What are the basics of great pen pictures?

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Nickfff

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Hello, I have seen some great pen pictures on the site. How would you summarize the top basics for great pen photography?

I have a Sony 7.2 Mega Pixel camera with a tent/light kit/tripod coming...

What is best...
-flash or no-flash?
-wide or zoom?
-best background color?
-What other changes should be made to the camera setting?

Thanks in advance for replies:),
Nick
 
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sorry about the double post...on the first post an error message came back that said "flood control?" was on and I needed to post later...
 
Hi Nick,

Flash (from on top the camera) is bad. Instead you want even lighting from all around to eliminate shadows (but you also need a light to create the reflection that shows off the shine).

You want the pen to fill the picture frame with very little background. It IS the pen you are trying to show off, right? Using a wide angle and getting close makes it easier to keep focused front to back but either works. Just set your f-stop to f8 or higher as necessary until the pen is in focus the full distance. This is called "aperture priority" on your camera. Read up on it.

Background should be just that, a background. You want it to fade away so make it a neutral color without any busy patterns. I like a neutral grey. Or a contrasting color (brown background for a blue pen, etc). You don't want it the same color as your pen or you lose the pen.

Aperture priority. White balance. Tripod. Self-timer. "Mirror lockup" if your camera has it.

Do some research by looking at all threads in the photography section. There is a ton of information on this board. Including sites (that I don't recall right now) to help you understand photography better to take the best photos.

GK
ps oh yah... Remembered the training sites
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php
http://www.lexar.com/dp/tips_lessons/index.html
 
Walmart sells the portable studios at a reasonable price. I think there are three different ones to choose from. I plan on purchasing one in the near future. I have a nice digital camera A nikon d 50
 
Originally posted by BrentK

Walmart sells the portable studios at a reasonable price. I think there are three different ones to choose from. I plan on purchasing one in the near future. I have a nice digital camera A nikon d 50
Click to expand...

With to many people selling on eBay, that has become a pretty good source of low priced photo tents. Check out before going retail.
 
Well I took Franks advice order one from Ebay was a little more money than walmart but it has two tents and four backgrounds for each tent. As soon as I receive it I will take some pics and try to post them.
 
Thew basic ingredients are....

Great pen,
Great camera,
Great lighting,
Great photo software,
Great background, and
Great photographer.

Sorry can't resist :D[}:)] LOL
 
I've been trying to get good pen picutres as well, and while my photos have improved quite a bit, I still have a long way to go.

That said, I'd list the basics as:
composition,
lighting, and
exposure.

The camera controls are the tools we use to achieve our basic goals. Unfortunately, those details are easier to discuss and often obscure the underlying principles they serve. I apologize for sounding preachy, but many of us (myself included) tend to get caught up in the mechanics of photography and fail to actually see what we're photographing in the first place.

One device that helps me surmount this problem is some software that allows me to control the camera directly from my computer. Once everything is set up, I press a key. The camera takes the picture and transfers it directly to an image editing program. I can immediately see a full-size result. Problems are much more evident, and I can easily compare multiple shots. This greatly sped up my experimentation and, quite frankly, I was surprised at some of the results. For example, I hadn't realized just how much of a difference a 1/3 f-stop change in exposure can really make. The camera's histogram had fooled me into thinking that I had a lot more leeway in exposure.

Good lighting is more difficult to achieve than correct exposure. I'm still playing with two lamps (although I may wish to add another, or perhaps a bounce flash). I've gone from using a light tent to going without, and back again. My pen photos still are lacking in contrast and saturation, and I'm working on that.

Good composition is harder yet. Presenting a pen in a dramatic and appealing fashion can be quite a challenge. Some of the photos on this site really catch the eye. It's the choice of props, backgrounds, orientation, reflection, depth (depth of field, color depth, contrast, and perspective), etc. that make some photos really stand out. Good photographers know how to get bling. I don't yet, but I'm trying.
 
It is a lot of trial and error but I will give you a brief run down of my method.

I start with a good camera and lens -- Nikon d50 with upgraded lens.
I set it on full manual.
I bracket the exposure and take 2 or 3 exposures of each picture.
It is on a tripod.
No flash!!!
The lighting is a natural range with a tent. I played with this set-up A LOT before I was happy with it.
Play with the white balance on your camera A LOT regardless of your lighting temperature.
I use Photoshop after I am done but the only thing I adjust is the level.

Now when I mentioned using the manual settings that is vague. I started with aperture priority with as high a setting as your camera has so you can have the longest depth of field possible. Then I took many many pictures (most of them terrible). Once I figured out the shutter speed that was coming out best I dialed that in with the full manual setting. Then I bracket around those settings.

Here is a pic:
200832641216_cf-b-koa.jpg
 
Thanks to all for posting. I have been working with a sony camera but it goes up to f5.6. I think that is not enough given others are reccomending a minimum of f8.

Can anyone reccomend a $200 (approx) camera that is creating great pictures for them?

Thanks,
Nick
 
Would it be possible for some of you that have this down to post pictures of your setups, set up?

This would give others of us examples of distance from camera to pen, distance of lights to light tent, angle of camera to pen, etc.
 
Originally posted by Sylvanite



One device that helps me surmount this problem is some software that allows me to control the camera directly from my computer. Once everything is set up, I press a key. The camera takes the picture and transfers it directly to an image editing program.

My pen photos still are lacking in contrast and saturation, and I'm working on that.
Click to expand...

Eric; Can you provide details about the software you are using?
Will work with any camera, most, only one?

There is an excellent article here by Richard Kleinhenz. Very good reading.

I always post process my photos with Paint Shop Pro. I Use "Layer", "Duplicate", then select the duplicate layer and apply the "Screen" enhancement, and "flatten" the layers and save the result. I posted an example of the difference it makes below. This isn't my best and I am still learning. I don't normally keep the originals.


Original:
2008326131736_Photo_1_origa.jpg


Edited:
2008326131933_Photo_1_editeda.jpg
 
Originally posted by randyrls

Eric; Can you provide details about the software you are using?
Will work with any camera, most, only one?
Click to expand...
The software I'm using came with my camera and only supports the Canon EOS line. There's a 3rd party commercial version that supports neat features like exposure stacking, but I haven't gotten to that point yet.
 
Originally posted by jrc

Out of the box, set on auto in a cool lite tent. FinePix S700

200832615643_A.jpg
Click to expand...

So this is a great shot considering it is all auto. Beautiful color balance and brightness! It could be improved, though. Your depth of field is just a little too shallow for how you have the pen set up (notice that the "cap" area is out of focus). Actually, if you look closely you will see that the DoF is almost dead on width wise but is pulled too far forward (notice how the front of the horn is in sharp focus) so if you focused a little further back on the pen you would get the cap area in focus and soften the area in front of the pen without losing the focus on the pen tip.

My last point is purely opinion but I don't think that horn does the picture of your pen justice. One it is too prominent so argues with the pen for the customer's attention, and two it is too close in coloring to the pen so the pen "blends in" with it, again taking away from your pen. A more subtle stand of contrasting or neutral color would really make your pen pop!

Good picture of a great looking pen!
GK
 
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