Photography advice. - by Tenkahubu
OnionBob on 10/4/2006 at 17:35
Quote Posted by Tenkahubu
Hello all.
Recently I decided to put my wonderful scribbles on the net for people to see.
I decided that I would use the stupid Deviant art page even though it is for Goth losers. Well, it`s free :sweat:
But the photos I`ve taken mostly look shit. It seems to be because I have to enhance the contrast so much. Many of my pictures are fairly faint pencil drawings.
When I enhance the contrast I get shadows around the corners, making the picture seem rather circular.
I tried buying some lamps with strong bulbs to cast a good light over the whole sheet but this didnt really work as the light was too yellow and cast a glare on the paper.
I`m still waiting for a sunny day to arrive. When one does I might try retaking them outside.
In the meantime, anybody have any suggestions?
Or any experience in this matter?
None of the 15 year olds on the site seem to have problems :(
Fun fact: The scanner I use to scan my doodles was bought for £30 in a pawn shop in Exeter. So Exeter has scanners. Get one. Where in Exeter are you from? If you're from a different exeter than the proper one (devon, uk) then I'm not interested.
Strangeblue on 10/4/2006 at 18:54
Try using a halogen bulb or flash--closer to true white than incandescents and very strong--but bounce it up, off a big piece of white card or a white sheet so a diffused, white light is reflected onto your sheet of photos. A lot of the glare will be cut, you'll loose some of the light intensity--which is why you need a very bright bulb to begin with. Then re-shoot your photos with a digital camera. Experiement to see if you need to use macro mode and shoot from close up or if it's better for your set-up to shoot from farther back and use the zoom to get in tight. Make sure you're in focus, though.
Then, you can review the pics in the camera and adjust your technique. When you've got what you want, upload the pics to your computer. Voila!
doctorfrog on 10/4/2006 at 20:44
Quote Posted by Tenkahubu
But the photos I`ve taken mostly look shit. It seems to be because I have to enhance the contrast so much. Many of my pictures are fairly faint pencil drawings.
Try using a photocopier (obviously a decent one). As long as it delivers a clean image, it should darken your pencil drawings almost automatically.
Quote:
When I enhance the contrast I get shadows around the corners, making the picture seem rather circular.
I get this too. For me, this is because moving the camera so close to the image and using macro mode reveals the 'barrelling' flaw that (I think) any camera has. Enhancing the contrast also enhances the barrelling. You might back off from the image a bit and cropping it to remove the barrelling.
Quote:
I tried buying some lamps with strong bulbs to cast a good light over the whole sheet but this didnt really work as the light was too yellow and cast a glare on the paper.
General Electric makes a series of bulbs in the US called "Reveal," with shorter lifespans but brighter, whiter light. The glass has a bluish cast to it, but the light is considerably whiter. Like Strangeblue says, bounce the light off of a white wall or piece of paper taped to a wall. You should still adjust the white balance on your camera. Even cheaper cams nowadays have white-balance presets designed for fluorescent or tungsten lighting. My lovely (and affordable!) Canon Powershot A80 allows me to manually calibrate the white balance.
Another option is to use software to tweak the colors manually, using the GIMP or even Picasa.
(
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorfrog/123585657/) I recently photographed something on paper myself.:sweat: Hardly perfection. This was shot using the macro setting of the A80, under direct lighting from a desk lamp. Even still, I had to brighten and sharpen the image considerably using Picasa before posting it to the web. (If I were showcasing the image, I would have taken a bit more time and trouble.)
[small]EDIT: 1001th post woot[/small]
Tenkahubu on 10/4/2006 at 22:41
Dear all.
Although I am from the real Exeter - famous for Sabine Baring-Gould, author of `The book of werewolves` - I have infact moved to a really crap town in the shittiest province of Japan. I was just too much of an idiot to update the location thing. Why scanners are hard to come by here is due to lack of demand rather than anything else.
Full apologies.
But I`m glad to spark a little interest in my home town, once described as the Jewel of England, by Hitler no less.
Thanks very much for the tips, I`ll do as you say.
D'Juhn Keep on 10/4/2006 at 22:59
Can't you order them from Japan's Amazon, out of interest?
kingofthenet on 11/4/2006 at 04:46
Japan?
I thought that in Japan, every box of Ramen Noodles comes with a free ICBM Missile Guideance chip? You guys are the Kings of Electronics, take a Bullet train to Toyko, and hit one of the 10,000,000 electronics stores, Damm I thought you were going to say you lived on a Herion farm in Afganastan, with an old truck on blocks, with a belt on an axle hooked up to a generator to get electricty.
OnionBob on 11/4/2006 at 15:04
Quote Posted by Tenkahubu
Dear all.
Although I am from the real Exeter - famous for Sabine Baring-Gould, author of `The book of werewolves` - I have infact moved to a really crap town in the shittiest province of Japan. I was just too much of an idiot to update the location thing. Why scanners are hard to come by here is due to lack of demand rather than anything else.
Full apologies.
But I`m glad to spark a little interest in my home town, once described as the Jewel of England, by Hitler no less.
Thanks very much for the tips, I`ll do as you say.
got a source for that hitler quote? it's pretty laffo :laff:
tungsten on 11/4/2006 at 15:25
Where in Japan do you live?
Amazon, Biccamera etc will deliver. And Akihabara certainly has 2nd hand scanners. Check 2nd hand shops, they mix furniture with copiers/scanners. E.g. (
http://www.kobutu.com/)
Anyway, use sunlight. That's still the best option. And if you see a tube (dark shades at the corners, then your camera is crappy (doctorfrog is wrong). In that case you'll have to sacrifice some resolution: take a larger picture and cut it.
No, they don't get that chip with the noodles, but they get girls: (
http://www.crisscross.com/jp/superview/picture/A0B)
Afterthought: does your pencil reflect (like the white paper around it), so that a strong light is not the solution?
Tenkahubu on 12/4/2006 at 07:52
Thanks once again for the good advice. I`ve tried retaking with white light and had some success. I also used the soft light mode of the GIMP blender, which worked surprisingly well on many pictures.
I might try using sunlight soon as the weather seems to be improving. I shall also rember to take them from further back.
I`d like a scanner, but I`d still face the same problems for my larger pictures which would not fit. It`s probably not worth it as what I have already is getting close to being satisfactory.
I live in Saga pref and I can get to either Nagasaki or Fukuoka if I really want. A bit of a pain without a car though. Not much in the way of 2nd hand stuff round here. (I know there`s tons in the Tokyo area, but it isnt popular here.)
Apparently the Exeter Jewel thing was broadcast over radio, not by Hitler in person, although it was his direct orders to bomb the city as part of a demoralisation strategy. I remember my school teachers attributing it to him, but I guess it is indirect association. "Exeter was a jewel, and we have destroyed it."
Para?noid on 12/4/2006 at 11:59
Exeter was a jewel ahahahahahahah oh god
I think he meant to say "EXETER IS A STUDENT HOVEL WITH NO DECENT SHOPS"
