Teresa made me get this

[suzanne]

I got one of those fantastic photosetup's Teresa recently bought, and gawd I love it! I still do have a hard time with the proper settings on my camera, but here are some first decent pictures, tell me what you think

[Emily]

Are these colors right? The background in the top one seems way yellow, and I know from the other pictures that you posted that the large lentil is much bluer than it seems in this picture. This picture is really green.

[Kevan]

Is this the with the light underneath?

[PondRacer]

First thought: white balance isn't quite where it needs to be.

Second thought: The images are easily fixable within Photoshop, The GIMP, or other image editing program.

As for the first, if your camera is capable, you can change white balance to 'auto' and it will automagically do the white balance for you. Otherwise, if you output to RAW image form, you can change the white balance within that, with the help of a program that readily understands RAW format.

PondRacer

[JanMD]

I agree with Emily and Pond: the color is a bit off into the green realm. You can tell by looking at the shadows. No real-life shadows are that color green.

Also, beware of your f-stop settings! Look closely at #3, the ensemble shot. See how the front and the rear beads are slightly out of focus? Is this what you are going for? The "artistic" effect? If so, good job! If not, either adjust your f-stop (by increasing your shutter speed -- you may need a tripod!) or shoot that ensemble straight down, from above, so all the beads are in the same plane.

#4, the lentil, also looks slightly out of focus to me. Is this the same lentil that you showed in the Gallery here: http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...12&postcount=1

If it is, then which is the "real" color? I suspect it's the Gallery version, right? And hey, is the edge of the top hole on the lentil seriously chipped or is that just a weird lighting reflection?

JanMD

[Dave]

Hi Suzanne, I agree, with the others, the lens is open too long which both is letting in to much light, and causes distant things to be out of focus, so increase the f-stop if possible. Some digital cameras don't have a setting for that, so redirecting your lighting will help a bit. The yellowness can quickly be removed in photoshop in about 5 seconds (pasting some samples). BTW, your composition of the first photo is excellent!





Also, I agree with Jan about getting a tripod if you're not already using one. No matter how steady your hands are, when you're taking macros, every twitch will show up in the image.

[suzanne]

Thanks all for your suggestions. I used a white backround, a bottom light, left and right lighting and a top light. I have a canon eos 350d ( believe you call it a rebel) and this thing has a mind of it's own.

I do have to say the beads with the silver glass are more green then blue. I could say I meant to go for an artistry look but then I would be lying. I made the pictures in RAW using the sunlight-whitebalance. When using automatic whitebalance all my pictures look incredibly dull and dark, dunno what is up with that.

The large lentil is chipped...even worse...it cracked so I had to remake it, guess I was a bit too rough with my dremel tool.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by suzanne

The large lentil is chipped...even worse...it cracked so I had to remake it, guess I was a bit too rough with my dremel tool.

But that means you get to keep it, and it's such a pretty thing. So not so bad after all, right?

[JanMD]

Suzanne --- Another trick that you might want to try with those big shiny lentils that you want to showcase in a close-up: photograph them under water. I promise that you will be amazed by how much that technique reduces the glare on the shiny beads.

Find a plastic storage container (Tupperware!) that is short and squat and has a large enough size that your bead won't be crowded up against the sides. Fill with water to a depth just sufficient to cover the bead and shoot from above. You can light it from below with that nifty light panel, in addition to side lighting. And the translucent sides of the Tupperware container soften the light too. If you need to, you can cut a circle out of some plastic vellum to cover any funky lines and folds that mar the bottom of the container.

Works very well! Try it!

JanMD

[suzanne]

Originally Posted by Emily

But that means you get to keep it, and it's such a pretty thing. So not so bad after all, right?

lol , true, and the second one I am selling turned out even better so I am over the loss

[McDuck]

I think Ineed to send you mybeads now to photo. wanna come to the states for abit ? lol great shots!

[suzanne]

Originally Posted by McDuck

I think Ineed to send you mybeads now to photo. wanna come to the states for abit ? lol great shots!

would love too!!! I just managed to set my camera in RAW, I thought I was photographing in RAW the whole time cause my dear BF told me I was....wich was BFBS cause I wasn't. Now I only need a programm wich will open the darn files cause my regular adobe photosuite does not recognize RAW *sigh* another 120 dollar down the drain

Suzanne

[LavenderCreek]

Suzanne, sometimes I have to turn off some of the lights. With shiny beads I usually turn off the top light. Sometimes I leave the top light on and turn off the side lights. I almost always have the underlighting on though. Did you try using the grey bacground yet? I really love it.

Also, I usually have to do a bit of photoshoping, I crop and then adjust contrast and that is usually all I need to do. Of course I am using a different camera than you are so that might make some difference too. I had to do alot of playing around when I first got the box and sometimes I still do, but I am getting to know it better.

When I started using it, I would take pictures first with all the lights, then with the top off, then with top on and sides off, etc. Then tried same pictures with different backgrounds and so on.

I can definitely see an improvement though so you're on the right track