sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Aug 21, 2012 10:58:01 GMT -5
We just took out of our tumbler a batch of Yellow Cat agates. They turned out beautifully, with a nice shine and very colorful. However, when I tried various ways of taking pictures, they all turned out fuzzy or not indicative of their shine. I tried holding them against the blue sky (sunny), white paper towel and grayish concrete walk and had the same results every time. I'd love to show my agates but these pictures wouldn't do them any justice. Is there a secret to taking a picture which would show how they really look? I'd like to be able to take them as you look THROUGH them and also just an external picture which shows off the polished product. Help!
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Post by deb193redux on Aug 21, 2012 11:43:21 GMT -5
diffuse light and focus.
to avoid light source reflections or white-out glare spots on shiny stones, diffuse light is needed. A bright but overcast day. Or, early twilight, with plenty of light, but no direct sun.
Some use a photo tent or box or translucent dome, and you can find tutorials online to make inexpensive gadgets.
Focus. Many point and shoot cameras cannot focus closer than 18" or even a few feet. They have gotten better recently. Also, some ofter a macro option that lets you trade closer focus ability for less depth of field.
Does your camera have a macro setting?
Getting a good image is not too hard. It gets harder if you want to style the image with graded tones in the background, reflections in the table top, or otherwise make the photo more dramatic than just clean and accurate.
I will add "stability". With an inexpensive tripod you have the stability to work in lower light (where the shutter needs to stay open longer) and glare is less of a problem. More expensive digital cameras have IS (image stabilization) but a $20 tripod from target can be your friend.
Look for some tutorials, and keep asking questions.
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Post by rockjunquie on Aug 21, 2012 13:14:38 GMT -5
Great tips! I would add that I use a light tent- diffused light. For jewelry it's great, for rocks, it's not so great. It takes a lot of the shine out. I'm going to try to do more of my cabs outside. It's just so damn easy and convenient to put it in the tent. My camera is always on the tripod ready to go.
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fwfranklen (Mike)
spending too much on rocks
Rock-ON--Have you kissed your rock today?
Member since August 2012
Posts: 379
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Post by fwfranklen (Mike) on Aug 21, 2012 13:17:35 GMT -5
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Post by catmandewe on Aug 21, 2012 13:22:47 GMT -5
I would say the most important thing is using a tripod, you just can't hold the camera as still as a tripod can.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Aug 22, 2012 9:37:52 GMT -5
One little thing: The macro function on most cameras is often represented by a flower icon. Either a flower on a button, or in one of the menus.
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RocknCritter
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 489
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Post by RocknCritter on Aug 23, 2012 9:01:58 GMT -5
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