# All you experts



## EBorraga (Aug 9, 2010)

Still been playing around with the new camera. Would like some critque, Bad or Good.


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## Alexanderpens (Aug 9, 2010)

Very nice, could use a tad more background light. The pen is beautiful though.


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## bitshird (Aug 9, 2010)

Ernie, looks like your white balance might be a tad off, the picture looks a little warm.


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## jedgerton (Aug 9, 2010)

Commenting on the photo, I agree that it's too warm.  Use bulbs rated at 5500K or if you can't find those, use "daylight" bulbs.  Also, if you don't have it already, you will want a photo tent to diffuse your light source.

Looks like you have this under control but the least expensive and most effective tool you can use is a tripod.  Using a tripod with a remote release (or just timed release) so you aren't shaking the camera is a must.

Good luck.

John


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## mredburn (Aug 9, 2010)

+1 for the white balance. Is your background supposed to be white?  what color is the room your taking pictures in.  Did you use a light tent?  Without a light tent the room color can change the tint of the picture, if your white balance is set for a different type of light it effects the color.  Use Piccasa3 (its free) to edit your photos and you can change all that good stuff in the computor.  try taking a picture on the different white balance settings  until you find the one that gives you the best results.


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## soligen (Aug 9, 2010)

Looks like you can use a higher fstop to improve depth of field.  The clip is a bit fuzzy as is the end of the pen. Or, you can focus a tad farther away and see if the close parts stay in focus

Sweet looking pen!!


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## toddlajoie (Aug 9, 2010)

Here is your photo with a few simple adjustments. I assumed that your background was neutral (grey or white) and used it to adjust the color of the entire image (technically for those keeping track, I hit it with the grey eyedropper in the levels panel) and then brought the levels into range (i.e. I brightened it up) then ran a bit of sharpening (unsharp mask, Amount 150, radius 0.3, but this will depend on your image resolution, and this one is rather low resolution)

So in the end, this could be done with, as the others have said, a color balance adjustment. Assuming you're using a digital camera, it should have a setting for the type of lights you're using, and if you're not sure what it is, try a shot with each color balance setting and see which one looks best. After that adjust your exposure to brighten up the image. There is usually an exposure compensation setting (dig the instructions out of the trash), find it and set it to somewhere around +0.5 to +1.5 and see if that helps things (and the tripod is a great suggestion, since the exposure compensation is probably going to slow down the shutter speed.

It's possible that your camera can do a bit of the sharpening for you too. While you've got the instructions, see if there is a sharpness setting and if so, turn it up a notch or 2. If not, then look at what you're using to crop your images and see if it has any sharpening function. Play with it and see if it brings out the details a bit better...


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## Stick Rounder (Aug 9, 2010)

Did you make the blank or buy it?  Love the blank.  Let the experts comment on the photo.


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## EBorraga (Aug 9, 2010)

Hey Doug, I didn't make it or buy it. I traded some stuff a while back with Jonathan Hoffman (JMHOFF10500). It's a glow in the dark blank, and is very bright in the sun. Give him a shout, he's probably still got some left.


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## EBorraga (Aug 9, 2010)

O.K. guys I'll work on your suggestions. This was taken in a phot tent with 3 lights. The bulbs in it are Bright Effects, Bright White 1750 lumens bulbs, 3500 k. Also was in a room with the lights off except for the photo tent lights.


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## gketell (Aug 10, 2010)

You are 80% there.  Buy a $6 18% gray card from BHphotovideo.com; set your camera custom white balance using the card setup in your tent just as the pen would be; set your manual-exposure for a good exposure of the gray card; substitute your pen for the card.  You will love the outcome!


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