Photographing laser engraved items for website.

[Joe Hillmann]

I am sure many people here have a website to show off/sell their products. How did you go about getting nice clear photos for putting on your website? Specifically I am having issues with getting readable photographs of names that are engraved (with a yag) on brushed aluminum. The photos always end up making the engraving look very fuzzy when in real life they are nice and crisp.

[David Somers]

Joe,

This is an indirect answer since I don't have a laser to make this kind of thing yet. But..... I photograph my woodturnings all the time. (I think this is the laser equivalent of saying "I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV!" <grin>)

I typically use a gradiant background sheet that I got from BHphotovideo.com. The background gets draped behind and under the item I am photographing and provides a nice change in background from top to bottom without causing a noticeable seam behind the object. They come in different colors and sizes, but my preference is the white to charcoal most of the time. I also use two daylight quality flood light bulbs (6500k color temp) arranged 1 on each side at roughly 45 degree angles to the object. That position gives me a clean background with no shadows unless I want them, under the object for example. I may also use a light tent if I want very diffuse lighting. You could make a nice light tent with some white sheets and a bit of PVC pipe. small ones are also cheap to purchase from the local camera store and are handy for doing small objects.

For flat work, you might be happier with a solid color background? Easy enough to play around with it and see what shows your work off best.

For some of the things being done on a laser you might be better off using a simple copy stand with 2 lights on it. That produces a very flat looking photo though. More of a technical photo than something attractive for sales purposes. Depends on what you want out of the shot.

This kind of approach can help eliminate the glare on the exposed aluminum that is likely causing it to look fuzzy. You might also try a polarizing lens to see if that helps.

Lastly, try playing with distance from the object. You may find that either moving up closer or further back improves the image.

See if any of that helps.

Dave

[Bert Kemp]

What Dave said,but you should also use a tripod so you have absolutely no camera shake. If you have a shutter release cable use that with the tripod, if not you can use the self timer on say 5 sec. You want a background color to contrast your project color. I use towels for a back ground, theirs no glare and they come in all colors. You can lay the towel flat and get good and close so you don't see anything beyond the towel edges. You can also drape the towel in an L shape, which if done right won't leave seams. Diffused light from both sides. I got a couple of those cheap cone shaped light fixtures, you know the ones with the squeeze clamp. put a 100 watt bulb in and some tissue paper in front of it to diffuse the light . cheap set up but works pretty good.

[Joe Hillmann]

The diffused light helps quite a bit. Still not the quality I am looking for but getting better.

I am already using a tripod with a timer and hanging a white piece of cloth in the background that curves onto the surface I am setting items on.

[David Somers]

Joe, try a polarizing filter next if you have one handy. Between that and the diffuse light you might lick it.

If you think of it and have time, pop photo on this thread and show us a before and after!

Dave

[vic casware]

If the parts are flat scanning them is a great way to process clear pictures

[David Somers]

Great idea Vic! The photo would be a very flatly lit, but very clear photo. More of a technical photo. And most folks seem to have a printer/scanner of some sort in the house or office.

Dave

[Joe Hillmann]

If the parts are flat scanning them is a great way to process clear pictures

The parts are not flat but I will keep that in mind for the future.

[Joe Hillmann]

Joe, try a polarizing filter next if you have one handy. Between that and the diffuse light you might lick it.

If you think of it and have time, pop photo on this thread and show us a before and after!

Dave

I don't have a polarizing filter so that is out. I think if I get another spot light so I can light it from above as well as from the sides it will help out.

I also need something better for a backdrop/base. Due to the size of the items I am working on/ plan to work on it needs to be at least 3 feet wide which is why I chose fabric but it is very easy to get dirty or wrinkled.

[David Somers]

Joe,

A roll of paper works well and can be had in various widths. Not very durable though, but cheap. A local printer might stock it. Someone who prints newspapers for example? They will do work other than newspapers and stock various rolls of paper.

The gradient material I mentioned from BHphotovideo is a roll of a plastic material and comes in various widths up to 43". The 43" width is a 63" length. Thunder Gray is the one I use the most. Part number FLBG4363TG. It blows off easily with an air nozzle, or just use a soft brush. It is also water proof for what that is worth so it is easy to clean.

3 foot wide is quite wide. How about a length of countertop vinyl? Like Wilson Art or Formica? That would be quite durable and easily cleanable and washable. Put it up on a wall and use it as a backdrop. If your object is not overly heavy use museum tack or some other reuseable tack material to hold the product against the formica. Or fix suction cups to the formica to hold your objects? There are suction cups available in hardware stores that have a bulbous back side that would pop into holes in a backdrop.

[David Somers]

A last thought Joe,

Are you using your autofocus? It may be getting confused by something in or near the object. Try shutting off autofocus and do it manually.

Dave

[Joe Hillmann]

A last thought Joe,

Are you using your autofocus? It may be getting confused by something in or near the object. Try shutting off autofocus and do it manually.

Dave

With the camera I am using I don't think I can control the focus.

[David Somers]

Hmmmm....not sure what camera you are using, but most do have a way to override. Perhaps through the settings in the camera. It is possible it allows you to go to manual and then focus based on distance....having measured from lens to object. That would be annoying but effective. Others often have a touch screen that allows you to touch a point in the viewscreen on the back of the camera where you want the focus and metering to concentrate. You can see it working if you touch different points in the image. If the color is very flat it may be having trouble focusing at all. If it will do that try forcing the focus onto higher contrast areas of the image. The edge of the lettering and substrate for example.

What camera are you using? I can grab a manual on line and make some suggestions about specifics for it.

Dave

[Joe Hillmann]

It is a fujifilm FinePix s4250wm

[David Somers]

Joe,

I found the manual at Fuji's web site if you don't have a paper copy.
http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digi..._manual_en.pdf

Page 31 is the first step. YOu need to turn off intelligent facial recognition. There is a button with a symbol that looks like a person's upper torso with a fair of square brackets to the left and right of the head. It is on the top right of the camera, closer to you than the Wide Angle/Telephoto control. Press that to turn facial recognition on and off. A symbol on the screen should confirm what state it is in. The button is a toggle. Press and it is on, press again and it is off.

Page 81 and 82 shows how to control focus after facial recognition is off.
To control that you use the shooting menu. Look on the back panel of the camera for a button with menu/ok in the center. The button itself flips to the menu mode and the button selects the highlighted choice. The top, left, botton, and right arrows around the button allows you to move the highlighting through the menus.

So
to work with this setup your tripod and camera a lights and get the photo framed the way you want.
Then do the following to change the focal point of the camera.
....go into the menu mode by hitting the button once.
then scroll down until you get to the AF Mode option. Hit OK.
Then scroll to the Area option. The focus indicator on the screen will show a square made of brackets with a + symbol in the center. Use your arrow buttons to move this around the screen until the + is on the point where you want the focus to be. Hit the OK button.
Then hit the Disp/Back button to get out of this mode.
Take your shot and see how it goes.

There....wasnt that intuitive? <grin>

Dave