Taking the flower that Poptart made last week, we set up a very basic lighting apparatus and took some nice photos. This was a slight challenge for us as we are used to using Bubbie's professional gear to get our shots. It was fun to try this for the first time, ourselves.
Bubbie's first piece of advice, get yourself a tripod!! You can find them at Wal-Mart for around $20-$40. A tripod will help you in many areas of your photography. It will be useful to reduce the blurriness that can occur from camera shake (all cameras shake when you hold them ... unless you have surgeon-steady hands!) A tripod also helps so that you can use the timer, so when the shutter goes off, you're not touching the camera at all and therefore reducing the risk of a bad picture.
Now for the lighting. The best and easiest way to produce perfectly lit photos for relatively cheap is to buy clamp lights. Clamp lights can be purchased at any hardware store (like Home Depot). They are relatively inexpensive, and you can buy light bulbs at the dollar store!! For this tutorial we used 2 clamp lights, but make sure you have 3-4, just in case. We clamped them to a second tripod, but you can clamp them any where you need to (like a bookshelf, a chair etc).
Once our lighting was set up, we placed the flower onto a flat surface. You can use the floor, a table, white paper, fabric .... as long as the background is relatively neutral/solid. You don't want to place the object on a background that is overwhelming or distracting. We chose to use a chair that has a red cushion.
You then want to place your lighting relatively close to the object ... just keep in mind that these clamp lights get VERY hot, so be careful!! Place your camera equally as close to the object as the lights, but make sure not to get them in the shot!
Now a little something on camera settings!
If you're shooting with this lighting system, you will need to change the white balance in your camera. This is the setting that tells your camera what type of light you're using to light your object. In this case, you will change the balance to 'tungsten', which tells your camera you're using light bulbs. You'll notice that if you turn your flash off and take a picture indoors (without changing the white balance) your photos turn out with a yellow tinge. For any shooting, you always want to check your white balance so it will match the type of light you're using.
Some point and shoot cameras do not come with a manual setting, so you're stuck with the camera trying it's very best to get the shot right. If your camera can't do manual, don't fret!! You can still take great photos. Make sure you turn off the auto flash. You might have to add another clamp light or two but shooting with your on-camera flash won't help. You will have to fuss around with different amounts of direct lighting, and you may have to move the lighting closer to you object (remember to use your tripod!!).
If you have a camera that can be put into manual mode then you should do it. Shooting in manual mode will allow you more control over the amount of light you let in, by adjusting the shutter speed (how long the light is allowed in) and aperture (controls how much light is coming in). A rule of thumb with the aperture: the lower the number the better! So basically just play around with these settings until you find one that is right for you. And make sure to write down the numbers so you can refer back if you lose that setting!
In some instances, you might find that the light is hitting your object too harshly. You can remedy this by using something to diffuse the light.
A diffuser can be made out of a bed sheet, tracing paper or anything white and slightly see through. This will even out and soften the light, getting rid of the harsh shadows. It may darken the light, so you will have to play around with various set ups to see what works for you. We suggest starting with 2 or 3 clamp lights and if you're finding that your light is too hard on the object, take one away ... and use a diffuser only if it fixes the shadows and doesn't darken the object too much. Having a lighter photo is better than a darker one, as it's easier to fix in the editing process. Which is what we will cover next week. Bubbie will be processing the photos from today, to show you how to fix the light and dark, among other things =)
We hope this helps you out, even just a little =) Good luck, fellow Etsians!!
Poptart & Bubbie
No comments:
Post a Comment