Question for the photo box experts

[Matt Ranum]

Ok I got all my parts scrounged for the make shift photo box and while I didn't take a picture of it its pretty standard from the examples listed here on occasion just a cardboard box with holes cut in the top and sides and then covered with white tissue paper for a light diffuser. I have a clamp light on either side with standard 60 watt incandescent bulbs. The background is white poster board.

Works great except I am getting a beige wash color in my pictures when using the lights. How can I get rid of this effect, I'll post some with no lights and just the flash below too.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090029.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090023.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090020.jpg

And with no lights...just flash......

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090013.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090012.jpg

[Ron Lynch]

You have to set your "White Balance" to match your light source. Your manual for your camera should tell you how.

[Matt Ranum]

You mean when all else fails read the directions???


:p Thanks I'll dig up the book for the camera.

[Brian Effinger]

When you find the directions, find out if the camera is set on auto white balance first. I find that the auto usually does a good job. If it is already on auto, then play around with the settings until you find one that works.

You could also use a photo editing program to change the color of the photo.

Brian

[Steve Schlumpf]

One of the settings in your white balance should be for incandescent bulbs - that would match your white balance with the type of bulbs you are using.

[Matt Ranum]

Ok I switched my white balance to "incandescent" and its better but still has a tint as you can see here. I played around with delayed flash too but didn't see much difference. I wonder if I were to put a different background color? May take a while of trial and error to get this figured out.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090040.jpg

And one with no flash

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02090045.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - most of us use a neutral color for a background - such as gray. Any color you use will impact the color of your turning - just something to be aware of.

When I take photos - I do not use flash. I play games each time with lights and where to place them to get the best illumination without causing hot spots. Can be a real pain when dealing with high gloss finishes.

Make sure you use a tripod and the camera self timer to try and eliminate vibration.

[Matt Ranum]

Thanks for the advice. I am using a tri-pod but didn't think about the self timer. I got some experimenting to do.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - the other secret weapon when it comes to photos is a good graphics program. Sometimes you can bring about subtle changes to hue, contrast, focus, etc that will really bring your photos to life.

Basically - you are on the right track - experiment. If you want to read some great info on photographing turnings - check out Neal's tutorial: http://www.nealaddy.org/node/16

[Don Kondra]

The easiest "fix" is to get yourself some 5500k bulbs and Do Not use the camera flash, it's the color temp of your lamps that is throwing off the white balance, ie., you are mixing light temps.

Your lamps are probably in the 3~4000k range and the flash is 5500ish. And the camera flash is a harsh/hard light, the whole purpose of the light tent is to diffuse the light.

Cheers, Don

[Matt Ranum]

What about getting rid of the incandescent bulbs and going with flourescent? That would change the "color" of the light wouldn't it? Should I also think about adding a third light on top of the box? Only using 2 at the moment.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - I use 2 CFL bulbs that are somewhere around the 5900* temp rating - which gives everything a slight blue cast. If possible, find bulbs with a K rating of 5200K which is the temp of natural sunlight. I hold the bulbs with cheap shop light clamp-on reflectors and it works fairly well. Course, photography is another vortex like turning, in that the more involved you get - the more gear you want so you can take better photos.

[Matt Ranum]

Matt - I use 2 CFL bulbs that are somewhere around the 5900* temp rating - which gives everything a slight blue cast. If possible, find bulbs with a K rating of 5200K which is the temp of natural sunlight. I hold the bulbs with cheap shop light clamp-on reflectors and it works fairly well. Course, photography is another vortex like turning, in that the more involved you get - the more gear you want so you can take better photos.



I was already in that vortex once long ago before the instant gratification of digital cameras.:p Too bad I forgot everything I ever learned.:p

I got to head out and do a little snow plowing this morning so maybe I'll do some bulb shopping when I'm done.

Thanks for help everyone!

[Brian Brown]

Matt,

The comments you got here are on the right track. Just a few refinements. Personally I prefer not to use auto white balance (AWB). It is easily fooled if you put a single colored object in a scene with a neutral color. The white balance comments you have gotten are correct, but may still not work with your setup. I don't know what camera you are using, but it may have capability to change the Kelvin temperature for the white balance. If so, try a K setting of about 2800* Kelvin. Most cameras do not go below that amount. If the result is too blue, bump the K temp setting up 100* at a time until it works for you. Most likely from the images I see posted, you will need a temp below 2800* so.......

When it comes color temp, the bulbs you buy for use in your home are not really designed for accurate color. They are designed to compete on the store shelf for price. There has to be a compromise somewhere. So who needs accurate color for reading the newspaper right? The answer is photofloods. These are bulbs made for accurate color. The one you are looking for has a designation of BBA. You'll have to go to a photography store for them. I get mine from B & H by the case. I haven't bought any for a while, but last time they were about $7.50 each. I looked today, and they no longer carry GE, and the brand they carry now is cheaper. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/19234-REG/General_Brand__BBA_Lamp_250W_120V.html

Just remember, these are 250 watt bulbs and generate a lot of heat. Be sure you use the proper ceramic base fixtures (Borg about $12.00ea.). As a work around, the household bulbs you can buy anywhere get closer in color as the wattage gets higher. A 150 watt bulb will be better color than a 60 watt bulb. Just remember the heat problem. Halogen bulbs are also closer in color, but require special and expensive fixtures.

Another problem you might be encountering is the paper you use on your box. Paper has color no matter how white it appears, and this may well be where your color cast is coming from. Try white rip stop nylon. The stuff is cheap, and easy to work with. Be certain that the color of walls and immovable object in the space around your setup are neutral in color. These can also contaminate the color of your light. A few years ago I started some threads on photograhing your turnings. Maybe they will also help you. They are here.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57691
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57909
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59194
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=59614

Hopefully these suggestions will help you get good images.

[Don Kondra]

Photo lighting has come a long way, you no longer need to use "hot" lights with a useable life span of six or seven hours.


The new Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs have a natural "daylight" balanced color temperature of 5500K. These special energy saving bulbs are "flicker free" and specifically designed for digital photo imaging. They produce a soft diffuse light with CRI (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/color_render_index_definition.htm) of 91 and bulb life is exceptional at about 10,000 hours.

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/replacement_lamps.htm

Cheers, Don

[Matt Ranum]

Ok made a couple changes. I picked up some 100 watt daylight flourescent bulbs, changed the placement of the lamps to directly overhead and on the right side. Set the camera to no flash, auto on just about everything else and used the self timer, mounted on a tripod. The results are definitely better but I think I will add one more light yet.

BTW the camera is Fuji Finepix A610.

Thanks for all the input!!


http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02100003.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_02100002.jpg

[Don Kondra]

Much better :)

Now try aperture mode at f8..

Cheers, Don

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - photos look a lot better.

Only suggestion I have is to upload your photos to Sawmill Creek. To many times folks have used photo hosting sites and then for some reason decided to no longer use the service. The result you may have seen in some older threads - a total lack of photos! Renders all the information within that thread pretty much useless when the item everyone was talking about disappears! Just something for you to consider........