Photo Background Question (Editing Related)

[frommrstomommy]

I like these backgrounds a lot better! Though the grips you photographed don't do as well on the 2nd two tiles, kinda washes it out for me but maybe the other darker grips will look good against those. I like the orange

I'm fooling in photoshop now but the glare is still there and I don't know that I can really fix that.

 

[Dominantly]

The flare is because the surface is reflective, and you are sending a whole lot of non-diffused light at it. There are much better ways to photograph these, the on camera flash is the last thing I would be using.

 

[Cirrus]

There are much better ways to photograph these, the on camera flash is the last thing I would be using.

I'm all ears...

 

[Dominantly]

You can create your own, or use presets in PS

For this one, I didn't touch the colors of the grips

On this one I did a correction.

 

[Dominantly]

There are much better ways to photograph these, the on camera flash is the last thing I would be using.

I'm all ears...

Strobist: How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

There are a few threads on this here, with results posted, and people helping them along the way.

 

[Cirrus]

I really like the top one a lot. I don't have PS, but I wonder if there are other programs that have presets like that.

The light box is something I've already tried. But the problem is I don't know how to get the grips to stand up vertically. And I just feel like the plain white background is just a little boring. I wanted to see if there is a way to spice up the background.

 

[Dominantly]

Why do they need to stand up? White, high key backgrounds are ok, but they aren't the end all be all.

As for standing them up, what I would do is go to Home Depot and pick up a couple small L brackets. I would bend them to my desired angle, tape them to the back, and place them to the bracket is hidden.

 

[Cirrus]

I was just trying to get away from the solid white background. I'm sure I could figure out something to lean them against so they'd stand up. Then I could use the lightbox idea to get rid of the shiny flash spots. But I still need to find a way to remedy the plain jane background.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I was just trying to get away from the solid white background. I'm sure I could figure out something to lean them against so they'd stand up. Then I could use the lightbox idea to get rid of the shiny flash spots. But I still need to find a way to remedy the plain jane background.

Lean them up against your tiles with your tiles up against a wall.

 

[Dominantly]

The white paper that goes in the light box (a sweep) can be exchanged for and other color. If you have an arts and crafts store, check them out. They often have a TON of cheap, textured paper in all kinds of colors. I have used some that looked like marble before.

 

[robertwsimpson]

Personally, I would either:
1. leave them on a plain white background
2. digitally "put" them on a photo of a handgun

I don't know why you'd want to put some kind of other weird photo behind them.

 

[Natural_Disaster]

Im no expert, not even close, but...why not use a plain background, not white..but another plain color. The texture and lines in the wood needs to be the focus, not the background. If you did use a textured background, id suggest something simple like the black above. Wood on marble just doesnt seem like a good idea. Marble is also reflective so could be an issue with the flash as well....depending. I agree with the idea of shooting in a well lit area so there is no need for the flash. Leaning them up against a solid color wall (or a background taped or leaned against a wall) would probably help a lot with the flash and give them more of a 3D effect which may be a big plus.

 

[Cirrus]

The lightbox idea was another bust. It did a good job of taking away the shiny flash spots, but the color was totally off. The white poster board that I used inside the box came out a yellowish looking color in the pictures. There was plenty of light to see the subject, but the white background wasn't white at all. It was not good. I'm really beginning to get frustrated with this.

I tried taking pictures with my big Olympus E-500 and with my smaller point and shoot camera. Same results with both cameras. I'm really at a loss here...

 

[mrmacedonian]

The white poster board that I used inside the box came out a yellowish looking color in the pictures. There was plenty of light to see the subject, but the white background wasn't white at all. It was not good. I'm really beginning to get frustrated with this.

Could this not be a white balance issue? Open up the RAW (or shoot in RAW + JPEG) and try a few preset WB settings, see what happens. Not that I am an expert in PP but if you shoot a RAW image in the lightbox I would be more than happy to see if we can resolve the issue. let me know i'd be happy to give you an email (if the forum doesn't show it somewhere already).

andrej

 

[Dominantly]

The lightbox idea was another bust. It did a good job of taking away the shiny flash spots, but the color was totally off. The white poster board that I used inside the box came out a yellowish looking color in the pictures. There was plenty of light to see the subject, but the white background wasn't white at all. It was not good. I'm really beginning to get frustrated with this.

I tried taking pictures with my big Olympus E-500 and with my smaller point and shoot camera. Same results with both cameras. I'm really at a loss here...

What bulbs?
What metering mode?
What white balance preset on your camera?
Do you know how to set a custom white balance?
What file format do you shoot in (I hope raw)?


It's really quite easy if you follow along and take our advice.