lowdertiff
Junior Member
Posts: 53 
Location: Kentucky
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Post by lowdertiff on Jan 20, 2015 0:34:20 GMT
What's your setup for photographing your layouts? I'd really like to have better quality photos of my layouts for when I share them on my blog or in galleries online, but I'm struggling with the setup aspect of things.
*Where in your house do you have this setup? Is it a permanent thing or something you put away and get out when needed?
*What items did you use for this setup? How much did you spend on your setup and/or what products would you recommend for this?
*What kind of lighting do you prefer - time of day, placement of natural light source, artificial light sources (if any), etc.?
Thanks in advance! It's on my 'to-do' list this month to create an efficient, effective setup for photographing my projects. I'm tired of my friends saying, "Your pictures didn't do this justice" or "This looks wayyy better in person than online" when they look at my work.
Tiffany
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Post by cmpeter on Jan 20, 2015 1:30:15 GMT
I just use my iPhone and kitchen table (has two large sliding doors by the table, so lots of natural light).
I have something pinned that I found helpful. I am on my phone right now but will try and link it later tonight when I am on my laptop
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angsandy
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by angsandy on Jan 20, 2015 1:42:29 GMT
I photo on the porch with indirect sunlight.
Layout goes on a grey foam board sitting on the floor.
For full 12x12 page I use a 50mm lens and a tripod that allows me to mount the camera to shoot straight down.
To get an even exposure I'll sometimes place cardstock on one or other side to balance out the light fall-off.
(One trick I use for testing this is to overexpose a piece of white cardstock and check the warning spots on my camera to find out where the light is falling-off)
For close-ups I use a 30mm macro lens that allows me to crop in really tight and I just handhold the camera.
I do have a set of studio lights.
Since I have the space to keep them set up permanently, it's quick to shoot and do a standardised post-editing process on the pics.
However I don't think artificial light looks as good as natural and only use them when I have a tight dateline.
For me what made the most difference was getting the right lens for my DSLR.
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Post by kwitekreative on Jan 20, 2015 3:11:55 GMT
So, here's what I do.
I have a folding table set up in the corner of my scrap room. On it lies a plain white piece of posterboard, with a white foam-core trifold board (like you'd use for a science fair project). I picked up a couple of clamp lights from the hardware store, and put the spiral daylight bulbs in them. They are clipped onto each of the "arms" of the science fair board. I recently bought a floor lamp with a flexible head and installed the daylight bulb in it, too. I found it just helps to have that third light source. When I am photographing a layout straight on, I'll tape it to the back of the science fair board with some rolled up washi tape, then square it up in my view finder the best I can. I still do have to edit all my photos for brightness and contrast (sometimes I do the "autocorrect" thing...). Nothing beats natural light, and I do use it whenever I can, but having this setup in place has been really convenient.
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Post by cmpeter on Jan 20, 2015 4:19:31 GMT
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lowdertiff
Junior Member
Posts: 53
Location: Kentucky
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Post by lowdertiff on Jan 20, 2015 17:47:18 GMT
Thanks for your suggestions, ladies. I really need to get my space setup in a way that I can just leave it out all the time. Maybe I can figure out my plan and get it up and running this weekend.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 21, 2015 2:55:44 GMT
This is what I do to photograph my 2-page, 12x12 layouts. I have a piece of bright white plastic gatorboard that is 24"x30". I lay the gatorboard on top of my work table (you can also put it on the floor but my floor has too much dog hair on it most of the time!) and my layout on top of the gatorboard.
I have two north facing windows in my basement studio and they are ideal for providing nice indirect daylight, but I also have my studio set up with several large daylight fluorescents that provide a lot of additional light. I have two halogen studio lights from a "studio in a box" thing I bought, but I haven't needed to use any additional lighting since DH put in the fluorescents overhead.
Now I get up on a chair so I can position the camera as far away from the layout as possible, and use the camera's zoom to bring it back in. This really helps to reduce the distortion from the lens at the corners! I don't have a tripod that I can use to shoot straight down, so I just wing it and it doesn't take too long to get pretty good at getting it fairly straight. I try to use one of the edges of the camera's frame as a guide to help me get it as straight as possible.
After taking the photos, I use PSE to correct any remaining lens distortion at the corners (which is usually minimal) with the skew tool and to correct the brightness or lighting if there are any issues. I've found if I take my photos during the day, there aren't any lighting problems to correct but I don't always have the option of taking my photos under ideal circumstances so it's nice to be able to fix them in post production if necessary.
I think this is SO much easier than trying to scan and stitch two page layouts! I don't have the time or patience for that!
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