The objectives of today s demo Review the basics for digital photography Cameras Background Lighting Tips on improving your photography Review simple photo editing techniques to improve the pictures you take. Cropping, Color, Contrast, and other enhancements
Table top photography studios Manufactured Do It yourself Member interactive participation. Use the demo setups to take your own photos at today s meeting. Questions and Answers
The Basics of digital Photography The Aperture Controls the amount of light being captured and sets the depth of field (Knows as the f stop) Shutter Speed Works with aperture and ISO to capture the proper brightness. (Not too important as long as the camera isn t hand held). ISO Increasing the ISO setting on a camera will make it more sensitive to light. Let s you take photos with less light. Introduces more noise. (grain or distortion) Bob s Tip. Let the automatic features on the camera do the work first.
The Camera You don t need an expensive camera. Point and Shoot Easy to use SLR (Single Lens Reflex) In automatic mode, it s as easy to use as a Point and Shoot Cell Phone Camera The picture quality will surprise you! Challenge is holding it still!
Complimenting the object you are photographing!
Tips for Backgrounds Backgrounds in white, gray, brown and black work best. Option is to crop off the background completely. Bright colors are not recommended. Again. Should compliment the object being photographed
Not the best choice of backgrounds
Lighting Direct natural sunlight is an excellent source of lighting. Make sure only one color of light illuminates the object. CFL s (compact flourescent) and a reflector work well. Daylight fluorescent is recommended for inside photography.
Examples of lighting challenges
Tips on improving your photography Focus and fill the frame. Lighting is very important. Light Box, umbrellas or reflective fixtures can be used to soften the light source. Simple light box is worth the investment. Tripods steady the camera and keep it in place for multiple project shots. Self timer or remote trigger to keep the camera steady
Make sure your camera is in focus. Check the picture on a larger screen (pc) if possible. Basic settings If you need to set the aperture, use f8 to f11 to start. Don t use a flash. Let the camera set the shutter speed. Don t rely on Photoshop to fix an image. If it s bad, shoot it again. Avoid zooming move the camera instead.
Simple photo editing Picassa to Photoshop Basic features to enhance your photos Crop Rotate Enhance Background Flash Brightness and Contrast Resize File Formats
Cropped Image
Rotate Image
Enhance
Resize What s a pixel? The word "pixel" means a picture element. Every photograph, in digital form, is made up of pixels. They are the smallest unit of information that makes up a picture. (ultimatephoto-tips.com) How do I resize an image to decrease the number of pixels and why? If your camera is set to capture images using a large number of pixels (ideal) for outstanding quality and detail, the image may be too big to upload or post on a website. By reducing the number of pixels (length and width), you can make the picture fit. Many websites want a photo smaller than 1000 x 1000 pixels. If you are sending images by email, your computer may have a problem sending large picture attachments. You can remidy the problem by reducing the size of the image.
File Format Computer programs recognize specific file formats based on their purpose. In photography, files that are saved with.tif,.gif or the most popular.jpg are recognized by the majority of photo editing software. The.jpg format includes some file compression features as well. Adobe s.pdf file format is often used to send large files through the internet. The format uses file compression and doesn t allow for manipulation of the image unless you have the Adobe software. Adobe s.pdf format is recognized by most every computer in use today.
Table Top Studios and Light Boxes What to buy Cowboy Studios What to make Foamcore and Tee Shirts (or cheesecloth) Other examples
Questions & Answers
Come on down.. Let s take some pictures
Credits and References Article in the July 2014 Newsletter of the Woodturners of St. Louis by James Payne and John Spelbring Photographing your work. In the best light Photographing Your Artwork Fall 2005 Issue of Wood Carving Illustrated. Smartphone Photography Tips ETSY Sellers Handbook May 2013 Lisbeth Ortega Stunning Digital Photos Show off your turnings by Ed Kelle AAW American Woodturner August 2012 www.ultimate-photo-tips.com