mattgatten
Member
Hi Guys,
I've been lurking here for a while now. Thought I would find a way to contribute around here. I've been an avid photographer for 15 years and a semi pro for the better part of 5. So here goes.
I notice most folks are using a light tent for their pen photography. I'm just curious as to why does everyone think they need to have a completely white background with no shadow? I notice that a lot of the images are slightly underexposed creating a grey background. Well here is what the camera does with completely white backgrounds with a small subject. (Or a person standing in the snow, for that matter).
The camera's automatic settings takes the entire scene into account. It then tries to make the 'best adjustment' to it's internal settings to give you an image that is 'well exposed' throughout. With that much white in a scene and very little dark areas (the pen) it thinks it's a really bright sunny day and stops the aperture down, darkening the image, and giving you an underexposed image.
I'll go on with more about exposure in another thread if you want. For now, determine what the camera is doing in automatic mode with your setup and remember the f/stop and shutter speed. Then switch to manual mode set the shutter from the first picture but open the aperture by a stop or stop and a half. If it's f/16 on auto, then open it to f/11 or f/8. Experiment. What you are going for is a pure white background. That will make sure your image is properly exposed. When you're done, go back to the original f/stop and now start slowing the shutter down and watch what it does. Opening the aperture is going to decrease your DOF. Maybe one end of your pen is blurry and the front and middle is sharp. Slowing the shutter down will increase you DOF and give you detail front to back.
As for a light tent, I really don't care for them. You can do some amazing thing with natural window light (the best light), a white wall, or a couple of white 8X10 cards.
Here are some shots I took in a bright room with natural window light. (All except the green thorny looking thing.) As an example. Sorry they are not pens.
Flowers Without a Tent
Thanks guys,
Matt
I've been lurking here for a while now. Thought I would find a way to contribute around here. I've been an avid photographer for 15 years and a semi pro for the better part of 5. So here goes.
I notice most folks are using a light tent for their pen photography. I'm just curious as to why does everyone think they need to have a completely white background with no shadow? I notice that a lot of the images are slightly underexposed creating a grey background. Well here is what the camera does with completely white backgrounds with a small subject. (Or a person standing in the snow, for that matter).
The camera's automatic settings takes the entire scene into account. It then tries to make the 'best adjustment' to it's internal settings to give you an image that is 'well exposed' throughout. With that much white in a scene and very little dark areas (the pen) it thinks it's a really bright sunny day and stops the aperture down, darkening the image, and giving you an underexposed image.
I'll go on with more about exposure in another thread if you want. For now, determine what the camera is doing in automatic mode with your setup and remember the f/stop and shutter speed. Then switch to manual mode set the shutter from the first picture but open the aperture by a stop or stop and a half. If it's f/16 on auto, then open it to f/11 or f/8. Experiment. What you are going for is a pure white background. That will make sure your image is properly exposed. When you're done, go back to the original f/stop and now start slowing the shutter down and watch what it does. Opening the aperture is going to decrease your DOF. Maybe one end of your pen is blurry and the front and middle is sharp. Slowing the shutter down will increase you DOF and give you detail front to back.
As for a light tent, I really don't care for them. You can do some amazing thing with natural window light (the best light), a white wall, or a couple of white 8X10 cards.
Here are some shots I took in a bright room with natural window light. (All except the green thorny looking thing.) As an example. Sorry they are not pens.
Flowers Without a Tent
Thanks guys,
Matt