Calling on all photographers - Help needed. (1 Viewer)

[Goldfish]

So, amazingly my animal house and rabbit hole sets have made the 2024 calendar! The bad news is that I am no photographer and the only SLR camera I own is with my daughter in Florida.

So, I am calling on any photographers out there for some thoughts/recommendations on how to take some good hi resolution pictures of these sets. Any thoughts/recommendations are welcome including layout/chip positions, lighting (I do have a small light box), how to take good pics with an iPhone, etc.

Also, if there is a photographer in the DMV area with equipment who doesn’t mind coming over (or I could come to you) to take a few high resolution pics of these sets, that would even be better!

Let me know! Thanks.

 

[Rieguy]

Wipe your lens, crop appropriately, indirect natural light, and use Imgur when posting directly to PCF. Those small things are honestly the main difference between meh pics and good ones when using an iPhone or the like. That said, I know there are semi-pros here that can give better advice.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Wipe your lens, crop appropriately, indirect natural light, and use Imgur when posting directly to PCF. Those small things are honestly the main difference between meh pics and good ones when using an iPhone or the like. That said, I know there are semi-pros here that can give better advice.

This covers it all. I also like to use zoom when taking iPhone pics rather than the standard 1x. Tends to come out better.

Another iPhone trick is to use the Live Photo feature and then select the best frame within the Live Photo. iPhone changes the color and look drastically depending how you have your phone set. Live Photo fixes this.

Portrait mode can also obtain great shots on iPhone but it usually requires solid lighting/setup whereas the Live Photo trick is fairly dummy proof.

 

[wickedwonka121]

Just point and shoot they said.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Did @CraigT78 share what the size of the calendar is? Obviously landscape (wide) mode probably makes most sense.

You take good photos @Goldfish as it is!

 

[CraigT78]

Did @CraigT78 share what the size of the calendar is? Obviously landscape (wide) mode probably makes most sense.

You take good photos @Goldfish as it is!

A mixture of both portrait and landscape work best for the built in Shutterfly templates. It allows for some variety.

 

[CraigT78]

So, amazingly my animal house and rabbit hole sets have made the 2024 calendar! The bad news is that I am no photographer and the only SLR camera I own is with my daughter in Florida.

So, I am calling on any photographers out there for some thoughts/recommendations on how to take some good hi resolution pictures of these sets. Any thoughts/recommendations are welcome including layout/chip positions, lighting (I do have a small light box), how to take good pics with an iPhone, etc.

Also, if there is a photographer in the DMV area with equipment who doesn’t mind coming over (or I could come to you) to take a few high resolution pics of these sets, that would even be better!

Let me know! Thanks.

Lighting and a clean lens. Stack pics, splash pot pics, and single chip pics all work for the calendar. Action shots without people in the frame also print well.

 

[mns99]

This is my chip photo studio that I posted before.

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Lighting:
I use a ring-shaped light. Easy to use as it does not cast shadows.

I bought it at the DAISO discount store in Japan, but there may be something similar in the US.

Background:
I recommend using felt or black cloth. Of course, you can use speed cloth if you have it.

Camera:
I think it would be easier to use if you have a camera that can take macro shots. There's no need to stick to SLR cameras.

Chip position:
If possible, place chip in the center of the photo. Distortion will occur on the outside of the photo.

The left side is a chip taken at the center of the photo, and the right side is a chip taken at the edge.

Other equipment:
It's helpful to have a stand or tripod that allows you to shoot from directly above.

Image manipulation:
You can make good photos without using RAW format.
I use Gimp, and if you apply level correction, you can reproduce the colors reasonably well. You can also use Adobe Photoshop.

If you have a good photo, please share it with us!

 

[Machine]

and use Imgur

Why? can you elaborate?

 

[Rieguy]

Why? can you elaborate?

Regular upload gets downscaled (not sure correct terminology), whereas Imgur keeps it as is. Big difference in my opinion.

Example with Imgur on top, regular on bottom:

 

[CraigT78]

Regular upload gets downscaled (not sure correct terminology), whereas Imgur keeps it as is. Big difference in my opinion.

Example with Imgur on top, regular on bottom:

View attachment 1243044

Wow, that's a noticeable difference for sure

 

[timinater]

Don't forget to leave some "breathing room" in the image, as in don't crop them too close to the subject. It will give @CraigT78 more flexibility when it comes to fitting all the images into the layouts.

 

[Tonysquander]

Imgur makes a huge difference. Only downside besides the extra steps of using Imgur are that if those pictures are ever removed from Imgur they disappear from PCF as well. That is why sometimes in older threads you will see missing pictures where they used to be.

 

[CraigT78]

Don't forget to leave some "breathing room" in the image, as in don't crop them too close to the subject. It will give @CraigT78 more flexibility when it comes to fitting all the images into the layouts.

Shutterfly sucks in this regard. I end up cropping 85% of the pictures anyway.

But yes, breathing room is always appreciated

 

[BarrieJ3]

Honestly? Pay someone to take photos. We pay folks for cleaning and murdering and milling etc.

If I ever did customs or purchased a 1/1 set, they’d 100% be shipped to cleaner, photog, me in that order.