taking a picture of a wedding invitation

Foxtrot_01

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Hello all, I know this might sound trivial and simple but I want to know if there is a best way to do this. My friend got married a couple months ago, finally her pictures are uploaded except for her wedding invitation, the original pic is low resolution, she has asked me to see if I can take a good, unblurred, picture of her wedding invitation, this will go on the front page of the photo album.

she doesn't want any flowers, no decorations around the invitation, just the invitation. any suggestions?
 
You're in Miami I see . I would grab the invite , go over to Matheson Hammock park one morning and just pick a good spot to shoot . Alway seems to be great light there.

Since she didn't want any other stuff , flowers etc.. . Just my two cents , buts that what I would do.
 
Hello all, I know this might sound trivial and simple but I want to know if there is a best way to do this. My friend got married a couple months ago, finally her pictures are uploaded except for her wedding invitation, the original pic is low resolution, she has asked me to see if I can take a good, unblurred, picture of her wedding invitation, this will go on the front page of the photo album.

she doesn't want any flowers, no decorations around the invitation, just the invitation. any suggestions?

This sounds like she wants a flat / square image of the invitation -- the invitation would "fill the frame" so you can't see anything in the image except the invitation. If the invitation is not filling the frame, then you'll need something to frame it -- flowers are great, but she says she doesn't want that... fabrics can work as well.

If you do plan to fill the frame, you'll need even light from the sides... a light from behind (such as an on-camera flash) will create a reflection/glare. Think of the invitation surface as if it were a "mirror" (surfaces do not necessarily have to be glossy to create a reflection or glare.)

Getting the camera close enough so that the invitation can "fill the frame" will be a problem.

Your profile says you own (among other things) a 5D II with a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. That lens has a "macro" range. It's not "true" macro (not a 1:1 scale macro) but it will get close enough to fill the frame of an invitation. Set the focal length to the 70mm end. It may help to use a tripod when doing this because it's important that the invitation surface be absolutely parallel to the sensor on the camera. If the camera or invitation are tilted -- even just slightly -- then while it may be tack sharp in one area, you'll find it falling out of focus in at some edge because the depth of field is extremely narrow when shooting close-up subjects (and this is even true of fairly high f-stops.)
 
And, if you have one, shoot a color checker, a grey card or a white piece of paper/styrofoam (in order of preference) so you can get a good white balance.
Under trees and around grass can easily unbalance the shot.

Lew
 
You're in Miami I see . I would grab the invite , go over to Matheson Hammock park one morning and just pick a good spot to shoot . Alway seems to be great light there.

Since she didn't want any other stuff , flowers etc.. . Just my two cents , buts that what I would do.

thank you for the tip, I do live in Miami, I will suggest the Matheson Hammock park idea
 
Hello all, I know this might sound trivial and simple but I want to know if there is a best way to do this. My friend got married a couple months ago, finally her pictures are uploaded except for her wedding invitation, the original pic is low resolution, she has asked me to see if I can take a good, unblurred, picture of her wedding invitation, this will go on the front page of the photo album.

she doesn't want any flowers, no decorations around the invitation, just the invitation. any suggestions?

This sounds like she wants a flat / square image of the invitation -- the invitation would "fill the frame" so you can't see anything in the image except the invitation. If the invitation is not filling the frame, then you'll need something to frame it -- flowers are great, but she says she doesn't want that... fabrics can work as well.

If you do plan to fill the frame, you'll need even light from the sides... a light from behind (such as an on-camera flash) will create a reflection/glare. Think of the invitation surface as if it were a "mirror" (surfaces do not necessarily have to be glossy to create a reflection or glare.)

Getting the camera close enough so that the invitation can "fill the frame" will be a problem.

Your profile says you own (among other things) a 5D II with a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. That lens has a "macro" range. It's not "true" macro (not a 1:1 scale macro) but it will get close enough to fill the frame of an invitation. Set the focal length to the 70mm end. It may help to use a tripod when doing this because it's important that the invitation surface be absolutely parallel to the sensor on the camera. If the camera or invitation are tilted -- even just slightly -- then while it may be tack sharp in one area, you'll find it falling out of focus in at some edge because the depth of field is extremely narrow when shooting close-up subjects (and this is even true of fairly high f-stops.)

thank you for the light and focus tips, I do have an on camera flash and a couple of monolights and off camera flashes.
 
The easiest way would be to scan the invitation on a flatbed scanner. No need for sunshine, lights, tripod, etc.!
 
Several print labs in Miami will have a flatbed scanner.

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Pitman Photo Supply
13911 South Dixie Highway • Miami, Florida 33176-7234
[/FONT] Monday through Friday 9:00 AM-7:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM-7:00 PM/Sunday 12:00-5:00 PM
 
It sounds like there is an awful good chance that you friend is infringing on someone's copyright by doing this. I'm assuming that you friend ordered her invitations from somewhere (didn't design them herself), then taking a picture of it and reproducing it would probably violate the rights of whoever designed it for her.
 
Hello all, I know this might sound trivial and simple but I want to know if there is a best way to do this. My friend got married a couple months ago, finally her pictures are uploaded except for her wedding invitation, the original pic is low resolution, she has asked me to see if I can take a good, unblurred, picture of her wedding invitation, this will go on the front page of the photo album.

she doesn't want any flowers, no decorations around the invitation, just the invitation. any suggestions?

Ask your friend what she has in mind.
 

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