Here is a topic that may not come up often enough. I am not a professional and do tend to point and shoot, but there are some basics we can all benefit from.

 

Lets start with equipment. A good camera helps, but there lots of them. I like SLR's and have been using them since the early 80's. Now using DSLR. There are plenty of compact cameras out there that will work also. Important is being able to change settings from A,to T to P,or portrait or macro and capability to adjust light balance. The camera does not have to break the bank and if you want a good SLR (film) I have one for reasonable

       A tripod is essential to get a good shot and this too could be reasonable as it only needs to hold camera steady but can be difficult to set up so look at reviews before a purchase.

       A background for the picture helps to eliminate distracting background. Do not use wrinkled fabric. The background should be a neutral color such as gray or gradient gray to white. This can be paper on a roll or plastic in various sizes. You can google search and find many available. The background should go under the workpiece.

       Lighting is essential and it will be very evasive. You will only need one or two light sources and they shou be the same color temperature. Do not choose CFL unless you can find the color corrected type. LED's also work just not the white light ones. I use halogen worklights pointed toward the ceiling for reflected light to reduce shadows and glare. You can also use tents and diffusers to soften lights. These you can make from several different fabric types (Tshirt to sheets to shears from curtains)

        This covers the minimum for photographic equipment to get a good pic of your work. You could spend as much as $2000 or more or as little as 200 based on your budget and how you are bitten by the photography bug.

        I will be covering other areas in future installments.

Gerald, I made one of the light boxes that I saw on a how-to somewhere. It works well but I am using the compact florescent bulbs. Is that why things tend to look yellow? I thought it was probably because I had too much card board exposed.

 

Steve

Great topic. My photos suck. Guess I should get my bother to do my work. He gets paid to take pictures.

Florescent lighting will definitely effect the color of your photos. Back in the 60's, in the day of film photography, I was a photography nut. Even had my own darkroom with a color head enlarger..Today's technology made all that stuff obsolete. Even my Minolta and Konica SLR cameras have disappeared from the market.

Edited September 18, 20169 yr by It Was Al B

1 hour ago, Steve Krumanaker said:

Gerald, I made one of the light boxes that I saw on a how-to somewhere. It works well but I am using the compact florescent bulbs. Is that why things tend to look yellow? I thought it was probably because I had too much card board exposed.

 

Steve

Yes Steve that is probably the reason. There are color corrected CFL"s but according to John Lucas even that is no guarantee . The color of CFL's can be corrected by using the White Balance. White Balance is not a subject I am good at but good cameras have automatic settings for each set of circumstances. Auto, Flour, Clouds, Sunshine, Incandescent, Shade. By choosing one of these the  imbalanced light color is adjusted "somewhat". There are also manual settings using grayscale card which I have never tried.

I'm like you and have taken picture for more than 50 years. I think the average person can get beautiful pictures with a point and shoot camera. Even some smart phones take excellent pictures. The bottom line is  WHAT DO YOU WANT? If you want near perfect pictures of nature or portraits, it can be costly. You can invest thousands and some people do. I use a Sony digital 8 megapixel with 20 optical and 6 digital zoom. Less than $300. and it takes fantastic pictures. However, the camera is only half of the situation. You must have skills to frame the picture, chose the light direction, etc. I have an editing program that allows me to clean up, sharpen, etc. 

 Now the fun part, most of the time I use my iPhone to take pictures. It is always with me and it does take OK pictures. Samsung 7 takes really good pictures. I have not seen the iPhone 7 pictures yet, but they have some terrific reviews.

 I advise people to go to a big store and try a camera there. Look for features you like, and within the price you can afford. One feature I'd like to have is downloading pictures via bluetooth. Wires and plug ins wear out. The female plug on one of my 0ld camera wore out and repair was more than new. I buy cameras on line. My camera at Walmart was $358. On the Walmart web site it was $268 delivered to the same store that had the high price.............go figure.

Most people never get into SLR or DSLR cameras because of costs and the bulk of these cameras. The compact  point and shoot cameras can, and do, produce good photos. I know of people who have purchased SLR's but never took the time to learn how to use them, just leaving them in the automatic mode all the time and switching lenses from wide angle to  telephoto to capture what they want.. That said, I agree, composition is the real secret to great shots. The best camera in the world won't give great shots if the operator doesn't compose properly.  When traveling, we generally don't have the ability to control lighting, so making the best use of the lighting available is important. Composition is making the photo interesting, using foreground and /or background, and drawing the eye to the subject matter first, then letting the eye absorb the surroundings.

Today, I'm using my somewhat aged Canon A 620 powershot . A good camera ,but like all point and shoot cameras, slow lense speed limits its versatility

The phone cameras are now giving the digital single purpose cameras a run for their money. The pictures they take will satisfy most people. If they use the available editing features, they will get some very good pictures. I read a story about a prototype camera/phone that had 12 (I think) lens and used all to compose one picture. The available pixels are climbing up into the 20/40 range too

A couple (may have been longer) George over at Wood Workers Guild did a short video series on taking project photos and how with a little effort and some minimum items, you could take "professional" type photos with you phone or point & shoot digital camera. I found it very interesting and helpful.

Don't have a phone but bot this camera a few years back and have had great success with it.  I should built a light booth though.

 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP CMOS 10x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera with Optical Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.0 Inch LCD

 

 

Well Y'all went further than I was thinking for this post. Yes you can get good "internet" pics with almost any camera or phone. The critical part which I hope we will talk about later is the lighting , composition (as mentioned), background ( clutter distracts from the item), shadows (not to eliminate but to use  for depth), glare or reflection. So be thinking what will make the product look better and that is your photo. We are working on some other things for everyone and to get professional help in here too.

I just created a blog on this subject. There will be more posts as time permits. Hope all this helps those who are photographically challenged.

42 minutes ago, Gerald said:

I just created a blog on this subject. There will be more posts as time permits. Hope all this helps those who are photographically challenged.

I will have to follow it - Photography is one area I would like to get more info so I can take better project pictures.

I been looking around for a bargain on a Sony a7R 11 and I found one that sold for 12.33. Then I realized that was a price on body only so no big deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess I'll keep looking.

7 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

I been looking around for a bargain on a Sony a7R 11 and I found one that sold for 12.33. Then I realized that was a price on body only so no big deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess I'll keep looking.

Patch, You can get a body for that price I would take it . Is it new? Lens can be added.

Gerald, I'd like to know more about blue tooth download, any experience with it?

Ron I had that option when I got a new camera this summer because mine died. I could pay 250 for a Canon T5 or get the T6 which has BT. The price difference $200 was not worth it. But there are some of the small cameras that do have it. I have not heard how easy it is to set up. We could google for a review of the capability and see.

 

If you do not want to deal with cords you can take the SD card out and put into your card reader slot and then transfer.

Great topic, Gerald.  U R right about alternatives - there are a ton out there.  Been there with all kinds of lighting, backgrounds, cameras.  A few weeks ago, I ask my son to help me make a video for the scroll saw forum - brought my good camera down, tripod, lighting all set and was ready to go.  He pulled out his "phone" and it probably did a better job than my fancy camera.

 

Lighting - Flouescents are OK IF you use the "bright white" types.  Any others will give tints from orange to yellow to green to blue - all of which are terrible when gitting pix of wood projects.  Bouncing the light - great tip - gets rid of harsh shadows.

 

If you are worried about someone download the picture and using it as a pattern, take the picture on the oblique - no pattern making that way.

 

OK, I have used up my 2 cents

 

Back to making talcum powder saw dust 

 

 

Tripods are a sure way to help eliminating blurred photos caused by camera shake.  For for something very lightweight and it doesn't require any time for set up, try a unipod. Not as steady as the tripod, but it definitely can do a lot to eliminate the camera shake of the hand held camera.

The convenience of using blue tooth transfer of photos is a great thing. You rid yourself of the cords, plug ins, and wear/tare problem. However keeping on top of the latest tech, is not an area that I am good at.  I'll have to research before I buy another camera or iPhone, My old (very 0ld) 35 mm film camera took better pictures with true colors. I'd wait a week to get the pictures back. Maybe I'd get 2 or 3  out of a roll of film that I was proud of. Very expensive and very frustrating. 

 We  have both learned a lot about taking pictures.The most important thing I have learned about digital pictures is BACKUP and labeling. If you lose it, it is gone. I had a back up that only kept the picture, no info, just the picture. A computer crash took all, except my pictures. I have about 10 gigs of pictures with no info, except for corrections that I have made.  Now I have the cloud. 

 I digitized all of my early pictures and slides. Next I made copies on memory sticks and sent them to my daughters. A history of them growing up. A long and time consuming process. But I know how much those pictures will meant to them and their children in the future.