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2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  ccpenco 
#1 ·
display pictures

i'm wondering how you guys take the great photos of your work with the white backgrounds and such? 'cause i'm wanting to open a website that will sell my turnings but i can't seem to get good professional quality photos. i can't afford expensive cameras and equipment right now so does anybody have any ideas? i'm stumped, again. what photo editing software is good? right now i have sony photo editor but that's it.
 
#3 ·
I haven't posted any pics here yet. I've been taking pictures for 35 yrs with a 35 MM. I consider stopping the action of black ponies on black dirt in an indoor arena without flash (flash is only good for 15-20 feet in most cases) to be my gratest achievement with the old Nikon:) For starters, use natural daylight, not in the sun. A bright overcast day would be your best light. Use flash to fill in if you can in the natural bright overcast condition. If you are using a camera with a focusing lens, you can take close ups but be sure to focus correctly. If you are using a fixed focus camera, you'll have to experiment a little to see how close you can get, but you won't be able to take a real close up that is sharp and clear. No software is going to fix a poor picture. Use a tripod or get in a firm position to minumize the movements of the camera during the picture. If you use flash, avoid shooting straight on the subject. Always shoot at a slight angle so the flash bounces off anywhere except back into the lans. Hope that helps.
 
#5 ·
I use a little digital Canon. I load them into iphoto and hit the 'fix' button, which is exclusively Macintosh but there are plenty of photo editing programs out there with many online free.

The key I think is to have lots of lighting. I'm no photo expert either but I've got lots of diffused florescent lighting in my shop for my older failing eyes. Even if the photo has a bright sunshine through the window background the interior lighting still holds up a pretty well. Having light and avoiding flash this way is the best way. You can also turn the flash off if there's maybe enough light but your camera doesn't think so. Then brighten it up in your software.

Also, a camera with a built in 10 second timer is really handy for those one man candid shots. Most cameras have that built in now.
 
#6 ·
I built a light box out of a cardboard box, white muslin fabric and two clamp on shop lights with a true color Ott-lite bulbs. There is a good tutorial here.
Had I not bought the box (from my employer - FedEx Office) the whole shebang could be put together for under $25.
You may even have the light fixtures in your shop.
 
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