|
If you want
to buy or sell something, look on E-bay. It has become the cyber-shopping
mall of the world. Everything from aardvark shoes to zebra prints are
being sold between individuals who may live thousands of miles apart,
but have the desire to buy or sell a specific item in common. Although
not an absolute requirement, a photo of the item you are attempting to
sell is highly recommended as a way to make your offer stand out from
others for a similar item.
A lighting set-up to take photos for E-Bay can be as simple or complex
as you want it to be. While many items can be photographed with relative
ease, attention to detail may be needed to photograph highly glossy items
such as ceramics, glassware and metal. Many times the higher quality the
photo is, the higher price you will get for your treasure.
A resolution of just 640 x 480 pixels is all that is needed to view a
photo on the web. Any larger size will slow the download of the image
on someone's screen. Save the image at 72 DPI and resize your image to
4 x 6 inches. Using a lower ISO equivalence such as 100 or 200 will give
you a finer grain and less noise. Using a smaller aperture such as f16
or f11 will give you a greater depth of field. Since objects are three
dimensional, the photo should convey this. Turn your object so you have
two sides showing. Then photograph from a slightly higher level to show
a third side. You can make the object look more appealing by having one
side lighter or darker than the other.
Simple set-up
An inexpensive 1 to 2 megapixel camera with close focusing and the ability
to control the flash is a good camera to start with. If you do not have
any lighting equipment, using the sun as your main light source will give
you ample illumination. Weather permitting, this can be done outside,
or if you need to be indoors, set up next to a large picture window. If
you need to, use your camera flash to add to the light from the sun. A
background can be made of 2 pieces of foamcore or white mat board, background
paper such as that made by Savage or even a simple bed sheet. Another
item to use for a background is a set-up Vari-Tone background (45-0269)
from Superior Specialties. They have a varying degree of color from the
top to the bottom. With some objects, you may want to have a dark grey
on the bottom and a gradual lightening at the top of the photo, or vice
versa.
Lighting
set-up # 2
Using a softbox to diffuse your light will wrap the light around your
object to give it a pleasant evenly lit photo. A continuous light with
a softbox, such as the JTL Digilite 250, will allow you to see where your
light is falling and where your shadows are being cast. Remember: not
all shadows are bad. Many times a well-placed shadow will show the depth
and size of the object. If using one light, placing the light to one side
and placing a sheet or two of foamcore directly opposite of the light
will illuminate the other side.
Lighting
set-up #3
Sometimes a simple lighting set-up just doesn't do your subject justice.
To effectively illuminate a priceless treasure, a highly reflective object
or even clear crystal you may want to do some creative lighting. A good
lighting set-up will consist of four lights. Your main and fill lights,
a light from below to give the object separation from the background and
a light from above to give it a hint of accent lighting. Start by placing
a light on each side of the camera for your main and fill light. Then
place your other lights in areas to accent the object and give it depth.
In the case of a piece of crystal, you may want to illuminate the background
to get the light coming through the piece. Try showing the light coming
from above and behind the subject, such as that produced by a hair light
for portraiture. If you have a clear table with a frosted background such
as the Translum material, you can have the light coming from below. Porter's
also sells a shooting table that is very effective for most small object
photography. For highly reflective items, you may need to take additional
steps. Many times the softbox, umbrella, lenses and sometimes even the
photographer is captured in the reflection on the piece. A good way to
prevent that from happening is by using a light tent. These come in various
sizes but all do the same thing. By placing your object inside, you effectively
eliminate all surrounding reflections by wrapping the piece inside a tent
made of white translucent material.
|
|
|
|
