| I also use a focusing spotlight (Lowell Pro) with a cobbled up cardboard snout to focus a smaller circle of light. The circle of light is adjusted so that it provides a slight highlight aroud the lips/openings of my pieces. This is not always effective or appropriate, but it can be a nice touch. The main light source is angled from the right side, and I use a piece of white foam core on the left side to bounce back some of the light. I look through the lens and move the foam core around until I like the look. Some people use shaving mirrors etc. as reflective light sources. I use a professional quality Bogen tripod, and my camera is a manual Nikon with a 28-80 zoom lens. A standard 50mm lens will work, but 80-90mm or a zoom will allow you to get back from the work a bit which is more comfortable. Inexpensive screw on close up lenses will work well for detail shots, in spite of what real photographers may tell you. A shutter release of some kind is need, or you can use the timer if the camera has one. I only use Fujichrome 64T, which is balanced for the tungsten lighting. Using a small aperture, f11-f22, insures good depth of field (focus front to back). I use the in camera exposure meter, and I usually leave the shutter speed set on 1 sec and vary the f stop for proper exposure. It's usually a good idea to bracket your exposures, although I rarely do since I have become very familiar with my setup. I shoot multiple exposures at the same settings rather than having duplicate slides made later-it's cheaper and better. Fill the frame with the image and leave most of the blank space at the top, less space on the bottom, least on the sides.Try to place each piece you shoot at exactly the same place in the frame, so the pieces will look good viewed together. All this has to be done with the lights out, and the room pretty dark. I shoot at night or place black plastic over the windows. A small flashlight, masking tape, clothespins or small spring clamps are all handy. Take some decent notes and pay attention. As with everything, you get better with practice. The photos here are shot with the Olympus C3000. They reflect my lack of expertise at digital editing, and in no way compare to the quality and "snap" of good transparencies. |
 |
 |
| photos-large files!!!! |