What Corrections to be made from here?

[IPD_Mrs]

Played around with some base settings and trying to get good depth of field as well as show some shine to the finish without getting reflections out the rear.

Basic settings:
WB: Custom set to white background. Probably should have used some of the 98 brightness printer paper I have.
F-Stop: f/16.0
Shutter Speed 1/15 sec.
ISO:1600
Focal Length: 34mm

So any direction you can give would be of great help.
Mike

 

[its_virgil]

I use ISO around 100-200 and use the aperture priority mode. I set the f-stop at f22 and let the camera calculate the exposure time. Place the camera on a tripod and use the timer at a 10 sec delay. I use two daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs on either side of a photo tent and one from the top to get rid of shadows. The neat thing about digital cameras is we can try lots of different settings quickly. I also have the camera hooked into my computer and can activate the shutter from the keyboard plus see the setup on the screen. I don't like white backgrounds. Use a gray card to set the white balance. I use a blue cloth as a background.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[gerryr]

I agree with Don about using a gray card to set the white balance, white paper is just too inconsistent. I also agree about the ISO, I set mine to 200 for pen photos because that's the lowest setting available. I don't necessarily agree about setting the aperture to f/22, although it might be OK at 34mm. With digital cameras, as the aperture is closed, you reach a point where chromatic aberration starts to show up and that's most commonly around f/11-f/16. I would recommend a slightly longer focal length, 50-70mm, so you can get the camera a bit further away from the pen which will help with depth of field.

 

[VisExp]

You have the shadow/reflection of the edge of the table running down the length of the pen. I can see the reflection of something blue on the nib holder. If you set the pen further back on the background maybe this could be eliminated.

The focus looks good but to me it looks a little under exposed or washed out. I agree with Gerry and Don about the lower ISO setting.

It is a nice looking shot but there are some areas you could improve on. I find it easy to go into overload with pen photography [:I] There are so many things you have to remember and they're all happening at once. White balance, shutter speed, aperture, focus, lighting, lighting angles, pen placement, dust and lint, checking for unwanted reflections, checking that reflections that you want are indeed there. You check and double check before you take the shot and then the moment you display it on your monitor larger than life you see something you forgot to do

Keep up the good work!

 

[gerryr]

But, unlike jumping out of an airplane, it's real easy to go do it again.

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Sent a photo to gerry and he did some adjustments on it. The camera was set on iso 100 f/16.0 and aperture was at 0.3. I adjust the photo further from what gerry did as for me, it was just too dark. I will continue this thread next week once I get the grey card.
Vis the blue in the photo was my shirt. [V]

Mike

 

[VisExp]

Originally posted by gerryr

But, unlike jumping out of an airplane, it's real easy to go do it again.

LOL. That was all about procedures. Check all the equipment that was going to save your butt and then check all your camera and video settings. After a while it becomes so ingrained that it is instinctive.

I'm still not there when it comes to taking a picture of a pen. Now maybe if the pen were hurtling earthward at 120 mph

 

[gerryr]

I'm a lazy photographer sometimes. I have the aperture and shutter speed written down on a piece of paper right by my light box. I turn the lights one, wait about 10 minutes, set the camera for WB, ISO, aperture and shutter speed, put a pen on the stand and take a picture. I check the histogram to make sure it's where I want it and either move on to the next pen or adjust and re-shoot. It doesn't take long when you know exactly how to set the camera.

 

[gerryr]

That looks a lot better, Mike.