on things around the house and trying to take photos of inventory to list in the early fall. Taking a trip to Dallas next weekend hoping to find some good wholesale things at market for the upcoming season. Then I will have plenty to photograph and make me crazy.
I will get a clear photo of the detail on that plate if it kills me. I hate blurry photos in auctions. It amazes me that people actually bid on things you can't even tell anything about.
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 19, 2003 04:58:39 PM new
One of the latest items to flood the flea market scene is the 'Easy Open Hamper' that folds down to the size of a saucer plate and measures 14" x 14" x 23" when opened. They look a lot like a mini version of the $90 cube but the user will have to cut open one side and then drape whatever color or type of material they wish inside. The cost at the flea market is $3 each or 2/$5
Here a link of what they look like ...
http://bestpricebusters.zoovy.com/product/S2496
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
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kiara
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posted on July 19, 2003 05:53:36 PM new
Thanks, toyranch. I like the idea that it can fold up easily and I think it would pay for itself when I consider how many pics I take of just one item before I get the exact one I want and then all the time I take to enhance them.
This site has some tips on building your own light tent.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html
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TheFamilyBiz
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posted on July 19, 2003 06:20:48 PM new
I love AuctionAce's suggestion of the pop-up hamper... same concept - cut away the material and attach your own. If you have the skills or know someone who does, get them to create the fabric drape with velcro strips so you can set it up in a flash....
Hey - I've been spending a lot of time working the proper reflections, using reflector panels to get the right fill lighting and it here's something that will make life a lot easier - especially the thought of having the drape with a slit in it for very reflective surfaces...
Now you guys have me thinking I'm either gonna find me one of those hampers or get to Home Depot and buy some pvc pipe and some connectors - like an erector set - a great guy project, right?
Wayne
Trying to Make a Difference - One Satisfied Customer at a Time....
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neroter12
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posted on July 20, 2003 10:20:21 AM new
OMG Ace! That was awful with the teapot! LOL
(Where do you find these things?!!)
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 20, 2003 10:58:52 AM new
These are all part of the lore of ebay. The naked teapot guy is famous.
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
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