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What does clem24's picture setup look like?; Uses fairy dust and voodoo
Topic Started: Oct 29 2014, 01:58 AM (857 Views)
clem24
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Station Wagon
As requested in THIS THREAD, I will show you guys how I go about taking my pictures.

Equipment: Panasonic GX1 Micro 4/3 body, Olympus Zuiko 35mm f/3.5 4/3 macro lens (lens was $200 shipped on eBay), EVF viewfinder so I don't break my back, 4/3 -> m4/3 adapter
Background: printed from a color laser printer at work, paper clipped onto a stiff over-sized white card and propped up by a headphone stand
Lighting: standard 50w halogen - 2 pointed away from my desk, one pointed overhead which simulates a typical outdoor light source fairly well
Camera settings: 4 sec, f/22, ISO200, manual focus, auto white balance, 2 second timer, propped up by a CD case because none of my table top tripods give me the right height

For the photogs: don't believe this non-sense about "f/22 AHHH DIFFRACTION NOOOOO!!!" If you got it, use it. That's all I have to say. You limit your shooting ability if all you care about is ultimate sharpness.

So here we go.

Yup ghetto CD 'tripod' and the paper clip holding up the printed background.

Posted Image
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Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 02:07 AM.
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clem24
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The lights in my room. I have a vaulted ceiling in my office so lights are about 10ft from the floor. Note only 1 shines on my desk (bottom left), the other 2 shines in the other direction, while the fourth is completely missing LOL). Bonus: free shot of my wife's scalp.

Posted Image
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Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 02:01 AM.
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clem24
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Open up in Picasa3 (FREE!), a quick highlight/fill light/shadow adjustment, a bit of sharpening, and export to 1200 @ 85% JPG and voila, the end result.

Posted Image
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Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 02:04 AM.
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toyotageek
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Japanese Minicar Maniac
Thanks for the info on how you take your pictures.

I guess cameras really do make a difference.

I'm surprised by the light source though. 50W halogen - 10 ft from the floor probably makes it about 6 to 7 ft from the subject. Impressive. I use 2 incandescent lights about 10 inches or closer to my subjects. But then I see you use a long exposure... interesting.

I also see you do some editing of the photos, something which I don't do. I typically just do point, shoot, and upload to get the quickest results.

Can we see some photos pre & post edit for comparison?

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clem24
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toyotageek
Oct 29 2014, 08:38 AM
I guess cameras really do make a difference.

I'm surprised by the light source though. 50W halogen - 10 ft from the floor probably makes it about 6 to 7 ft from the subject. Impressive. I use 2 incandescent lights about 10 inches or closer to my subjects. But then I see you use a long exposure... interesting.

I also see you do some editing of the photos, something which I don't do. I typically just do point, shoot, and upload to get the quickest results.

<sigh> Nothing against you. Sure cameras make a difference for final image quality, but more so the photographer. As an analogy, it's like giving someone who just got their driver's license a race car. This photo can easily be reproduced with just about any camera with at least some degree of manual control. The reason why I have a long exposure is due to the tiny aperture. Also doesn't help that 50W incandescents are generally quite dim LOL; if I wasn't so lazy, I'd love to setup my umbrellas and speed lights and at f/22 I can cut my shutter speed significantly.

As for editing, this is barely scratching the surface. The first thing you need to do a make sure your screen is at least reasonably calibrated - so at the minimum, very basic adjustments to brightness/backlight and contrast. There are plenty of websites that can guide you through the process using pictures, etc.. Better if you have access to a colorimeter. And what I do, adjusting contrast/brightness/levels is very, very basic. I really encourage you to download Picasa3 and try out the editing functions (at the very minimum cropping and the adjustments I suggest above). It's a great program even for viewing images on your computer and again, I use Picasa because I am lazy and it gets my the result I want 95% of the time.

Anyway, to really bring your pics to the next level, it's merely learning about photography, not buying new equipment. Your point and shoot is likely perfectly adequate for getting excellent results, and if anything, the smaller sensor will allow for even more stuff in focus. Trust me there's nothing impressive about my setup and it would make most photographers shudder LOL.
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Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
Nice shot. I have a pretty crappy camera and it depends greatly on lighting to make it work indoors. Then a little editing for sharpness. It works when it works.
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toyotageek
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Japanese Minicar Maniac
clem24
Oct 29 2014, 10:17 AM
toyotageek
Oct 29 2014, 08:38 AM
I guess cameras really do make a difference.

I'm surprised by the light source though. 50W halogen - 10 ft from the floor probably makes it about 6 to 7 ft from the subject. Impressive. I use 2 incandescent lights about 10 inches or closer to my subjects. But then I see you use a long exposure... interesting.

I also see you do some editing of the photos, something which I don't do. I typically just do point, shoot, and upload to get the quickest results.

<sigh> Nothing against you. Sure cameras make a difference for final image quality, but more so the photographer. As an analogy, it's like giving someone who just got their driver's license a race car. This photo can easily be reproduced with just about any camera with at least some degree of manual control. The reason why I have a long exposure is due to the tiny aperture. Also doesn't help that 50W incandescents are generally quite dim LOL; if I wasn't so lazy, I'd love to setup my umbrellas and speed lights and at f/22 I can cut my shutter speed significantly.

As for editing, this is barely scratching the surface. The first thing you need to do a make sure your screen is at least reasonably calibrated - so at the minimum, very basic adjustments to brightness/backlight and contrast. There are plenty of websites that can guide you through the process using pictures, etc.. Better if you have access to a colorimeter. And what I do, adjusting contrast/brightness/levels is very, very basic. I really encourage you to download Picasa3 and try out the editing functions (at the very minimum cropping and the adjustments I suggest above). It's a great program even for viewing images on your computer and again, I use Picasa because I am lazy and it gets my the result I want 95% of the time.

Anyway, to really bring your pics to the next level, it's merely learning about photography, not buying new equipment. Your point and shoot is likely perfectly adequate for getting excellent results, and if anything, the smaller sensor will allow for even more stuff in focus. Trust me there's nothing impressive about my setup and it would make most photographers shudder LOL.
LOL, :lol: ~ I realize and agree with what you're saying. :thumbup:

There are so many factors involved in taking photos, and so many results, depending on what you're after.
You say you're lazy and that's why you do certain things.... heck, I'm even more lazy than you, which is why I take & process my photos the way I do - and I'm actually happy with my results (for the most part).

But I like to learn methods that other people use, because what may seem obvious, often isn't (like I really, really thought you were using natural light, so your set-up surprised me). It's always fun to learn other people's tricks or methods and maybe incorporate them into your own.

Thanks for taking the time to share your method with us!

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clem24
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Station Wagon
toyotageek
Oct 29 2014, 11:09 AM
But I like to learn methods that other people use, because what may seem obvious, often isn't (like I really, really thought you were using natural light, so your set-up surprised me). It's always fun to learn other people's tricks or methods and maybe incorporate them into your own.
Absolutely, which is why I am very open to sharing my methods. There's really no secret to photography - it's just understanding how everything comes together and learning about it. And it's just a complete fluke that the lighting works well in my home office LOL.
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Stampede
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Team Canada
Nice setup, and great end result! One day, I may need to use software such as Picasa.

Your Macro lens really make a large difference. My camera has a great long zoom feature (30x optical), but it gets reduced to less than half of that for the macro shots.

And I use a hardcover book as my "tripod"-LOL. It's nice and simple, as my mini tripod kept tipping over....
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clem24
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Station Wagon
Toyotageek, here's the before:

Posted Image

And after for reference

Posted Image
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Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 09:45 PM.
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clem24
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And here's the same scene.. Taken with my cell phone.. :P

Posted Image

My phone saturates colors so had to actually tone it down, and because it has no aperture control, it's hard to get everything in focus. But the small sensor helps.
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Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 09:49 PM.
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clem24
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Stampede
Oct 29 2014, 05:52 PM
Your Macro lens really make a large difference. My camera has a great long zoom feature (30x optical), but it gets reduced to less than half of that for the macro shots.
The macro lens isn't really being put to good use.. Until you do this:

Posted Image

:D Yeah it's amazingly cheap for what you get, and most importantly, it's 1:1 where many aren't.
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Attachments: P1110322.jpg (136.93 KB)
Edited by clem24, Oct 29 2014, 09:53 PM.
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bigcollector07
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Midsize
Thanks for the great tips on 101 photography, Clem24.

I have a Nikon d100 camera (old model) that quick on me lately. And now, my only camera is my phone which limited me to be in control for its lack of manual setting (aperture/ shutter control) with no happy results in comparison. As "photo" means light, a photographer must be able catch or created the light on the subject to produce amazing photographs (like yours).

Great setting and great pictures there, sir.
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clem24
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LOL one more.. This is a 100% crop of the image above. Macro lenses are pretty cool.

Posted Image
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Edited by clem24, Oct 30 2014, 12:07 AM.
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clem24
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bigcollector07
Oct 29 2014, 10:53 PM
Thanks for the great tips on 101 photography, Clem24.

I have a Nikon d100 camera (old model) that quick on me lately. And now, my only camera is my phone which limited me to be in control for its lack of manual setting (aperture/ shutter control) with no happy results in comparison. As "photo" means light, a photographer must be able catch or created the light on the subject to produce amazing photographs (like yours).

Great setting and great pictures there, sir.
Thanks for the comments!

I still have a D70 that I have no use for (which came right after your D100) and a D200. I sold all of my DSLR lenses (mostly fast primes and constant aperture zooms) after I got my m4/3 body, and now contemplating ditching most of the m4/3 stuff and keeping only the macro and the GX1 after getting my phone LOL.
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Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
Excellent shots. Excellent reasons also to trash my camera at some point. But I kinda already knew that one :)
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toyotageek
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Japanese Minicar Maniac
clem24
Oct 29 2014, 09:44 PM
Toyotageek, here's the before...
Thanks Clem.... subtle but noticeable differences! :thumbup:
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toyotageek
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Japanese Minicar Maniac
clem24
Oct 30 2014, 12:07 AM
LOL one more.. This is a 100% crop of the image above. Macro lenses are pretty cool.

Posted Image


:o Wow, that really shows the "invisible to the naked eye" imperfections/blemishes.... :lol:
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b2young
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Sad firefighter
Those macro shots are impressive. That's the main thing I miss about using my cell phone vs the point-and-shoot Fuji I used to employ. Your set up is simple and adds such shocking realism that it's almost unbelievable how simple it is. In that case, I guess the camera (and the eye of the photographer) make all the difference.

Me, I'll stick with my cell phone simply because I'm not producing art (which your photos, IMHO, qualify as when showing off toys....), and I take the photo, upload it immediately, do a few quick edits online, and post away. All from one device.
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