I Am Not Ansel Adams.......but

[Dick Wilson]

I would like to vastly improve my photography. I see many pictures of turnings that are so superior to what I post I just shake my head. Many of your take marvelous photos. I feel like I am still in the stone age. I would like to see pics of your photo set up, and short discription of lighting, background used, etc. I have a Nikkon F1. It takes great pictures so I am pretty sure my photo setup is the weak link. Thanks, Dick

[Bill Bolen]

In the same boat Dick so I will be watching this one!

[Sid Matheny]

Never heard of a Nikon F1! Is if a DSLR or SLR?


Sid

[robert raess]

I have had a series of breakthroughs, this past year.1st,was taking all my pic's outside in filtered natural indirect lite, then 2nd,was not using a flash.3rd,at this point summer and fall lighting had forced me to take indoor pic's.4th,I was using craft paper or contractors paper as a background up to this point..had good results,it reflected no light[which is good], but you could see slight wrinkles.So i went to a 2nd hand store and bought some black velvet and some off-white as well.I was not happy,the black showed every microscopic speck.So i went into my closet and grabbed a light brown cashmere sweater pinned it to a wall. Very good results,also i will add at this point i was still shooting with no flash with my camera on a tripod and a 'daylight' cfl bulb in a reflector lamp,+an Ott lite lamp.I was happy, but when i compared my pic's to what we see posted on this site,i knew i needed more tweaking.5th,i went on an all out search to make that tweak.Which got me the info.to where i am right now.I built a small photo booth out of pvc. to cheap flex lamps.at this point i switched to cfl with 3500K instead of daylite+my Ott lite[k rating unknown].Got a bed sheet for over the top of pvc.went out shopping for poster board of various colors:white,beige,silver,gold,black and blue.The silver took the best shots.The lites are all filtered thru the sheet.It was a huge leap.In my opinion as good now as what i'm seeing here on this site.http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?57691-Weekly-Woodturning-Photography-Tips-216052

[Jamie Donaldson]

Dick- my tutorial called Phrugal Photo Studio is somewhere here on SMC, as well as WOW File Cabinet and my website under the tips menu. It is a very cost effective and workable set-up, and some knowledge of basic image capture such as exposure and color balance are all that are needed to become a better imagemaker!

[John Keeton]

Dick, you don't even look like Ansel Adams!!!!!:D 'Course, that may be a good thing!

FYI - Jamie's website is here - http://www.jamiedonaldsonwoodturner.com/index.html

[Dick Wilson]

I have had a series of breakthroughs, this past year.1st,was taking all my pic's outside in filtered natural indirect lite, then 2nd,was not using a flash.3rd,at this point summer and fall lighting had forced me to take indoor pic's.4th,I was using craft paper or contractors paper as a background up to this point..had good results,it reflected no light[which is good], but you could see slight wrinkles.So i went to a 2nd hand store and bought some black velvet and some off-white as well.I was not happy,the black showed every microscopic speck.So i went into my closet and grabbed a light brown cashmere sweater pinned it to a wall. Very good results,also i will add at this point i was still shooting with no flash with my camera on a tripod and a 'daylight' cfl bulb in a reflector lamp,+an Ott lite lamp.I was happy, but when i compared my pic's to what we see posted on this site,i knew i needed more tweaking.5th,i went on an all out search to make that tweak.Which got me the info.to where i am right now.I built a small photo booth out of pvc. to cheap flex lamps.at this point i switched to cfl with 3500K instead of daylite+my Ott lite[k rating unknown].Got a bed sheet for over the top of pvc.went out shopping for poster board of various colors:white,beige,silver,gold,black and blue.The silver took the best shots.The lites are all filtered thru the sheet.It was a huge leap.In my opinion as good now as what i'm seeing here on this site.http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?57691-Weekly-Woodturning-Photography-Tips-216052

Thanks Robert. I have pasted your comments into a folder for later reading.

[Dick Wilson]

Dick- my tutorial called Phrugal Photo Studio is somewhere here on SMC, as well as WOW File Cabinet and my website under the tips menu. It is a very cost effective and workable set-up, and some knowledge of basic image capture such as exposure and color balance are all that are needed to become a better imagemaker!

Hi Jamie, Figured you would respond:). I have printed out your tutorial and have read it. Believe it or not, my crappy pictures were take with a PVC box like you discribe. I think the only difference is that you use solid foam core. I have been using a grey cloth background and white sheer cloth covering the PVC. Obviously, that hasn't worked well:(. As you know, I have a Nikkon F1 and I remember you showing me a couple of settings at Ohio Symposium, but being an old fart with a memory like a steel trap, I have forgotten. Thanks. Dick

[Dick Wilson]

Dick, you don't even look like Ansel Adams!!!!!:D 'Course, that may be a good thing!

FYI - Jamie's website is here - http://www.jamiedonaldsonwoodturner.com/index.html

John, I don't have any idea what Mr. Adams looked like. Already copied Jamies's tutorial. Thanks

[John Keeton]

Well, Dick - I may have been wrong - I do see some similar characteristics - that deep introspective appearance, ruggedly handsome, nice beard....I take it back - you do look like him!!!;) Your hat may be better, though.:D

[Dick Wilson]

Well, Dick - I may have been wrong - I do see some similar characteristics - that deep introspective appearance, ruggedly handsome, nice beard....I take it back - you do look like him!!!;) Your hat may be better, though.:D I havent developed the wrinkles around the eyes and the whiteness of the beard YET but I am working very hard at it with my top experimentation and now the Red Cedar from hell;).

[Paul Heely]

Dick, I think part of why Jamie's setup works is that the hard foam board reflects the light inside the "box" that is created by the PVC frame and foam board. I wonder if the white shear cloth is not reflecting enough light back inside the box? I use Jamie's setup and sometimes wish for a gradient background, and something that takes up a little less space so I could leave it setup all the time. On the background, I understand with GIMP it should be easy to do electronically. I've never found a tutorial that worked for me when trying it...

[John Beaver]

Here's what I use. I find it to be a reasonable compromise. Mostly it's super quick and easy; I just take it down off the shelf and I'm ready to go.
The picture here shows it inside with a small light attached. Sometimes I just set it on my tablesaw with the garage door open and let the natural light be the source.

27 x 27 box with a graduated photo backdrop inside. A large square hole cut in the side with diffusion over it. (Tracing paper is a wonderful diffusion for photography) One could paint the inside of the box white for more reflection, but I just place a piece white foam core on the opposite side if I want more fill, and find the cardboard color works well for most woods.

I can use this with a SLR on a tripod, or sometimes I use a point-and-shoot on a mini tripod placed right inside the box.

Here's what I'm trying to accomplish.
1. Make the vessel bright
2. Give some dimension to the vessel
3. Give some dimension to the whole picture.

By placing the light mostly on the side of the vessel you get one side brighter then the other therefore enhancing the shape of vessel making it look more round and 3D. If you add too much fill light from the opposite side, then the image becomes too flat looking and you lose the roundness of the vessel. By using a white card to bounce the light back in, you can still make the whole thing bright, see the detail in the wood, and retain the roundness. The graduated photo backdrop does this for the entire picture. By fading from light to dark, it makes it feel like there is depth to the picture.

Although this box does not allow me to place the light exactly where I want every time, for speed and ease of use I find it fine. In photography if you have a very shiny round object it is almost impossible to hide the reflection of the light source, so generally it is acceptable to see the reflection of one light in the piece. In this case a large square light source is more pleasing then a small pin-point light - hence the square diffusion. Personally I find two light sources distracting. I also find that one shadow adds to the dimension of the piece, where two shadows is distracting.

You need to experiment with photography to get good results. Fortunately with digital it's free to take many pictures. Look at different set-ups for a starting place, then move things around until you get the results you are looking for. Start with one light and move it around until you like how it looks. Then you can add a bounce card or 2nd light for fill. Larger light sources are more pleasing, so try to make some sort of diffusion frame to shine the light through. The sky is also a really nice large light source, so you might try shooting outside, but try not to have the sun directly on your piece. Mostly, keep practicing, and you will keep getting better.

[Bill Hensley]

Dick here is a very good tutorial http://www.nealaddy.org/node/16

[Jamie Donaldson]

Dick- I use the foamcore because it reflects and diffuses light, but a white sheet absorbs the light. This reflected/bounced light allows using a single light source inside the enclosure, and gives better control over placement of fill light and shadows. A translucent material works better for modifying light that is aimed through the material, but usually requires multiple lights to achieve the same control..