# Messin' with the light tent



## karlkuehn (Dec 20, 2007)

Okay, enough people said I need to do away with the rock piles and seashells and rumpledty fabrics, so I went by Walmart and got some posterboard and stuff.

Please let me know what you think of these four pics, different lighting and angles and such, comments and suggestions are appreciated, as always! 

And yes, that _is_ a packing peanut. I need to find something to prop them up on...heh

#1






#2





#3





#4


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## Ligget (Dec 20, 2007)

Great pics Karl, number 4 is a little out of focus at the top of the clip. And a packing peanut is all you need to lift the end up, good thinking![]


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## gerryr (Dec 20, 2007)

The light in #2 is more evenly distributed, but the specular highlights are totally burned out, so it appears to be over-exposed.  I also think the white balance is off quite a bit because the wood color doesn't look like anything I've seen.  #1 and #4 both have the same problem, the pen is at a steep angle to the sensor plane.  Try to have the pen as parallel as possible to the sensor and it will all be in focus.


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## Daniel (Dec 20, 2007)

Nice pic but the peanut is distracting. All right I'm just kidding about that.
White balance needed. find the menu that lets you tell the camera you are shooting under incandescent light. Usually the symbol is something that might be mistaken for a light bulb with lines radiating out from it. You can tone down the reflections a bit by defusing the light more. the softer the light the softer the reflection. I really like photo 1 as is but with the clip not on the ground. nice overall effect.


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## karlkuehn (Dec 20, 2007)

> _Originally posted by gerryr_
> 
> The light in #2 is more evenly distributed, but the specular highlights are totally burned out, so it appears to be over-exposed.  I also think the white balance is off quite a bit because the wood color doesn't look like anything I've seen.  #1 and #4 both have the same problem, the pen is at a steep angle to the sensor plane.  Try to have the pen as parallel as possible to the sensor and it will all be in focus.



Crud. The wood color was mentioned in another forum as well. I got so excited to play with the tent that I didn't put any thought into what would be the best pen for picture/color/lighting comparison. That pen is flamed/spalted/wormy BEB that I dyed Spanish orange and then cast ruby colored resin into the worm holes. The color on the pictures is just about what the pen looks like.

I need to look into the manual mode on my camera for all the stuff you guys just said, the specular diffusion of the white balance on the burned out sensor plane highlights and what-not. - Then I need to read about what all that means. heh

I've just been shooting in auto-mode with the little macro thingy set to on.

I'm really good at pushing that little button, though, and I can change batteries faster than anyone I've ever seen. 

[]


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## gerryr (Dec 20, 2007)

Specular highlights are the where the light hits the metal and turns it white.

White balance has to do with the color temperature of the light source.  Every type of light has a different color temperature.  Daylight is around 6,000K, incandescent bulbs are about 3,000K, flash is about 6,500-7,000K.  The color temperature of the light will change the overall color of the photo, so the white balance setting in your camera needs to be matched to the type of lights you are using.

In the old days, before digital, the term was film plane.  That was where the film actually was and old single lens reflex cameras and some of the good rangefinder cameras had the position of the film marking on the top of the camera housing.  The location of the film plane was important for extreme close-up photography and copy work.  Film has been replaced by a sensor, but the location is still important.  Just remember to keep the pen as parallel as possible to the back of the camera, which is usually a fairly flat surface, and you will have less trouble with parts of the pen being out of focus.


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## karlkuehn (Dec 21, 2007)

Okay, been playing with a few things, one of which is turning my own packing peanuts to prop the pens, and after staring at them for a minute in the pictures, now all I can see are little butts...[:0]

The first two pictures are to show colors for comparison, I tried to pick woods that most everyone would know, bacote/Applejack Dymondwood/Tulipwood. Near as I can tell, the colors are true to life. The last three are playing with the light balance.

It's amazing to me how the camera can take very different pictures even on the same settings with the same lighting and such.

Let me know what you think about the color balance, ignore the focus and highlights and such, I'm just trying to take one thing at a time. The files are kinda big, but since this is a photography section...heh

#1





#2





#3





#4





#5





#6 - added another one, more white than pink


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## rherrell (Dec 21, 2007)

By George I think you've got it!


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## gerryr (Dec 21, 2007)

I would get rid of the mirror.  I think most people will find it pretty distracting to see a complete mirror image.  What color is the background in reality?


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## RasMan (Dec 21, 2007)

I have to agree, the mirror image is a bit distracting.


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## Daniel (Dec 21, 2007)

I see you found the white balance, looks like 1,3,and 6 are correct. They look really good.
the first couple are a great example of what depth of field does to focus. get that bug figured out and you got it licked. would like to see some of mine come out that clean and sharp. I do like the mirror. So if it works for you use it.


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## W3DRM (Feb 16, 2008)

One of the big problems with mirrors is the secondary reflection you get. To me, that's the real distraction in such images. You might try using a highly polished piece of granite rather than a mirror. That would eliminate the secondary reflection. Some folks use a black or single color granite for this purpose. You can get granite pieces at your local Home Depot, Lowes or tile outlet stores for relatively low prices.


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## R2 (Feb 16, 2008)

Karl, I've always admired your photogra[hic work as well as your pens. I think your use of light and mirrors is an assett that really shows up the quality of your workmanship.
In the top lot of photos the second is the best as it is so clear and in focus.
The seond selectionof photos is Great. No.1 is slightly out of fucus but the others are spot on. 
When I start photographing I will be looking to your example.


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## aurrida (Feb 17, 2008)

i have the brochure for montblanc. they have a pic for the gemstone pen using a very subtle reflection. guess its computer manipulated but very smart. unfortunately its not on their web page so i cant link there. 

i think a reflection or a slight shadow works well as it gives an object a sense of depth. i would like to see a more subtle reflection of another one of your pics to see how they compare. 

i also don't mind if part of a pen is purposely out of focus if its drawing the viewer to a particular point of interest.

i like what your trying to do, i would really like to see some experiments to see how they compare.


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