general photography disussion

[Aglaya]

I need to learn more too.  I got a digital camera a few weeks ago so I could take better pictures for my Etsy shop, and it's really amazing how huge the difference is between a really nice cellphone camera with a flash and a really cheap digital camera with natural lighting.  For the first time in my life, I don't feel like I'm a terrible photographer.

[diesel_powered]

I reckon I'd like to find out more about all this photography game at some stage...

Well, I'm always down for answering questions or critiquing work as I used to teach this sort of thing. And I'm sure the other hardcore photo folks on here wouldn't mind chiming in as well.

[Bernard]

Any tips for product photography? The product in this case being a paper box with some little bottles inside (beauty products).

cbs: shoot, hope the dog didn't get sick. I would send another roll but I'm a bit housebound at the moment. I would recommend taking a look at http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist -- the group pool is great and the members are generally very kind about answering questions not already addressed (and there's a ton of good material there already). Approaching via lighting questions rather than on-camera stuff is a neat way to go about learning, and is a little different from the way basic photography is usually taught.

[diesel_powered]

Probably the biggest deal with objects is depth of field. If you have a really shallow depth of field, then you can force the viewer to focus on the object rather than the background. If you're doing something Etsy-style (i.e. more informal, environmental, object on a table near a sunny window) then shallow DOF will keep the background from distracting from the object. If you're going for something a little drier (i.e. Ebay-style, or portfolio shots for a package designer) then shallow DOF will hide wrinkles or flaws in the bedsheet you may be using as a neutral background. You probably know this already, but the key to shallow DOF is a wide aperture and generally, zoom lenses have a shallower depth of field than prime lenses. Also, most SLR cameras have a DOF preview button that allows you to check before making an exposure, so RTFM.

So once you have your DOF figured out, next comes lighting. Traditionally, the way to accomplish this is to have a strong light source from one side, and a less strong light source (or reflector) on the other side to soften the shadow and make the object evenly lit. If you're going environmental, the easiest way to accomplish this is to put your object on a table next to a sunny window and then a piece of white (or silver, if you're fancy) paper on the opposite side to reflect the light from the window. By varying the distance of the object to the light source and reflector, you can vary the intensity of the light (duh). Overall, with objects, it's best to have diffused light so shadows are soft and you don't get hot spots. You can accomplish this by bouncing your light off reflectors or putting a diffusing material between your light source and the object (being careful not to set yourself on fire). If you want to be a bit drier, you can throw up a white sheet or piece of paper in the background and then get a floodlight and a reflector (or a pair of floodlights for either side). Since you want diffused light, it's best to opt for the frosted floods rather than the clear ones. Essentially, the drill is the same with two lights as with one light and a reflector: one goes closer and the other goes further away so the shadow is soft, but not absent. (Unless really hot, even lighting is your thing, in which case, go to town.) But if you really want to make your life easy, and if you might be doing this more than once, you might consider investing in a soft box tent. Depending on the size, you can get one for around $20-$30, and thanks to the prevalence of product photography for Ebay, I've even seen cheap ones at Wal-mart. Basically, the product goes inside, and the sides of the tent make up a background and light diffusers. Stick lights on either side, and you're good to go. And with a setup like that, you can go into business photographing people's stuff for Ebay.

If you happen to have a laptop and a DSLR, you might try shooting tethered. Canon's EOS line comes with the "EOS Utility" that allows this, and I'd assume Nikon has something similar, so again, RTFM. But basically, you hook your camera to the computer with your USB cable and through the utility, you can preview all the shots you're making on the giant laptop screen instead of on the tiny camera screen. It sounds like mystic sorcery, but it's really not that difficult (assuming your setup supports it) and that's basically how all professional studio photographers work. It just gives you a better preview of what you're doing compared to shooting, kind of seeing it on the camera screen, and taking your setup down only to see that your shots aren't exactly in focus. In fact, even if you're using a point and shoot, since it's a controlled environment, it's just better to pull your memory card and check out your shots on a proper computer screen to make sure everything is perfect.

Finally, if you happen to be photographing shiny things (which it doesn't sound like you're doing, but just as a general thing), a polarizing filter can make your life easier by cutting glare. There are cheap ones and expensive ones, spend as much as the job requires.

So that's my lecture on shooting objects, some of it you probably know, hopefully I covered some useful material.

Next week at the LPTJ Learning Annex: Underwater basket weaving.

[clare]

helpful for me in an abstract kind of way I guess. DOF stuff is interesting, and I need to get my DSLR out more and play with it. (in all my spare time)

[diesel_powered]

Yes. Get your bokeh on.

[milesofsparks]

tomorrow AM:
http://submit.nytimes.com/moment
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112035958816765&index=1

[clare]

oh, wow...what a great idea! No, hang on, that's 1am here. No chance.

[milesofsparks]

eh, I didn't get super inspired, but these are the pictures I took at 11AMish this morning:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catasterist/sets/72157623976435746/detail/

which one should I submit, oh wise internets?

edit: you can see I'm still on an overexposure kick.

[auto-da-fey]

I vote "skyline, bikes"--I like the way it combines the blur-aesthetic with a more tangible backdrop, which would seem to make it quite suited for this project on (if I understand it correctly) capturing the one fleeting moment in time.

[milesofsparks]

thanks, adf.  one of the bike ones will probably win--I'm going to sleep on it, since we have a few days to upload.

[clare]

I like the first one with the tree and the bikes...

[diesel_powered]

Yeah, I like the bike ones.

[diesel_powered]

In case anyone is interested in studio lighting, I found this neat little video that gives you a nice little introduction to a typical 3-light setup: http://vimeo.com/1822180

(Assume the lights are pointing where they seem to be pointing and that the dim ones are further from the subject than the bright ones.)

[alexandra]

for all you film users, all the film on lomography.com is currently 30% off. and if you want an additional % off, there's a few coupon codes:

GOWALLA
CRUNCHGEAR

I don't remember which one is 15% off.

[clare]

Wow. curses for living on a distant continent. i almost bought a pinhole set after you twurted it ak, but managed to abstain. (I could get stuff mailed to my MIL, but then who knows what she'd do with it in the meantime...)

[milesofsparks]

camera + kite = awesome:
http://scotthaefner.com/kap/

man, I need to be rich so I can indulge my serial hobbyist tendencies...

[elpollodiablo]

I need to have just one hobby that's not drinking.

[donblood]

You do!  It's thinking about phones.

[coldforge]

I find that generally, the best hobbies are the ones that you can integrate drinking into.

[Good Intentions]

No wonder you like watching cricket.

[diesel_powered]

I need a hobby. All my hobbies turned into my job.

[elpollodiablo]

Breakin rocks

[coldforge]

No wonder you like watching cricket.

I'm also a bilingual drinker.

[Bernard]

Dudes, let us be shooting more film. So enjoyable.