Journal Entry for Tuesday, Nov 8th

Making a Light Box For Shooting Stills Yesterday I went to Ace Hardware and Michael’s to pick up some materials for making a homemade light box for photographing some of my various art projects. The two shop lamps and 1200 watt bulbs were $38. The five sheets of white foam board (two 15x20 and three 20x30) were $20. Using some old duct tape and paper clips that I had hanging around I assembled it into a ‘box-like’ shape that I can fold up and store after each use. Complete details for building a light box can be found at the following site … Homemade Light Box. Of course this was the easy part. After taking a few quick pictures, I realized that this was going to be more than just point and shoot. After some research and learning how to establish and save white-balance settings on my camera, I ended up with the following checklist for taking still pictures. Today's Tip: Steps For Shooting Pictures With a Lightbox: The bracketed [ ] settings noted these tips are based upon  my Panasonic Lumix G2. You should be able to find similar settings on your camera.  [1] Remove all Lens Filters [2] Set Mode Dial to [P] (manual) [3] Set Focus Lever to [AFS] (auto focus single) [4] Set Focus Dial to [23 Area] (area focusing) [5] Set ISO to [100] [6] Set WB to [1] (custom set WB) [7] Set Flash to [Forced Flash] Mode [8] Set Film Mode to [STD] (standard) [9] Set Anti-shake to Off [OFF] [10] Mount Camera on Tripod [11] Attach Remote Shutter Release [12] Turnoff all Room Lights You can check out the end results here and let me know what you think. Tabletop Rock Art.

Journal Entry for Monday, Nov 7th

New FOOD Category Today I added a new subject category to my Photography Gallery site titled, Food. (click to view) It just seems to be another ‘subject’ that has captured my attention. The only problem is, that every time I expand my photography taking interests, it creates more for me to learn. Oh well, such is life. I did decided that I needed some ‘tips’ that would help me to capture some better ‘food’ pictures in the future and began a search of the Internet. I found some great tips at …PictureCorrect.com. Here is a quick summery. Today’s Tip:  Guidelines for Taking Good Food Pictures: Blur the background by using a narrow depth of field. Use a diffused fill flash to brighten the subject and soften the background and any shadows. Try to shoot on a level with the food instead of looking down on it. Make sure all ordinary household lights are switched off so they don't confuse the camera's sensors. Check that camera white balance is set for sunlight; this will provide the clean white light necessary for creating the best food pictures. To help insure focus and sharpness, use either a tripod, remote shutter release, or the timer on the camera. Any of these actions will help to remove camera shake from the equation. Use a low ISO setting to reduce 'noise'.  Try to use white plates and a plain surface. White plates give off nice understated reflections that add depth to the image. Remove unnecessary items, leaving only the plate and the food; and don’t overfill the plate. Try to use the sprig of a fresh herb to add a dash of color.In general make the plate occupy at least 80% of the width of the photograph. When finished crop the shot for needed emphasis. Don’t be scared to crop the plate. Use the plate’s edge as a compositional element. A shot with just half of the plate in frame can still make for a really pleasing composition. Click here to view more tips ... Today's Tips

Journal Entry for Saturday, Nov 5th

Photography Gift Ideas Looking for a special photography gift for the “photo bug” in your life. Check out the Photojojo Store. I has some truly unique gift ideas. http://photojojo.com/store/. If you can't decide, buy them a gift card. http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/gift-card.

Journal Entry for Wednesday, Nov 2nd

Still Learning – Macro vs Close-up Lately, I’ve been trying to learn more on taking close-up shots. It is only natural, having viewed what I termed as close-up photos taken by other photographers, that I would like to learn how to take the same kind of shots. Here is what I learned. One first needs an understanding of the differences between the terms macro, micro and close-up photography? Some confusion comes from the fact that the two of these terms, macro and micro, usually refer to the same thing. The best way to relate terms is this; If the subject you are photographing is small and you want to make it look bigger, you end up with a “macro” view of a “micro” subject. Macro Photography Defined: Macro photography requires a dedicated macro lens. What is a real macro lens you ask? A macro lens has the capability of achieving at least a 1:1 magnification. This ratio is a measure of how large the subject appears on your camera's sensor. A lens with a magnification of 1:1 means the subject appears as life size on the sensor. A macro lens with a 2:1 ratio captures subjects twice as large as they appear in real life. Close up photography Defined: The act of photographing objects such as flowers or insects in close range so the subject you are photographing fills the frame. In other words, it’s the act of photographing subjects close up. This is easily achievable with any lens, even a 300mm telephoto lens. Though macro photography is in essence close up photography as well, the difference lies in the fact that close up photography is unable to capture the finest detail. The reason macro lenses are so expensive is that the provide a bigger magnification that shows the finest detail. What I learned from all this was that there is no way I can achieve the results that I would truly like to have without spending several hundred dollars for a macro/micro lens; which means that I will be ‘stuck’ taking close-ups until I can save up the money for a macro lens.