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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 5, 2016 20:17:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice on the photos. I'll need to keep practicing and trying out the techniques. A few new photos have been added now that I've completed the cerium oxide stage for this batch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Several of you are excellent photographers and, while I know there are other threads out there on getting good photos of our rocks, I thought I’d raise the question again and get some additional advice. For background, most of my rocks end up being slabbed and then polished on a Covington vibe-lap. Consequently, I end up with polished flat surfaces that have proved somewhat difficult to photograph as they act like mirrors, i.e. I end up seeing myself or my camera in the face of the rock vs the rock itself. Here’s some examples:   Petrified wood from DoBell's over July AZ trip.  The Other Half of a Rio from Mel. Been sitting waiting.   So, for you photographers, any advice or links to your instructional threads, would be highly appreciated! PS: These just came off a weekend at 1000 AO. Next weekend they go to the cerium oxide step although we might be up in the high desert shooting. We'll see. EDIT: I just finished up the cerium oxide stage on these and attempted a few more photos.     
Dobell Ranch piece     Dobell Ranch piece   Thanks! Paul
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2016 0:02:23 GMT -5
Depends on the camera, but I suggest you try this |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2016 0:03:02 GMT -5
And by the way, those are some badass polishes!! Wow!!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 6, 2016 3:16:25 GMT -5
And by the way, those are some badass polishes!! Wow!! ^ That ^ Cut a circular hole into dark grey / black card. Feather the edges @ 1/4" to accept the lens. Shoot in good light, but looking down through the card should eliminate the shine. Use lights as per Shotgunner's link to provide oblique highlight shine. |
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 6, 2016 9:23:08 GMT -5
I usually just angle the slab to except the shot with the camera,or find a sweet spot in my carport that has the right amount of lighting,but providing the shade from the sun too....Catch 22....
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Post by oregon on Oct 6, 2016 12:05:56 GMT -5
With such nice mirror polishes, auto focus can be tricked into focusing on the reflection - ie the tree reflection above. Try a manual focus if that's a huge problem, some phones will let you do this, but not all. It'd also be good to pay attention to the possible reflections so that different parts of the rock are not seeing very different surfaces in the reflection. eg, I can see your dark phone, and bright sky in some above.
In the same vein, I'd also suggest a paying attention to the background, if you don't want to do studio lighting, try to keep the background less busy, maybe just grass, or a table or leaves behind the rock, it'll greatly help the rock stand out.
Looks like you're hand holding both the camera and rock. Set the rock down, Tripods can help hold the camera as well, you can use a smaller aperature= larger DOF=slower exposure. You might try to just have a little stand and bright light in the corner of the shop and angle the slabs/camera till you get results you like. Once solved that'll be much more reliable than worrying about the variable conditions outside.
2cents...
practice you'll get better, it's way easier than getting such nice polishes!
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 6, 2016 14:02:53 GMT -5
A polarizing filter will help A LOT. You can get them for just about any camera, but I don't know about phone cameras. It screws onto your lens and you rotate the outside ring to eliminate glare. Works really well, I use one for cabs outside.
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 6, 2016 19:28:59 GMT -5
Depends on the camera, but I suggest you try thisI saw similar one's on other threads in the forum. Maybe I'll cobble something together like that. Thanks for the suggestion. I was reading through another "photographing our tumbles" thread and picked up some ideas as well. Thanks, Scott! Paul |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 6, 2016 19:30:01 GMT -5
And by the way, those are some badass polishes!! Wow!! ^ That ^ Cut a circular hole into dark grey / black card. Feather the edges @ 1/4" to accept the lens. Shoot in good light, but looking down through the card should eliminate the shine. Use lights as per Shotgunner's link to provide oblique highlight shine. Thanks, I saw a lot of "oblique" angle comments in other threads. I'll give that a try. |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 6, 2016 19:31:30 GMT -5
With such nice mirror polishes, auto focus can be tricked into focusing on the reflection - ie the tree reflection above. Try a manual focus if that's a huge problem, some phones will let you do this, but not all. It'd also be good to pay attention to the possible reflections so that different parts of the rock are not seeing very different surfaces in the reflection. eg, I can see your dark phone, and bright sky in some above. In the same vein, I'd also suggest a paying attention to the background, if you don't want to do studio lighting, try to keep the background less busy, maybe just grass, or a table or leaves behind the rock, it'll greatly help the rock stand out. Looks like you're hand holding both the camera and rock. Set the rock down, Tripods can help hold the camera as well, you can use a smaller aperature= larger DOF=slower exposure. You might try to just have a little stand and bright light in the corner of the shop and angle the slabs/camera till you get results you like. Once solved that'll be much more reliable than worrying about the variable conditions outside. 2cents... practice you'll get better, it's way easier than getting such nice polishes! Great suggestions, oregon. I have a cheap tripod laying around here somewhere. I'll give that a try along with the backgrounds. Thanks Paul |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 6, 2016 19:32:38 GMT -5
A polarizing filter will help A LOT. You can get them for just about any camera, but I don't know about phone cameras. It screws onto your lens and you rotate the outside ring to eliminate glare. Works really well, I use one for cabs outside. Hadn't considered that one, thanks, rockjunquie. Might be the next step. Along with lots of practice as suggested above. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2016 19:38:53 GMT -5
^ That ^ Cut a circular hole into dark grey / black card. Feather the edges @ 1/4" to accept the lens. Shoot in good light, but looking down through the card should eliminate the shine. Use lights as per Shotgunner's link to provide oblique highlight shine. Thanks, I saw a lot of "oblique" angle comments in other threads. I'll give that a try. Oblique angles may not compose a nice pic. What camera do you use? Maybe Garage Rocker has advice. Paul meet Randy. Randy, Paul. |
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 6, 2016 20:46:00 GMT -5
I've been using my phone for most shots (10mp) but the above were done with my wife's Sony HD Cybershot fancy-shmancy camera. I think it's 10mp as well.
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Post by woodman on Oct 6, 2016 21:21:04 GMT -5
A lot of times I like the reflections as it shows the quality of the polish. If I don't want reflections I get out of the sun and go in doors and shoot long exposures under fluorescent lights. Tripod a must and I use remote shooting from my computer so the camera is totally steady.
Use reflections to your advantage.
I like the reflections of the trees. \
Great shots as they are mostly.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 7, 2016 10:27:51 GMT -5
Hey Paul, nice shine you've got going there. Are you using a flat lap or vibe lap to finish those? I just got a vibe lap and have got to put some time in figuring out how to get a polish on those faces. As far as the photography goes, you've got some good advice on fighting glare/reflections. With a flat surface, it's hard not to get your light source in the reflection. Shooting at an angle can get you and the camera out of the picture though. Phone cameras are always going to be tough to work with since they don't have a lot of the functions that are helpful on a DSLR, or even point and shoot camera. Tripods and adjustable exposure/ISO settings are great tools to manage light and reduce shake or blur with existing light. The polarizer will help more if you are shooting outdoors in indirect light, not so much if you decide to use a flash indoors. The tent that Scott recommended is popular with photographers shooting product shots. Firing a flash through any kind of diffuser helps control harsh glare also. There are many techniques that are used, but it's hard to set out a game plan until you have decided on which camera and light source you will be using. A dedicated 'studio' can consist of a small table, a light source, diffuser of some kind and a cheap tripod. Not pertaining to the reflection you are getting, but de-cluttering the background was great advice too. Try and make the subject the only focus, with nothing else to lead the eye away from it. Anyhow, if you have any specific questions, let me know.
Randy
ETA: Ok, it said flat lap in the thread, but the title says vibe lap. If that's the case, we definitely need to trade tips and suggestions. |
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Post by woodman on Oct 7, 2016 16:52:00 GMT -5
I just took this picture. The slab has a mirror surface, but you could never tell from the photo. I wanted to show what a black back ground can do. Tripod mounted canon DSLR shot at 1/5 sec, f2.8, No flash  |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 7, 2016 17:27:58 GMT -5
I just took this picture. The slab has a mirror surface, but you could never tell from the photo. I wanted to show what a black back ground can do. Tripod mounted canon DSLR shot at 1/5 sec, f2.8, No flash Beautiful!! Do you know what type of wood it is? (Besides petrified, I mean  ). And great job on cutting out the reflection/glare. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 7, 2016 17:56:16 GMT -5
I just took this picture. The slab has a mirror surface, but you could never tell from the photo. I wanted to show what a black back ground can do. Tripod mounted canon DSLR shot at 1/5 sec, f2.8, No flash Good looking piece of pet wood. Nice photo too! What do you polish them with? |
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Post by woodman on Oct 8, 2016 9:38:52 GMT -5
I just took this picture. The slab has a mirror surface, but you could never tell from the photo. I wanted to show what a black back ground can do. Tripod mounted canon DSLR shot at 1/5 sec, f2.8, No flash Beautiful!! Do you know what type of wood it is? (Besides petrified, I mean ). And great job on cutting out the reflection/glare. It is Oak from the Stinking Water mountains in Oregon. it is about 12 inches by 8 inches. I suspect it was a limb from a larger tree. |
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Post by woodman on Oct 8, 2016 9:41:20 GMT -5
I just took this picture. The slab has a mirror surface, but you could never tell from the photo. I wanted to show what a black back ground can do. Tripod mounted canon DSLR shot at 1/5 sec, f2.8, No flash Good looking piece of pet wood. Nice photo too! What do you polish them with? I use cerium oxide on a 24" flat polisher. |
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). And great job on cutting out the reflection/glare.
