IDontDoPhotosGood
TPF Noob!
Hi!
I'm definitely not a photographer. I'm a tattoo artist. I just want to be able to take decent photos of my tattoo work for promotional purposes. I own a Canon G11 camera. I don't own any other fancy stuff. I want to be able to take good photos of my work that are crisp without any glare (tattoo photos often get glare on them because the fresh tattoo is a little bit wet despite being wiped and cleaned).
The problems I have are that normally when I've finished a tattoo, it's late in the day and dark outside, so taking a photo outside isn't really a good option. If I take the photo inside with the flash on, the photo has glare because the fresh tattoo isn't totally dry. If I turn the flash off, the photo isn't crisp enough and it looks kind of dull.
If you're curious about what my photos currently look like, you can see some here... Allison Lawson | Facebook
I know these could be a lot better.
The most important thing is that the tattoo itself looks good. Smooth black and grey shading and rich colour tattoos. The way the rest of the clients skin looks doesn't really matter to me as long as it isn't horribly odd looking. I know skintones are normally really important in photography, but all I really want is smooth crisp tattoos.
What are some super cheap and fairly basic DIY lighting options that would be appropriate for this sort of thing?
I was thinking about getting a Halogen work light, but I'm a little worried about the heat and size. Something smaller might be more appropriate for me.
Could I just get some regular work lights with some flourescant bulbs and put a little tracing paper over them to diffuse the light, or is that crazy talk?
Any help is really appreciated.
I'm definitely not a photographer. I'm a tattoo artist. I just want to be able to take decent photos of my tattoo work for promotional purposes. I own a Canon G11 camera. I don't own any other fancy stuff. I want to be able to take good photos of my work that are crisp without any glare (tattoo photos often get glare on them because the fresh tattoo is a little bit wet despite being wiped and cleaned).
The problems I have are that normally when I've finished a tattoo, it's late in the day and dark outside, so taking a photo outside isn't really a good option. If I take the photo inside with the flash on, the photo has glare because the fresh tattoo isn't totally dry. If I turn the flash off, the photo isn't crisp enough and it looks kind of dull.
If you're curious about what my photos currently look like, you can see some here... Allison Lawson | Facebook
I know these could be a lot better.
The most important thing is that the tattoo itself looks good. Smooth black and grey shading and rich colour tattoos. The way the rest of the clients skin looks doesn't really matter to me as long as it isn't horribly odd looking. I know skintones are normally really important in photography, but all I really want is smooth crisp tattoos.
What are some super cheap and fairly basic DIY lighting options that would be appropriate for this sort of thing?
I was thinking about getting a Halogen work light, but I'm a little worried about the heat and size. Something smaller might be more appropriate for me.
Could I just get some regular work lights with some flourescant bulbs and put a little tracing paper over them to diffuse the light, or is that crazy talk?
Any help is really appreciated.