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Guide How to photograph your mod(s)

Discussion in 'Modding' started by PsychoI3oy, 23 Jun 2004.

  1. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

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    Good find :thumb: You dont need too robust a tripod for indoor use anyway.
     
  2. airchie

    airchie What's a Dremel?

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    Time for the thread to be resurrected again. :D
    This thread has been really helpful for me.
    Just read through it as I'm about to embark on my first proper mod.

    Hopefully building my lady a HTPC inside a REALLY old telly.
    Should be a laugh, and at least you guys will see first hand all my mistakes! :(

    Well, bed time... :)
     
  3. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    Speaking of good find, while riding around my neighborhood on my bike I found someone throwing away a perfectly good collapsable tripod, which was probably worth about $30 US. Didn't have the quick-release camera attachment though, so I had to improvise a new connection using some scrap metal and a screw from the bottom of a old 35mm camera case. Good as new, although not quick-release. No big though.
     
  4. Spaceraver

    Spaceraver Ultralurker

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    Speaking of photographing stuff.
    I mostly have to do shots at late hours, since I mostly mod at those times, this also means I dont have time to focus my energy towards getting that ace shot of stuff. (Lazy n' all) :hehe:
    So a quick and dirty trick I have found useful is holding a sheet of paper folded once or more in front of the flash, so the flash doesnt "hit" directly at the object you are trying to catch a photo of.. Just means that you need to use 2 fingers to hold the piece of paper too.. Or tape a piece of paper to the flash with some transperent tape... :dremel:
     
  5. zhangmaster12

    zhangmaster12 What's a Dremel?

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    how do i take rly close up pics, my camera when on the flower thingy always says to close to focus but u guys can take pics soo close. when on auto it just dont focus. my cam:Hp photosmart 935
     
  6. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

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    It's just down to your camera. Some focus closer than others. SLR cameras have the advantage of being able to change lenses, but in your case, you're stuck with the designed minimum focus distance I'm afraid.
     
  7. zhangmaster12

    zhangmaster12 What's a Dremel?

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    ah well, ill use my dad's slr
     
  8. Rage.

    Rage. What's a Dremel?

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    very good guide.. it will help me heaps when i start my 1st mod.. the only problem i got is i dont know how to turn the stupid flash off rofl but anyways..
    thanks =]
     
  9. DMAthlon

    DMAthlon What's a Dremel?

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    personally, i'd prefer the larger image sizes to preserve the image quality. i'll zoom in when there's a detail i want to see. i want to see it, not some blocky interpretation.
     
  10. Koradhil

    Koradhil What's a Dremel?

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    Nice guide but I think many people are too lazy to go and set up their camera with the perfect settings.
    I always use a 5MP Olympus C500 Zoom with a tripod. When I take pictures of something, I usually take at least 5. at different settings, which are: auto with flash, auto without flash, night with flash, night without flash. Usually night with flash gives best result. For lighting I use a 1m long white tube light and try to photograph in a well lighted area.
    Ok so those are some pictures using only very simple settings, no exposure compensation or anything. Next step is to edit your pictures. I think most people, like me, use Photoshop for this. PS is a very nice suite with a whole lot of options. To keep things simple, I just use Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Levels (or auto color/contrast, whichever gives best results). I then use Image -> Image Size to resize my images (usually to 500px width). Sometimes I then use Sharpen or Smart Sharpen to make it look better, but only for subtle changes. Finally I save the image using JPG quality level 8 (out of 12).
    Quite simple, but sufficient for most people, and certainly for worklogs.
    Oh and I forgot to mention: you'd better buy a tripod instead of that better camera.
     
  11. bustamove

    bustamove A Dremel is a wotsit.

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    My pics are generally awful so this is a very helpful condensed guide. notes taken. thanks.
     
  12. PsychoI3oy

    PsychoI3oy Minimodder

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    Good to see people still read this. I guess I never did get around to taking those good/bad shots. The (now ex-) wife left with the 2mp fuji but that was just an excuse to upgrade to a 9mp Fuji E900 (non-slr but has lots of manual options).

    As for where I went? I dunno. I kinda got interested in things other than modding, didn't have the budget, etc.

    My webserver still gets hits for images from bit-tech (in other threads) and it's good to see people are still reading this thread and posting. I should probably go look around to see if/how much people are paying attention ;)
     
  13. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    very nice guide

    :thumb:
     
  14. InSanCen

    InSanCen Buckling Spring Fetishist

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    Go to any photographic shop. Get some lens cleaning tissues (A few £/$ at most). These are thinner than normal A4 sheet (Think tracing paper). Works a treat for mod photography, and Model photography when you forget to pack your Reflectors and Diffusers...:blush:

    I use Blu-Tak to attach them over the Flash on a DSLR, but just fold one double, and rip the sppropriate bit off for a "consumer" camera. Again, attach with a touch of Blu-Tak.
     
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