Suggestions?

[Ardan]

https://img0.etsystatic.com/071/0/10841511/il_570xN.826254724_1ate.jpg

Working with the new camera on my products for my Etsy site. Suggestions on my photography, setting, lighting are welcome:) Thank you in advance for the help! I am open to ideas to improve the look of my products. This is one of my products that I have developed and made from scratch. Here is the exif data. I thought the pics were better at 200 iso. Taken with 50mm f 2.8 (works great Ricardo!! Thanks :D)

~File: C:\Users\Ardan\Pictures\8-31-2015\DSC00278.JPG
010e Image Description
010f Make SONY
0110 Model SLT-A57
0112 Orientation Normal
011a X Resolution 350
011b Y Resolution 350
0128 Resolution Unit inch
0131 Software SLT-A57 v1.04
0132 Date Time 8/31/2015 11:43:38 AM
0213 YCbCr Positioning 2
8769 Exif Offset 360
829a Exposure Time 1/30
829d F-Number 2.8
8822 Exposure Program Manual
8827 ISO Speed Ratings 200
8830 Unknown 2
8832 Unknown 200
9000 Exif Version 2.30
9003 Date Time Original 8/31/2015 11:43:38 AM
9004 Date Time Digitized 8/31/2015 11:43:38 AM
9101 Components Configuration YCbCr
9102 Compressed Bits Per Pixel 1.0
9203 Brightness Value 0.192969
9204 Exposure Bias Value 0
9205 Max Aperture Value 2.96875 (F2.8)
9207 Metering Mode Pattern
9208 Light Source Daylight fluorescent (D 5700 – 7100K)
9209 Flash Not fired, compulsory flash mode
920a Focal Length 50.0
927c Maker Note [35692 bytes] 83, 79, 78, 89, 32, 68, 83, 67, 32, 0, 0, 0, 78, 0, 3, 16, 4, 0, 16, 0, 0, 0, 76, 7, 0, 0, 0, 32, 7, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 32, 7, 0, 227, 48, 5, 0, 118, 10, 41, 0, 2, 32, 4, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 32, 2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, ...
9286 User Comment
a000 Flash Pix Version 1.00
a001 Color Space sRGB
a002 EXIF Image Width 4912
a003 EXIF Image Length 3264
a005 Interoperability Offset 36730
0001 Interoperability Index R98
0002 Interoperability Version 1.00
a300 File Source DSC
a301 Scene Type 0x1
a401 Custom Rendered Normal process
a402 Exposure Mode Manual exposure
a403 White Balance Manual white balance
a404 Digital Zoom Ratio 1
a405 Focal Length in 35 mm Film 75
a406 Scene Capture Type Standard
a408 Contrast Normal
a409 Saturation Normal
a40a Sharpness Normal
a432 Unknown 50.0, 50.0, 2.8, 2.8
a434 Unknown MACRO 50mm F2.8
c4a5 Print Image Matching [106 bytes] 80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 34, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9, 17, 0, 0, 16, 39, 0, 0, 11, 15, 0, 0, 16, 39, 0, 0, 151, 5, 0, 0, 16, 39, 0, 0, 176, 8, 0, 0, 16, 39, 0, 0, 1, 28, 0, 0, ...
- Thumbnail Section
0103 Compression JPEG
010e Image Description
010f Make SONY
0110 Model SLT-A57
0112 Orientation 1
011a X Resolution 72.0
011b Y Resolution 72.0
0128 Resolution Unit inch
0131 Software SLT-A57 v1.04
0132 Date Time 2015:08:31 11:43:38
0201 JPEG Interchange Format Offset 37018
0202 JPEG Interchange Format Length 6006
0213 YCbCr Positioning 2

Ardan

[SMB2]

Don't really need to attach all the EXIF data. Just camera make and basic settings.
Posting a slightly larger JPEG image would help as well. 1200 pixels on the long edge will do, resolution is fine at 72.
How was this processed? LR or other...
The image that you have posted, will it be used for product advertising or is the image a photo ID or art work?
I ask because I think your intentions/needs change how one would help in critiquing the photo.

[Ardan]

Hi Stan,
Thank you for your reply.:)
This is the exact photo for advertising on my Etsy site. This is the size they allow. I am looking for input to better sell my products. They say photos are one of the most important tools for selling there....

How was this processed? LR or other... I don't know what LR means. (probably have heard it, but forgot LOL) The photos are I guess processed by Etsy, all I do is click on the JPEG from the camera and it downloads to Etsy as you see it here. Same size, etc. so this is what I have to work with.
Just a rookie, trying to learn as I go.:)
I don't know if lighting, or a different lens would help, etc
Thanks again Stan!
Ardan

[SMB2]

OK.
LR stands for Lightroom which is an Adobe product that allows you to Store/Organize and process ("develop") your digital images.
Your image seems dark to me and it is therefore difficult to tell what I am looking at. From what I can see about Etsy, it is a selling site, so they aren't doing anything to your image other than posting what you send them.
That gets us to how one can better present your product. For instance if I had your JPEG image (or better yet the RAW image), I could process it in Lightroom and make it brighter and sharper so that the image might look better.

That being said, I am not sure what I am looking at, so can you tell me what this is that you are selling?

[Ardan]

Thanks again Stan!
Yes, I think the light is too dark, however the camera exposure level meter (?) reads 0 or on the plus side. I adjust the iso, the f stop, and the shutter speed to achieve the 0 reading, but to me it still looks dark often, even though the pictures turn out crisp and pretty good.....

What you are looking at is a Unakite rock from South Africa, cast is clear acrylic, turned on my lathe, drilled and tapped to fit a bottle stopper.... https://www.etsy.com/listing/246310568/unakite-rock-from-south-africa-bottle?ref=shop_home_active_9
(hope the link works, otherwise copy and paste...)
This is the main pic for this item and they say the main pic is the most important to catch the eye. That is why I am asking for critique to see what can be done better, be it lighting, setting, etc.
I use natural light (suggested), they suggest white backrounds, but I find that doesn't do it for my products, or at least I don't think it shows them well....
I do have Corel photopaint in which I could adjust all this stuff, but I thought the goal of the pics is to make adjustments on the camera to get the exposure meter to read 0 was the goal. (sometimes I leave it on the plus side to allow more light.) I am wondering if I should make the exposure meter read on the plus side for my products to allow more light right from the start?

I appreciate your time looking and asking questions, it helps me think from outside what I see.:D

I am really a rookie with the camera and with advertising so I am trying to learn and improve a bit if I can.

Thanks again,
Ardan

[SMB2]

Got it.
So for starters I would shoot this with the camera on a tripod to get max sharpness and to allow for slow shutter speeds (more in a minute).
If you can set the product on a nice wood/metal stand oriented as you would like someone to see it, (stopper up?) that would help. I like the background and you can experiment with various colored/textured cloths.
Available daylight, (not fluorescent) will work best, but certainly not direct light. Something warm/ soft, like early morning, evening or shade. That too you can play with.
The advantage of a tripod other than sharpness is that you can take the exact same image multiple times and vary exposure and depth of field.

OK, you have everything set up. The camera should be set at it's lowest ISO (if it is 200 fine). Your 50mm 2.8 lens should work fine. Next set the aperture to at least F8 (you were at F2.8 if I am reading the data correctly). 2.8 is to shallow depth of field. F8 is a good starting point but you may want to go as high as f16 depending on how the image looks, but this may make the cloth background to much in focus. Now set the shutter speed (you are shooting manual exposure on the camera) to whatever value gives you 0 on the exposure scale. To add more or less light use shutter adjustments. Slower shutter speeds will add light (+ on the scale).
The problem with using Auto exposure is that you can not easily control the F stop which you want to do to get different depth of fields depending on how you want to present the object. If you use Auto exposure, you can change brightness by using the EV button.
I would take several images at 0, +1, +2 etc at F8, then at f10, f11 and f16. (As you increase the f stop you will have to slow the shutter speed to start at 0 on the exposure meter.) The slow shutter speeds won't matter because the camera is on a tripod.
A cable shutter release helps this process and they are cheap: http://www.amazon.com/Aputure-Shutter-Release-SLT-A33-Replaces/dp/B003Y2YN5O It avoids camera shake from pusing the release button when using slow SS.

That should give you lots of images to choose from and you will be able to design a system that you can use repetitively and quickly for all your products.
You can make something like this (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/541213-REG/Impact_BGSC_W_816_Super_Collapsible_Background.htm l) to have a little "studio" to photo all your products.

Even the best image can benefit from some post processing. After you get good at the JPEG images, you can start shooting in RAW and look into working on those to improve them. The final image can always be sized and converted to JPEG for ETSY. (Or you can send me some of the RAW images and I would be glad to play with them!)

89869

[Ardan]

WOW Stan! Great information for me to work with!
I do have a tripod and will put it to work. I will lower the iso to 100, set the f stop to f8 (wasn't sure what to do there at all) and then work with the exposure time/shutter speed.:) I will work with the ev button...
Great info on the depth of field, I am too new to this to have played with that.
I think I may have a cable shutter release, I will have to look through my goodie bag:)

This is very helpful information and glad I asked. I was hesitant, but I think it will be very worthwhile.

Thanks again Stan! Glad we have this section:D

Ardan

[rickztahone]

Sorry I missed this earlier Ardan. Stan has given you the exact advice I would have give you as well.

One piece of advice is this, if you see your final image and you think its too dark, chances are that it IS too dark, and potential buyers will more than likely think the same thing.

Another piece of advice is that you want to actually give your product visual reference. This means, put it on a bottle like it was intended to be used, but avoid photographing the bottle brand (copyright problems). This means the stopper will be in its proper orientation, and the bottle itself will make the item more easily identifiable as to what it is without having to read the product description, which face it, many shoppers do.

Here is a company that I purchase from at our shop:
http://www.mariposa-gift.com/searchadv.aspx?searchterm=bottle+stopper

Notice how their stoppers are being displayed. Yes, the white background is boring, but it eliminates any distraction to the product being sold, and it actually makes it pop up more. With that being said, I actually like your background. It looks like it naturally goes with this product. Either way should be fine with this product in particular, but you have to keep in mind that if you start some kind of gallery of items being sold, if you have a unified background (like Mariposa does), it flows better in a macrocosmic way. I hope that makes sense.

The shooting information is bang on target by Stan though. Tripod is going to be a must for you for product photography. If I remember correctly you bought a flash as well? Your 50 2.8 is going to be a great lens with your cropped sensor camera. It roughly makes your 50mm lens in to a 70mm lens (in Full Frame comparison) which is a great product shot length.

If you need any further help, please let us know. Additionally, the only EXIF data we need is the following:

Aperture
Shutter Speed
ISO
WB

and any modifications you may have made with an editor program.

[Ardan]

Thank you for the reply Ricardo!



Yes I did buy one, but the ETSY site recommends not using flash. Should I consider using it? If so, I don't know much about that either. Haven't used it yet....

I also have not played with the WB (white balance?). Not sure how to use it... just a rookie LOL

I guess I have a lot I can learn here. I appreciate all the input! I need to take it slow, for me it takes a bit of playing with it to grasp it and sometimes it's almost info overload, because there are so many options. The advice given sure does help sort it all out!!

Thank you
Ardan

[rickztahone]

Thank you for the reply Ricardo!



Yes I did buy one, but the ETSY site recommends not using flash. Should I consider using it? If so, I don't know much about that either. Haven't used it yet....

I also have not played with the WB (white balance?). Not sure how to use it... just a rookie LOL

I guess I have a lot I can learn here. I appreciate all the input! I need to take it slow, for me it takes a bit of playing with it to grasp it and sometimes it's almost info overload, because there are so many options. The advice given sure does help sort it all out!!

Thank you
Ardan

I will be honest, flash photography helps a TON, but only if you know how to use it well. That may be one of the reason Etsy doesn't recommend it, because people can really mess up product shots when not knowing how to use flash properly.

WB is indeed white balance. There is a button on your camera that has that designation, WB. You want to press that button and adjust your WB to the conditions in which you are shooting. For instance, if you are outdoors and it is midday, you want to set WB to Sunny. If you are in the shade, change it to shade. Cloudy, change it to cloudy, and so on. You can leave it on Auto WB, but the problem with this is that if you shoot a set of photos, chances are that many of them will have different WB and you will notice it right off the bat in a gallery setting. If you adjust it manually, then the set will have more consistency.

[Ardan]

Thank you Ricardo,
I will work with the white balance, the F stop, the tripod, and the ev for now. I think I will wait to learn about the flash until I have all of this down better.

Thanks Again!!
You guys are awesome!

Ardan

[rickztahone]

Thank you Ricardo,
I will work with the white balance, the F stop, the tripod, and the ev for now. I think I will wait to learn about the flash until I have all of this down better.

Thanks Again!!
You guys are awesome!

Ardan

As far as EV goes, if you are shooting manually, which is to say that you are in M mode and adjusting the Aperture and Shutter speed independently, you do not need to worry about the +/- EV. In fact, if you are on M mode, you cannot change the EV simply because you are complete controll of your Aperture and Shutter speed manually. I hope that wasn't conufusing. If ever you are confused about something, please ask and I will break it down for you.

[SMB2]

I have used one of these for tripod studio work on small subjects (frogs!). If you have off camera flash, you can direct it through the "box" and get nice diffused light.
Lots of toys out there!

89873

[Ardan]

I have used one of these for tripod studio work on small subjects (frogs!). If you have off camera flash, you can direct it through the "box" and get nice diffused light.
Lots of toys out there!

89873

Thanks Stan,
The flash I bought can be used off camera.... I will have plenty to play with. :D

One other question for both of you, I made a pen with a glow in the dark scorpion in acrylic. How do I take a picture of it glowing in the dark and also focus in the dark? I have played with it to no avail.... I don't have a clue how to go about it with this camera.

Thanks!
Ardan

[SMB2]

Set the pen as you want it to show. With your camera on a tripod, you can auto focus with the lights on. Then turn the focus to manual. This will hold the focus so you can then turn out the lights and take the shot without the camera trying to adjust the focus. Then you just take your shots and play with exposure to get what you want.

That box is really funny. It has it's own Youtube video on how to get it to fold back up to fit in the carry case. You need six arms and at least one foot.

[rickztahone]

Set the pen as you want it to show. With your camera on a tripod, you can auto focus with the lights on. Then turn the focus to manual. This will hold the focus so you can then turn out the lights and take the shot without the camera trying to adjust the focus. Then you just take your shots and play with exposure to get what you want.

That box is really funny. It has it's own Youtube video on how to get it to fold back up to fit in the carry case. You need six arms and at least one foot.

:laugh:

Ardan, do as Stan says and pre-focus on the subject with the lights on. Then, turn off lights after you have switched the camera/lens to manual mode.

[Ardan]

:laugh:

Ardan, do as Stan says and pre-focus on the subject with the lights on. Then, turn off lights after you ha
ve switched the camera/lens to manual mode.
Will do, as soon as I get a chance. I am working on the other one now. :)

OK
With Tripod
F8
iso 100
shutter speed 0.6" ?? That's what it says to get 0 on the exposure meter.
WB Shade (it's daylight, inside near window, not direct sun)
https://img0.etsystatic.com/100/0/10841511/il_570xN.833798422_5ek9.jpg

Now it looks better to me:)
What do you think?
or should I do some post processing? lighten it up?
Ardan

[Ardan]

89876

[SMB2]

It does indeed look better as far as exposure is concerned.
With F8 the wood grain is distracting and takes the eye from the product. I would try a solid soft non reflective material.
Also your product is clipped at the top and bottom. Either try a true vertical (portrait) composition or place the subject tangentially.

Yes it will take a slow shutter speed to get the aperture you want, hence the tripod and shutter release cable. If you don't have a cable use the delay (Find the setting in your menu where you push the shutter release and there is a delay of 5 or 10 seconds before the picture is taken.) With the delay, you push the shutter button and the camera has time for any micro shake to go away , the picture is then taken.

Try some lighter exposures: +1/3, +2/3, +1 to see if you like that better. Also as you change the background, exposure may change some.

89878

[rickztahone]

That does indeed look better exposed, however, I think I would slow down the shutter just a tad bit more. Remember, your exposure scale is merely a guide, not a rule. When it is at 0, it is giving you a good reading of what is in front of it, but in a large scale. Your subject in this instance is the key subject, and your exposure scale is taking your background in to consideration when giving you your exposure reading. Again, if you take a shot, and it looks dark to you, make it lighter to your eye. Product photography in many ways is easier than run and gun photography because you have the option to take your time to adjust your settings.

I believe you are on the right track here. Personally, I think it would look great standing up somehow, or in a bottle as mentioned previously. However, I am getting this weird feeling of a fish eye look for some reason and I am not sure why. It may just be because of the way the wood behind the subject is grained, or something along those lines. Either way, this one is much better than the first, but you are focusing more on the bottom part of the subject (closest to you), rather than the top, the most important part. When you take a shot like this, always give the priority to the main subject. For this, you'd either have to be right over the subject shooting down, or placing the subject at an angle so that you have a better view of the subject.

[Ardan]

Thanks Stan,
I agree the background now takes away from the product.
Is this one as good as the pop up one you recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-24in-Photo-Soft-Light/dp/B001TKEUNI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442267539&sr=8-2&keywords=pop+up+photo+box


It has it's own Youtube video on how to get it to fold back up to fit in the carry case. You need six arms and at least one foot. :D

Thanks!!

Ardan

[Ardan]

That does indeed look better exposed, however, I think I would slow down the shutter just a tad bit more. Remember, your exposure scale is merely a guide, not a rule. When it is at 0, it is giving you a good reading of what is in front of it, but in a large scale. Your subject in this instance is the key subject, and your exposure scale is taking your background in to consideration when giving you your exposure reading. Again, if you take a shot, and it looks dark to you, make it lighter to your eye. Product photography in many ways is easier than run and gun photography because you have the option to take your time to adjust your settings.

I believe you are on the right track here. Personally, I think it would look great standing up somehow, or in a bottle as mentioned previously. However, I am getting this weird feeling of a fish eye look for some reason and I am not sure why. It may just be because of the way the wood behind the subject is grained, or something along those lines. Either way, this one is much better than the first, but you are focusing more on the bottom part of the subject (closest to you), rather than the top, the most important part. When you take a shot like this, always give the priority to the main subject. For this, you'd either have to be right over the subject shooting down, or placing the subject at an angle so that you have a better view of the subject.

HMM I did buy a fish eye lens a while back, haven't had time to play with it
Oh boy, too many toys ;)

I think I will try placing it at the angle and change the backround.... looking at those pop up boxes. I have been having trouble with light reflection on my acrylic products and those pics I have not been using....
I can see where diffused light would be a great plus here. That flash may come in handy then!

Ardan

[SMB2]

All the boxes are about the same. You aren't going to give them rough use so I would just pick one.
As Ricardo says, don't be afraid to try other exposures.

[Ardan]

All the boxes are about the same. You aren't going to give them rough use so I would just pick one.
As Ricardo says, don't be afraid to try other exposures.

Thank you Stan!
I ordered that box and the remote shutter cable. (the remote I have is with the flash)
When those items come in (I think they will be a great help, and they weren't too costly either:)), then I will try some more pictures and post them here. Looks like it could be within the week that I get them. Should be fun to play with and I think a great help, I really appreciate the advice!!!
Thanks for taking the time here.:) I really mean that!

Ardan

[rickztahone]

Let us know how it goes when they come in :). This is the main reason we started this section Ardan, to help others better their photography skills :)

[SMB2]

Hey no problem.
We enjoy photography and if we can pass on something helpful all the better.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.

This was an image using the "box" with a black cloth background. The box was mostly to confine the frog. If you look in the eye you can see the three flashes used to light the scene, even though they were outside the box. It was a project for the Nat. Zoo. These little guys don't sit still for very long...
Dendrobates terribilis

89879

[Ardan]

Fantastic Stan!! Really amazing what you folks can do:)
Thanks for sharing the pic and the tips. Both of you:)

I look forward to improving and learning and will get on this as soon as my stuff gets here

Ardan

[Ardan]

https://img1.etsystatic.com/103/0/10841511/il_570xN.836161903_fgf0.jpg

Much Better!

50 mm f2.8 set at f8
on tripod
using remote
using photo tent
using flash pointed at top of photo tent, flash set to auto (I tried different %, but auto seemed best, pointing flash to top seemed best also)
shutter speed 0.6"
iso 100
WB Shade


The results are night and day! I spent a lot of time photographing new items and redoing old items on my etsy site.

I think the items really POP now!:D

Thanks for the help and suggestions. I am open to more tips if you have them.

Ardan

https://img1.etsystatic.com/103/0/10841511/il_570xN.836161903_fgf0.jpg

[rickztahone]

https://img1.etsystatic.com/103/0/10841511/il_570xN.836161903_fgf0.jpg

Much Better!

50 mm f2.8 set at f8
on tripod
using remote
using photo tent
using flash pointed at top of photo tent, flash set to auto (I tried different %, but auto seemed best, pointing flash to top seemed best also)
shutter speed 0.6"
iso 100
WB Shade


The results are night and day! I spent a lot of time photographing new items and redoing old items on my etsy site.

I think the items really POP now!:D

Thanks for the help and suggestions. I am open to more tips if you have them.

Ardan

That does look much better! Here are a couple more suggestions:

You can leave the flash on "auto" or rather TTL, which means Through The Lens setting. This means that the camera body is determining the correct exposure for the capture. You can still change the "gain" in the flash. If I remember this correctly, on that body, you would hit the fn button, once on the function screen, if you do not see anything, cycle through your different display settings on the LCD and you will see a screen where on the right hand side you will see a "flash" adjustment of some kind. I forgot the actual words it says, but it says flash something. You can simply go up or down on the flash directly from your camera

Additionally, while the product looks much better in my opinion, you are still getting what we call vignetting. Vignetting is the black areas you see around the product here. Typically you see vignetting when you shoot your lens at wider apertures, however, in this shot, from your EXIF data, you did not. This means, that another flash would serve you will in your product photography. I know it sounds like a lot of money, but at this point, a second flash speedlight would do wonders for filling it those dark spots which in all honesty hinder a product shot.

Do you remember me mentioning fluidity throughout a gallery? When you have vignetting on a product shot, and then you place them next to each other in a set, it disrupts the natural fluidity of the set. Again, a flash will help with this vignetting significantly.

Furthermore, one thing to remember about flash photography, and I do not want to get too technical here, is that the closer the flash is to a subject, the more "feathered" or rather, the more diffused the shadows will be. I know it sounds backwards, but it is the case. So, if you have a flash that is super close to your subject, and it is shot through a modifier (softbox, diffusion sheet, etc.), the shadows will not be as harsh as it would if it were further away. The flash "wraps" itself around a subject more when it is closer than further away. This is analogous to the relationship with our sun and long shadows in the evening.

Lastly, there is a small bit of glare on the main subject. You want to avoid these types of glares as much as possible, especially when the glare lands directly on the main part of your subject, in this case the rock. Avoiding glare is ONE of the most difficult things to avoid in product photography. Diffusion helps greatly here. Remind me, do you have some kind of diffuser, or are you relying solely on the white tent as your diffuser? If you are only relying on the tent as diffusion, try the following, go get some wax paper, hang it in front of the flash somehow, not directly touching the flash, mind you because it does get hot, and shoot through the wax paper, through the tent, and to your subject. Keep in mind that you will have to raise the gain on your flash in order to compensate for lost lighting by way of the wax paper.

I will not flood you with more info for now, but just know, you are definitely on the right track here, and that shot itself can be displayed as is on a site. I just want you to get even better shots at this point. A secondary flash will do that.

P.S., how are you firing the flash? Direct line of sight via IR sensor? If so, check out some cheap "trigger sets" off ebay for remote triggering where they do not need line of sight. This way, you can have 2 flashes on triggers and they do not have to be too close to each other in order to fire. I made the picture viewable on your post, rather than going to another tab. Hope you don't mind.

[Second Hand Pat]

Very nice improvement Ardan :D
Pat

[SMB2]

Looking good.
I second Ricardo"s thoughts on the use of the flash. You really want to position it/soften it to get rid of the glare on the subject. You can try the flash outside the photo tent.
Also if you have some type of daylight/UV filter on your lens (often sold with a kit, and to "protect" the lens), take that off.

Lots of trial and error, make sure you keep tabs on what you are doing so when you get to the best result you will be able to quickly repeat it.

You have made great changes in just a short time. Just a little fine tuning....!

[rickztahone]

oh and also, your WB should be set to "flash" when using your flash ;)

[Ardan]

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I do think I forgot to set the WB to flash. LOL
I will practice some more this weekend. I was using the HVL-F42AM flash on the hot shoe of the camera.
I can't afford to buy a second flash at this time as work is the worst it's been in the 35 years I have been at this company.... only 24 hours work per week...

I will try the flash outside the tent, hopefully it will diffuse the flash.

Will it work to use the on camera flash and the off camera flash at the same time? or would that be bad lighting?

Thanks again!!
Ardan

[Ardan]

Very nice improvement Ardan :D
Pat

Thank you Pat!!:D

Ardan

[rickztahone]

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I do think I forgot to set the WB to flash. LOL
I will practice some more this weekend. I was using the HVL-F42AM flash on the hot shoe of the camera.
I can't afford to buy a second flash at this time as work is the worst it's been in the 35 years I have been at this company.... only 24 hours work per week...

I will try the flash outside the tent, hopefully it will diffuse the flash.

Will it work to use the on camera flash and the off camera flash at the same time? or would that be bad lighting?

Thanks again!!
Ardan

Ok, this will be a Sony specific thing I will mention here, so this wouldn't apply to other brand shooters.

When shooting with off camera flash, many times, you face the problem of no LCD gain. I know Sony worked on this problem for a while, and I believe the a57 benefitted from this update. I will run you through what the problem is:

First, you take your flash, you place it on top of your camera's hotshoe, this "syncs" them together. While they both are on, you simply pull the flash off the body. Now, the flash should be in wireless mode. Once in wireless mode, so long as you have line of sight, the off camera flash will fire when you hit the shutter button. Here comes the problem. When you fire off camera, you need the internal flash of the body to activate the other. That in body flash does not help AT ALL with the overall scene shot, in fact, it makes it worse. This is why so many people choose to buy triggers. The triggers I told you to conider purchasing are the PT-04's, that are similar to this:
http://www.amazon.com/PT-04S1-Wireless-Trigger-Cameras-Camcorders/dp/B00WWNREOS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1443055593&sr=8-4&keywords=pt+04+sony

Now, the main problem I was referring to in the beginning is this, with the older Sony bodies, when you mounted a cheap trigger, like the one I linked to, it wouldn't acknowledge that it had a "flash" (trigger in our case) sitting on top of the body, so our Sony EVF (electric view finder) and LCD did not "gain" up to compensate for the loss of light. When you turn on your flash regularly, you will notice that the EVF and LCD both gain up to show you how your end result shot will look. This doesn't happen with cheap triggers. There are two things you can do, either buy more expensive triggers, like the Pixel Kings I own, or, and this may be your best option, do the following:

You still place your flash on your camera hotshoe, sync, remove and once you remove it, you get an old piece of exposed film and place that in front of the pop up flash on your camera. This is important, the film has to be a USED piece of film. What happens is that the exposed film does not allow the flash to contribute to the overall scene (which is what you want), yet, it still allows for the IR signal to go out on line of sight. The drawback here is still that you are only shooting with one flash, and it absolutely has to have the sensor, on the flash, facing the sensor on the front of your camera. This is hard to do with modifiers. Triggers DO NOT need line of sight to fire.

Again, my response is very long winded and I apologize for that, but these are important aspects of flash photography that I believe will benefit you greatly. If you EVER need to call me to ask me about something, please shoot me a pm and I will gladly give you my phone number. I already do this with a few people on the forum as it is, I wouldn't mind one more :)

[rickztahone]

Your picture reminded me about photographing food. I remember this shot in particular was a real pain because of glare. I had 3 speedlights, one snooted, one softbox with grid, and one open ended. The glare from the open ended one was a pain, but I kept diffusing it and this was the result:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7469/15795485999_43de4ff393_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/q4MZFv)Bisquits (https://flic.kr/p/q4MZFv) by Ricardo Vasquez (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickztahone/), on Flickr

also got some unwanted glare here but I reduced it significantly:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7510/15981496635_c2619981fa_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qmemar)Benedict & Hash (https://flic.kr/p/qmemar) by Ricardo Vasquez (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickztahone/), on Flickr

[SMB2]

Ricardo, Ardan. Perhaps this is an easier fix: http://www.amazon.com/Aputure-Pro-Grade-Off-Camera-Hot-Shoe-SLT-A35/dp/B004FLLY1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdU2Lwx_iw

Ricardo may know if this doesn't work, and you have to be sure it is the right cable. But given that you aren't far away from the subject, you can move this around over the box for different lighting. With the camera on a tripod and cable release, should be pretty easy.
Old fashion but a pretty cheap fix.

[rickztahone]

Ricardo, Ardan. Perhaps this is an easier fix: http://www.amazon.com/Aputure-Pro-Grade-Off-Camera-Hot-Shoe-SLT-A35/dp/B004FLLY1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdU2Lwx_iw

Ricardo may know if this doesn't work, and you have to be sure it is the right cable. But given that you aren't far away from the subject, you can move this around over the box for different lighting. With the camera on a tripod and cable release, should be pretty easy.
Old fashion but a pretty cheap fix.

That might work. With Sony, there are currently 2 different shoe types. MIS (Multi Interface Shoe is the newer one) and the iISO hotshoe from Minolta from years back. Always make sure you are buying for the right shoe. Of course Canon and Nikon have their own as well, so make sure you do not buy any other brand type. What Stan linked to would work I believe, but it is always hard to tell. The reason it is hard to tell is that they mention both the a100 and a few other bodies that do not have the same hotshoe that you currently have on your a57. This is why many Sony members were upset with Sony, but so long as you find one that is truly for your hotshoe (MIS), then you will be fine.

[Ardan]

Thank you Stan and Ricardo for your responses!
I think I will try the cable soon, that looks like it would help greatly!
Great photos Ricardo!!

Thank you both!!!

Ardan

[SMB2]

So Ricardo, do you cook like that at home?
Sunday works for me!:jester:

[rickztahone]

So Ricardo, do you cook like that at home?
Sunday works for me!:jester:

I wish I cooked like that! However, the chef is a good friend and all the dishes he cooked, I got to sample each and every one of them :)