How to take pics of your parts

[PigCorpse]

Hi,

I noticed that a lot of threads have galleries of people's parts. Does anyone have advice for how to take good pictures of my parts? Sometimes, the ones I take make my parts look too shiny. I like the ones that are warmer and don't have a big white spot in the middle. My equipment is a cannon A80.

Thanks!

And please don't tell me to use a better choice of words.

 

[EQTakeOffense]

I like the ones that are warmer and don't have a big white spot in the middle.

I would assume that that would be the flash. To avoid this, use as much natural light as possible and position the objects in such a way that nothing is shinny.

 

[edgeprod]

I would assume that that would be the flash. To avoid this, use as much natural light as possible and position the objects in such a way that nothing is shinny.

Interesting that you mention this, because at night my office is like a cave. I can't get enough light to even see INSIDE my case, despite having two free-standing torch-lights in here (it's a big room).

During the DAY, however, I have an unobstructed view of the mountains, which splash a LOT of sunlight into the room. By taking pictures with the flash OFF, as you suggest, in this natural light, I have seen some great success.

Good advice!

 

[Lethal]

One thing I have found is that if you stand farther away from the object you're shooting and use zoom, you'll get less glare from the flash.

If shooting in natural light makes your pics come out a bit dark, it's easy to do a few adjustments in an image editing program to brighten them up a bit. Much easier than trying to adjust a washed out pic with too much glare.

 

[jcll2002]

use the macro setting in good lighting...works perfectly for me every time (if it does have a macro setting)

 

[edgeprod]

use the macro setting in good lighting...works perfectly for me every time (if it does have a macro setting)

Can you elaborate a bit on this technique? I just popped it into Google, but am unsure of the subtleties. I am ashamed to admit I haven't used a camera macro.

 

[jcll2002]

lolz i just set the camera to the macro mode...dont know if this helps but the icon has a heart (on mine atleast)

 

[edgeprod]

lolz i just set the camera to the macro mode...dont know if this helps but the icon has a heart (on mine atleast)

Hehe, okay, I'll play with it a bit more. I am going to give my current digital to my father in law and buy a new one. I'll put macro support on the "wish list" for the new model.

 

[EQTakeOffense]

Can you elaborate a bit on this technique? I just popped it into Google, but am unsure of the subtleties. I am ashamed to admit I haven't used a camera macro.

The macro feature of a camera lets you zoom in close without the picture getting blurry. A good camera hava mzcro of usually around 1cm. Meaning if you turn the macro feature on can zoom in to 1cm without bluring.

 

[edgeprod]

The macro feature of a camera lets you zoom in close without the picture getting blurry. A good camera hava mzcro of usually around 1cm. Meaning if you turn the macro feature on can zoom in to 1cm without bluring.

Oh! CRAP! THAT kind of Macro! I was thinking more like .. a set of instructions that ran when you pressed a button.



I feel very foolish, d'oh. The camera has like 10 different modes, and "Macro" is one of them. It's a little flower, I believe, on my Kodak.

 

[Bbq]

Try a Tripod and longer exposure times. Another thing to try, is to have your back to the camera. I like using a sheet of posterboard behind the object, bent slightly, so it doesn't have a sense of distance.

 

[jcll2002]

Oh! CRAP! THAT kind of Macro! I was thinking more like .. a set of instructions that ran when you pressed a button.



I feel very foolish, d'oh. The camera has like 10 different modes, and "Macro" is one of them. It's a little flower, I believe, on my Kodak.

 

[edgeprod]

Try a Tripod and longer exposure times. Another thing to try, is to have your back to the camera. I like using a sheet of posterboard behind the object, bent slightly, so it doesn't have a sense of distance.

For sure. Without a tripod, I can't seem to get a non-blurry picture without the flash. Must be due to the aperture or other things that I have no idea what they mean.

Something about the lack of motion makes a MUCH superior (clearer) picture.

I wonder if you can turn the case on its side, with its "guts" to the window, camera's back to the window, and use that as a makeshift tripod. The issue might be the shadow from the camera.

W D
W C D
W D

(C is the camera, D is the desktop, W is the window)