CockersOnline Forum
Off Topic => Photography => Topic started by: hollyd443 on December 06, 2009, 05:24:14 PM
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Hiya,
Looking for some advice please! OH has said I can have a corner of one of the offices at work to turn into a sort of mini studio for photographing my dogs products we sell at work for the website. I havn't got much to spend on this little project, but would really like to put some lights in there etc. Any recomendations?
Many thanks! Hx
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I was going to get these on a recommendation from another COLer ;) they've only recently came back in stock http://www.stableimaging.co.uk/studio-lighting/3-x-180w-portable-studio-flash/strobe-lighting-kit/prod_14.html
We're just trying to get our second hand Bo-lites up and running, if we can get them sorted, come and have a look at these - often come up on ebay although these were off a friend.
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Ooo, they look good. :blink: Will have to get saving!! :blink: I have access to floodlights from my parents but I think they're more for outdoors or larger areas like football pitches :005: I've used them indoors before in the warehouse where they worked well, but a tad too powerful for the office!
Do you use reflectors/umbrellas?
I've always used white sheets before now for backgrounds - do you use anything different? I think I'll need black sheets for photographing Mika though :005:
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I was all set to buy proper backdrops, the professional ones at the club a couple of weeks ago just used a matt material - like curtains :-\ thought I'd do the same.
I bought a black sheet for some of mine but think it needs to be more matt to absorb the light.
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I was chatting to Mum last night and she was saying a black velvet like sheet would work best for this, so will see what I can find. :D
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I was all set to buy proper backdrops, the professional ones at the club a couple of weeks ago just used a matt material - like curtains :-\ thought I'd do the same.
I bought a black sheet for some of mine but think it needs to be more matt to absorb the light.
What do you think of this? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACKOUT-THERMAL-CURTAIN-LINING-LININGS-FABRIC_W0QQitemZ300310068713QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Crafts_Fabric_Textiles_SM?hash=item45ebdffde9
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black background can be anything and does not matter if it is creased etc, the key is to get the distance between the subject and the background large enough so the light does not shine bright onto the background, this then gives you a nice black background and a well exposed model (dog)
you need to get used to working in full manual mode too ... its not scary, honest, is very easy if you are using flash
what camera / lens setup are you using, and what do you want to do ?
I can recommend the stable imaging setup, as its the one I have and its a great kit, not expensive and should last for a long while, I've shot loads of portraits for work, and a good number of dog photoshoots either for me or collegues etc and its been great, you will need something to trigger it though, either the cable that comes with it (not so good if theres dogs about to trip on it) or some ebay radio triggers to make it flash without having it plugged into your camera
for a white dog, you can use a white background and get good results, you just need to me more carefull / experiment with the lighting
welcome to a very fun world :)
Phil
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Thanks Phil! My camera is a a Canon EOS Rebel 400D. I kinda treated work to an early Christmas present and bought the lighting kit. ph34r Can't wait to get trying it out!! What material do you use for a white background?
I had a look at your images on the Flickr group - they're stunning :D
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thank you :D
the white I use is a white vinyl backdrop, its easy to wipe down, only issue is it does reflect the light more than the white paper rolls, however it lasts a lot longer ;)
shout if you need any advice and I will explain what I can
Phil
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Thats great thank you. I was reading up and white muslin was mentionned...... ... with Rio's claws you've got to be kidding :005: :005:
A couple of years ago my Mum and I set up a very very basic studio (a white sheet on the sofa in the conservatory :005: ). These were the results from then > Looking forward to having another go with the new lights set up :)
(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/hollydavies123/RoxyandRioMay2008121.jpg)
(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/hollydavies123/RoxyandRioMay2008155.jpg)
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nice images, great dogs !
they look good, white sheet can work well, its just not has forgiving over time as vinyl, both pics are nice poses, just watch for clipping paws and tails of the images, give them a little space when composing the image
cant wait to see your new stuff
where are you based ?
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where are you based ?
Near me and just down the road from you - think we could book a master class Phil ;)
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where are you based ?
Near me and just down the road from you - think we could book a master class Phil ;)
Ooo - good thinking Jenny!! :005:
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Now thats something I did not expect :lol2:
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Eeek - just had my first go with the little studio and they're not great!! :o I think I need to do a lot more reading before the next lot of snapping :005: I think the light strength and positioning was all wrong which are the two things that need to be right! The photos are all orangey and not crisp at all. Hmm, back to drawing board!!
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Is the camera adjusting to ordinary light bulbs giving the orange glow. I'm turning off most of the room lights so that the modelling lamp gives the light for focus etc.... What about the light setting on the camera too :-\
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Is the camera adjusting to ordinary light bulbs giving the orange glow. I'm turning off most of the room lights so that the modelling lamp gives the light for focus etc.... What about the light setting on the camera too :-\
They did get better once I turned all other lights off. I think I could've done with the background further away and a bit more room between me and the dog to get the focus where I wanted it. Also, the dogs would've been better raised up so I could use the tripod as I got a fair bit of camera shake. Few ideas for next time!
This is one of the better photos (as you can see, its not great!)
(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/hollydavies123/a3-1.jpg)
And another one (doctored a bit on the computer!)
(http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/hollydavies123/a4-1.jpg)
Will def have to use a different backdrop for Penny though as she was invisible against the black! :005:
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Like the Roxy picture (and the new signature pic)
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Like the Roxy picture (and the new signature pic)
Thank you :luv: The sig pic was in last years snow (sulk, sulk :'( - I'm v.jealous of all those COL-ers that have had snow this week!!)
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you need to set your white balance to get rid of any orange casts etc, orange is normaly tungsten light, so you have a few options, either control the lighting and set your white balance accordingly or use a white balance card (25% grey card) and shoot in raw to then set the white balance correctly to exactly the right temperature for the lights you are using
I like the soft focus approach on the 2nd portrait and the composition is nice too
Phil