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Thread: Photography...how to have no background

  1. #11
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    Jul 2009
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    I use Photoshop CS4 levels... easy peasy

    ... but then we do have a rubbish camera that would baulk at over exposed surfaces and just refuse to focus or take a half decent photo!

  2. #12
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    Aug 2009
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    You're very welcome. I hope that I've written it in plain enough English - and illustrated it to explain points - so that it will be easy to understand. It's a technical subject, so it's not possible to eliminate all tech speak and terminology, but I hope I've explained it clearly enough - please ask if you don't understand anything.

    I'm all for improvising - I won't buy anything if I can make something myself to solve a problem. Some things you can't avoid buying the right tools for, but sometimes it would just be throwing money away.

    One of my future blog ideas is to take some jewellery photos with a very inexpensive and modestly featured camera (the one I use wasn't expensive, even though I have good gear available) and improvised or free supporting equipment - just to prove that you don't need to spend a fortune - a little understanding and know how is worth far more.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Bijou Dragon View Post
    I use Photoshop CS4 levels... easy peasy
    It's certainly one way to get the result visually and I know that a lot of people do get their white high key backgrounds after the fact in that way and I would too if I needed to. But as soon as you start shifting the tones in that manner, you deteriorate the quality of the image data a little with each adjustment.

    Which for small end uses like web site photos is almost certainly not much of a problem - but if you then wanted to use that same image for a high end publication or something, you might find that the data wasn't good enough to print from.

    So getting the effect in the camera initially, where that's possible, without potentially compromising the quality of your data would always be a better solution. Just in case a mag wants to run a feature on your work or something. We all wish.

    Not suggesting you personally should do it differently, but your comment was opportune to make the observation. It's always going to be better to take the photograph itself as close to how you want it, than to rely on software manipulation. Don't get me wrong, I'm as guilty of it as anyone!

  4. #14
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    Aug 2009
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    East Lancashire
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    Thank you, I hope you find it useful.

    If you don't have lighting, work near a window - preferably without direct sun - and make yourself a reflector - just scrunch some aluminium foil up and then smooth it back flat again and stick it onto a piece of card, shiny side out - the side of a cereal packet will do - I've been using the same couple of pieces for donkeys.

    If you position that on the opposite side of your subject from the window, you can reflect some of that light back and lift the shadows - it really does make a difference. I prop mine up with one of those plastic document holders that's a bit like a blob with a curved slot in it - a bit of trail and error will show you were you get the best effect. Arm yourself with some bulldog clips, Blutak etc.

    If you're getting too many reflections or hot spots from the light, put a sheet of tracing paper, tissue or fine fabric in front of the window, it will reduce your light a little, but diffuse it too.

    I did a blog about foil reflectors: http://boojewels.blogspot.com/2009/0...tographic.html

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