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Post by DawninCal on Nov 19, 2022 18:18:15 GMT -6
Since the time change, I have really been struggling with my photos. The light is off to the side, it's dull and every photo I take is full of reflections, shadows, is too dark or has the dreaded blue cast. In our old house, I had a great spot to take photos. There were two windows the met in a corner. One faced west and the other faced south and the light was always perfect except during late afternoon when the sun was starting to set in the west. The new house has a North/West exposure and no matter what I do this time of year, my photos suck. During the summer, I took my photos outside and they turned out great, but not the light is off and it's too cold. The other day, I read a post by a member of a wire wrapping group I'm a member of. She had taken an old lampshade and cut one side of it on three sides. She left the material attached so she had a sort of flap on one side. I've been mulling this over for the last week or so and yesterday I was at a thrift store and they just happened to have an old lampshade for $3. I bought it and experimented today. It was really quick. I just cut one side out with a razor knife and a pair of scissors. And, then I played around with photos which are in my next post. Dawn
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Post by DawninCal on Nov 19, 2022 18:24:42 GMT -6
Here are my first photos taken in this rigged up light tent. Click on these two so that you can really see the details - it's hard to see the full result with these thumbnails. This one has not been edited in any way except that I resized it for our forum: I then did some slight editing. I sharpened the photo, lightened it up a bit and added some contrast: No lights but natural light was used. What I am particularly happy about is that the shadows, reflections and the dreaded blue cast are gone (well, there is a tiny bit of blue, but my pics were coming out almost purple!). If I had lights to put on either side of the lampshade, I think that would improve the results, but I'm very happy with this. Pictures below show the item I was photographing inside the lampshade to give you an idea of what the set up looks like. I kept the fabric I cut out of the lampshade and can drape it over the top of the tent if I don't want light coming through the opening in the tent. Overall, it was a quick, easy, inexpensive project and I think my photos have been vastly improved from what I've been taking the last few weeks. Dawn
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natz3
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by natz3 on Nov 20, 2022 2:58:30 GMT -6
That's a very fair deal, Dawn. The photos look clear on/in the lampshade.
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Post by caeterle on Nov 20, 2022 3:08:04 GMT -6
Nice! I'm glad it works that well for you! Share if you try it out with lamps, I would love to see if there's a difference and how much. Purple is hard to photograph, anyway, if the light is off, it's practically hopeless, at least for me. I just ordered a light tent like the one I used to have. The last time I couldn't find it on Amazon or eBay, but this time they had one in the size I need on eBay. I literally sighed with relief, lol. The other one is a bit expensive to become a cat cave, but it's what it may end up as. I'm thinking about clearing off what's on top of my cabinet and putting the light tent up there when not photographing, hoping der Dekan won't try to jump off the stairs to get to it
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Post by DawninCal on Nov 20, 2022 11:44:22 GMT -6
Thanks, Navi and Cat! I know it looks kind of weird but if it works in a pinch, I'm good with it. Cat, I'm going to try lights today and will post the results. I don't have photography lights so i will put a desk lamp on either side. I'm getting quite good at improvising! Whew, Cat! I'm so glad you found another tent like the old one. I know how unhappy you were with this new one. As far as it being an expensive cat cave, sometimes you just have to cut your losses. Now that you are going to have a tent you like, this new one is really of no use to you. You might as well let the kittles have fun with it. Yea, der Daken will probably try to jump from the stairs to get to it. Dawn
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Post by caeterle on Nov 20, 2022 13:53:43 GMT -6
The little flowers confused me at first The only reason I'm hesitating to leave it to the cats completely is that they probably won't want it then which would be very typical, but still get it dusty. Spontaneously I can't think of anyone who might have a use for it, though.
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Post by Irith-Rita on Nov 24, 2022 15:11:56 GMT -6
A few years ago I bought a special gadget for photographing my jewelry. It is like a box made of white cloth. I hardly ever use it. I do my best by trying various natural light positions in different times of day, but sometimes I am so dissatisfied and try again the day after.
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Post by caeterle on Nov 24, 2022 16:28:46 GMT -6
That's the kind of light tent I had and got again, Irith. The cloth is diffusing the light from my daylight lamps. The new photo box is completely shut, black on the outside with a silver lining for reflecting the light on the inside and those stupid LED strips.
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Post by michelle on Nov 24, 2022 22:38:41 GMT -6
What a cool idea! Your photos look great, Dawn! I have a light tent somewhere (probably in a box I haven’t unpacked in the basement). I was never happy with it. The photos never looked like I wanted. I may try this idea at some point.
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Post by caeterle on Nov 26, 2022 12:58:04 GMT -6
I have a very confused baby. The "old" new light box is on the floor for now and the spot where it stood is empty. Whaaaat? He sat there looking around like "what's happening". The new new one had its first short test. To me it feels as if the cloth is thinner and therefore even more crinkly after pulling it out of its little bag and it's not standing up as well, but as it's on top of the cabinet now, that's ok (I hope). It would definitely not hold the monster's weight. I want to, actually need to try it out, tomorrow. December isn't far away!
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Post by DawninCal on Nov 26, 2022 17:23:32 GMT -6
I feel your pain, Irith. It can be so frustrating trying to get pictures that are in focus, not blue, not too dark or too light and then when you do get the perfect shot, you notice that there's a hair, a piece of fuzz or some dust after you download it to the computer. Agh! Michelle, it was a cheap, easy and quick project. I did notice that when I put desk lamps on either side, I got a yellowish hue so I may look into daylight bulbs, but I'm still happy to have eliminated shadows and reflections. Thank you for the compliment on the photo! Cat, I hope the new one works for you as well as the old one even though it's not quite as sturdy as the first one. And, I hope that der Daken adjusts to the new set up and doesn't try to jump on it! Dawn
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Post by caeterle on Nov 27, 2022 0:19:54 GMT -6
He has already had a good look at it from the stairs, but I managed to distract him with a toy and it's still up there this morning, so fingers crossed
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Post by brad on Jan 25, 2023 9:50:15 GMT -6
A good idea for sure. Thanks for sharing the idea. I may try that. Have you thought about adding some soft lighting on the outside to shine through the shade fabric? Brad
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Post by Irith-Rita on Jan 25, 2023 12:39:34 GMT -6
Dawn, the lamp shade is a great idea. It is much more beautiful than the box I had.
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Post by DawninCal on Jan 25, 2023 13:56:46 GMT -6
Thank you, brad and Irith! Brad, I tried regular bulbs and they gave my photos a yellowish cast. When I get a minute and I remember, I'm going to pick up a couple of daylight bulbs and see how those work. I think some lighting would make for consistently good photos, but the right bulbs are necessary to make it work. Dawn
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