mlitty
Forum Supporter
Photographing tiny things up close is difficult, but part of the fun of sharing finds is showing off the details.
Whether you're using a professional camera or the camera on your phone, here are some tips for getting a photo that best displays your little find.
Lighting:
Focus:
Scale & Composition
Sketch
Take Multiple angles and shots
Preview and Edit
Your photos will be up on the forums for a long long time. With a little practice, you can do all of this in around ten to fifteen minutes. Even if you do nothing else, getting the focus right and including a scale object will make a big difference in how your finds are enjoyed.
Especially if you're asking for identification help, take the time. People will be more inclined to spend a little of their time researching your find if they can see that you spent a little of your time giving them good visual information to work from.
Here's an example. It's not perfect, but it was one I posted recently when asking for help identifying a find.
Whether you're using a professional camera or the camera on your phone, here are some tips for getting a photo that best displays your little find.
Lighting:
make sure there is adequate lighting and no glare. It might help to change the angle of the camera or prop the find up so that the light hits it at a different angle. Sometimes little details are more visible when the light hits the surface at a certain angle. Play with it.
Focus:
No one likes a blurry photo. It's hard on the eyes and frustrating to see.
- Make sure the camera/phone is stable. rest it on a book or some stable object to keep it from moving or shaking when you press the button/screen to take the shot.
- If your camera/phone has a "macro" mode, use it. The icon often looks like a little flower.
- Even in macro mode, getting too close will result in a blurry photo. Instead of moving the camera closer, use your zoom. Move back far enough to get the find in focus and then use the camera to zoom in.
- If your camera/phone has multiple resolutions and only digital zoom, set the resolution higher than you want for the final image and then use the digital zoom. Digital zoom is like cropping the photo before you take it. For example, 8mp settings taken with a lot of digital zoom might result in a 3mp final image.
Scale & Composition
What is behind your find? If it's lying on a surface, is there enough contrast? A dirty or corroded button on a white piece of paper is easier to see than that same object on a wood table.
Is your find a coin? Okay, we know how big those are, move along.
Something different? Include a known item for scale so we have something to compare it to when imagining its size. I often use a coin, but it might be a better idea to use a ruler as this is a multi-national forum and coins of different countries are different sizes.
Is your find a coin? Okay, we know how big those are, move along.
Something different? Include a known item for scale so we have something to compare it to when imagining its size. I often use a coin, but it might be a better idea to use a ruler as this is a multi-national forum and coins of different countries are different sizes.
Sketch
Is there an important detail that's difficult to see in the photo? Do a sketch and put it in the picture. You don't have to be Rembrandt, just do a quick line sketch of the detail on a clean white paper (no lined paper please).
We're not here to critique your drawing ability, but we do appreciate any effort to show us the cool and important details of your latest and greatest find. Especially if you're asking for help identifying the item.
We're not here to critique your drawing ability, but we do appreciate any effort to show us the cool and important details of your latest and greatest find. Especially if you're asking for help identifying the item.
Take Multiple angles and shots
You're all set up. You've considered your scale, lighting and focus, take an extra minute or two to get multiple shots at multiple angles.
Seeing a find from front, back, and sides gives a much fuller picture of your object. Seeing how it might be distorted, corroded, attached, etc. gives a fuller appreciation for your find.
Imagine a model coming down the runway. As he/she walks, you're waiting for the turn, to see the whole outfit from front, back, & sides. When shooting your find, give us that runway turn.
Seeing a find from front, back, and sides gives a much fuller picture of your object. Seeing how it might be distorted, corroded, attached, etc. gives a fuller appreciation for your find.
Imagine a model coming down the runway. As he/she walks, you're waiting for the turn, to see the whole outfit from front, back, & sides. When shooting your find, give us that runway turn.
Preview and Edit
- Take a look at your pictures before uploading them.
- Delete the bad ones and re-shoot if needed.
- Your software probably has an automatic color enhancement button in the menus somewhere. Try it and see if it improves the shot, if not, click "Edit > Undo" and stick with your original.
If you don't have a simple photo editor, download IrfanView. It's free, easy to use, and safe. I've been using it for simple editing and preview for over a decade. - Crop you image down to include only the necessary space, your find and the scale object. With Irfanview, click and drag a rectangle around the area you want and press "ctrl" and "y" together. It's also in the menus. (don't forget to save).
Your photos will be up on the forums for a long long time. With a little practice, you can do all of this in around ten to fifteen minutes. Even if you do nothing else, getting the focus right and including a scale object will make a big difference in how your finds are enjoyed.
Especially if you're asking for identification help, take the time. People will be more inclined to spend a little of their time researching your find if they can see that you spent a little of your time giving them good visual information to work from.
Here's an example. It's not perfect, but it was one I posted recently when asking for help identifying a find.
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