Photo pointers (sorry, no real razor content)

[Tierdaen]

Hello!

I asked in another thread if someone would be interested in a few techniques for photographing their purchases or products, and at least one member said they would appreciate it, so here we are. I am posting in this forum since it may be relevant to folks who are interested in photographing their acquisitions just as much as folks who are selling their wares.

Now, I'm not going to discuss very serious product photography which can involve a lot of expensive equipment, but some basics that may be useful to a variety of people who don't really want to *replace* professional work, but still do a good job of showing off their stuff. Look at this pic set of a Kershaw Rainbow Leek (a very shiny, almost mirror-finished knife that many have found tricky to photograph), taken with an old 4mp digicam and no real lighting equipment.


Equipment
To be honest, you only need a camera, preferably one with a "macro" feature (usually identified by a flower symbol), the thing you want to photograph, the spot to photograph it, and the light to photograph it with. I'll also recommend a few large pieces of heavy white paper or even corrugated white plastic, a tripod, and a secondary (or even tertiary) light.

Some people think you need to have a "light tent" or "light box" for photography, and the truth is that you don't really! It can be a useful tool, but does not replace technique.

Goals
As a photographer, your goals are to get a picture. Simple right? Yes and no. There are a few things you need to do in order to get a good photo:

• Diffuse light and counterbalance shadows with secondary lights or reflectors when you do not want shadow
• Use oblique lighting (low-angle) to accentuate features and textures, high angle lighting to create a flatter look.
• Prevent unwanted reflections from appearing on shiny surfaces (they reflect anyway, so you will be controlling WHAT it reflects)
• Convey color in a reasonably accurate manner (camera white balance and light color)
• Have enough light for handheld photos (typically minimum 1/60th second for reliable results), or stable camera mounting for long exposures
• Consider angles, orientations, and perspectives to make best use of the frame (not too much dead space)

Most of these are solved in a few minutes of experimentation...so even though it SOUNDS complex, it's really not too bad.

Daylight Photography
Taking photos during the day can give you some fabulous photographs if you know how to control the light that you are getting. Many will tell you that a north-facing window can provide excellent diffused, indirect light. East-west orientation may mean too little light or too much direct light, depending on the time of day.

What is diffused light, some of you may ask? Normally light will come pretty directly from its source, which is basically a point. In a light bulb, that point is the filament that gives off light. During the day, the point of light is the sun. When you have an exposed point of light shining on you, you will cast an obvious shadow. But what happens if you spread that light over a larger surface? Where does your shadow go on a cloudy day? It is reduced because light is shining on you from different angles, which "fills" your shadow with light and makes it disappear.

Regardless of your orientation, try to select a spot where you can take the photograph with plenty of ambient light, but where the sun is not visible. Balconies can work well, windows can be great, inside a garage with an open garage door, or even in plain daylight are OK. The last option should be considered more as a "last resort" if it is sunny, as the sun is very direct and would need to be diffused (a good case for using light tents/boxes).

A light tent or light box is a small frame with a thin translucent membrane over it, used to diffuse light from multiple directions. Sometimes this comes in a cube or rectangle format (box), or simply a panel that "leans" over the subject (tent). The terms are often used interchangeably.

Have a surface prepared that you can set your object on top of (a piece of paper will suffice most of the time--getting too creative too quickly with this part will yield unpredictable results), and place the object on it. How's it look?


Hmm not too bad a start...not much shadow, thanks to the light coming down on top of it. Ugly background, and the pic looks quite harsh. Why? Light looks like it's coming from the rear-right side (look at the shadow around the tip and the front end of the bolster), but more importantly is still somewhat direct...the small shadows are a bit dark, because the light is coming down too strongly. This also makes the carbon fiber look harsh, and the blade also looks a bit unpleasant with the bevels being similar tones.

I ditched that bubble envelope, put the knife on a nice piece of bright white paper, moved it back a little bit so the main light source was at a lower angle to the knife. But, you may be saying...that would also make the shadows bigger! Yes, and I'll even rotate the angle so that the shadow is a few degrees more on the CAMERA side of the knife! Blasphemy!



Wait, what the..? Why did it turn out better? One thing I did was eyeball the lighting on the knife, rotating it a little here and there. I found that the most pleasant angle was even more oblique than I could obtain with just the knife laying flat so I put a little spacer behind the knife to tilt it edge-down. Then, I took 2 pieces of paper and made reflectors to soften the shadows and reflect white on the back of the handle (notice how the carbon fiber looks so much smoother and nicer? It's due to that off-centered white reflection). Same camera, same window. Had to use a tripod and a timer so I could hold both pieces of paper, but one reflector (typically shadow-softener) can be self-standing.

Since every knife, razor, watch, etc. is a bit different, there is no perfect lighting angle for all of them, so experimentation is necessary. Once you know what conditions to look for though, it'll be much simpler each time...

I'll make a post about desktop lighting soon...so stay tuned!