Best Photo:
I took products from Brief 1 (Greetings cards) and Brief 2 (Stationery) to this photography workshop to practise photographing. I am glad I did this, as it has been years since I have used a photography studio and I wanted to be prepared for the photo shoot I have next week. Not all of the photos I took are great quality because of being a bit rushed for time and there being so many people in the studio at once. Now I'm looking forward to photographing all the items properly on monday.
All in all I'm getting closer to achieving my target of perfecting the presentation and photography of my final pieces!
Notes from photography workshop:
- Cameras can be borrowed from 9.45-10.45 or 4-5 each day
- Book studio for current week or next week on 8.30 monday
Setting up___
- Format sd card when you get it to delete the last persons date
- Clear the settings to get them back to normal
- RAW files contain more info but you have to do RAW processing before they can be useable (can use Capture 1 software)
- TIFF files are good quality but massive file size
- Find quality setting and choose the L with the curve for the finest quality
- Set the ISO (sensitivity to light) to 100. The higher the number, the more sensitive it is to light.
- Change the white balance (colour temperature) to tungsten light to make it match indoor studio lights.
- Need to be shooting in the M mode on dial
Taking photos___
- Half press the shutter, then roll the wheel on top to alter the shutter speed. The fast shutter speeds freeze the action and the slower ones blur it. We have it on 1/60.
- Press the AV button and hold then roll the wheel to change (small number - big aperture (narrow band of focus), big number - small aperture)
- Set lenses to MF (manual focus) then turn the very front ring to alter the focus
- Have to balance aperture with shutter speed
- Meter reading - aim the camera at an object, half press shutter, then roll the wheel until the blob gets to the middle of the -2 to 2 scale
- To get a custom white balance, take a photo of 18% grey card, go to menu -> custom white balance -> find photo and test
Lighting___
- The umbrella diffuses light to make shadows softer
- Soft boxes for product shots to put around light and give nice highlights and softer shadows
- For a drop shadow place the soft box over the top
- Use a reflector to put light in to the dark areas (could make one - foil on card)
- Add under light to product to remove shadows
- On the shiny surface you will get a reflection of the product
- Put the light at the side to make the flatter details stand out
- Put the camera on a tripod so it always stays in the same place then play about with the positioning of the lighting to see what works best
