Shooting Product Photos In A Light Tent

I’m sure you have noticed that a lot of my images are shot using a light tent. I thought I’d share a few tips about using light tents and as usual if you have any good tips to add please feel free to comment!

First of all what is a light tent? Well; they are basically big ol’ fabric boxes, usually made from a translucent nylon material, and they diffuse the light evenly around your subject [like this little teddy bear]. The light tent helps to reduce shadows and soften the light. Ok… yes… I did still manage to blow out some highlights on this bear. I’ll do better next time. It’s those dang sparkly sequins I tell ya!

Most light tents come with backgrounds that hook in with velcro. In the case of this shot I’ve used a simple piece of cheap white cotton fabric from Wal-Mart; my white background has gotten a little stained over the years.

Leprechaun Bear

available at KKHPhotos.com

To make the most of your light tent you’ll want at least two light sources. I have one light on either side of the tent, one is usually pointed more towards the center, and the other just a bit more towards the back. I doesn’t hurt to add one more light source in the front if you still see a lot of shadows. I usually use a little diffused flash to help fill in those last few shadows. [If I had a third light I would rig it so that it is pointing down at the top of the tent; maybe a smaller lamp hung from the wall or sitting on a shelf above the tent would work for this.]

You will want to keep the image a sharp as you can. Even with my camera developing  a somewhat soft focus I can still keep it fairly sharp when I attach the camera to a tripod and use the shutter release cable.

Keep your ISO as low as you can to eliminate any noise that could creep in.

Shot in RAW to make your post processing easier; things like that last little white balance adjustment or adding a bit more contrast.

Take several shots from slightly different angles and re-arrange you subject a time or two as well so that you can compare the results and choose what pleases your eye the most once you are looking at the final images.

You can use whichever lens you see fit for the job. The two I use most with the tent are my 50mm and my 17-40 mm; with the 17-40 mm being the usual choice.

I’ll shoot in one of two modes either full manual or more often than not, and just to make my life a little easier, aperture priority. You may even need to adjust your exposure compensation a stop or two for a really bright image.

Once you decide on your subject take some time to arrange it in a way that seems to make sense and that looks balanced; pick a background color that will make your subject pop and shoot away!

[When it comes to product type shots most stock photo buyers are looking for a nice clean white background and good subject isolation.]

Holiday Photography Tips

Here’s a few tips that I thought I’d share about taking those Christmas tree; and other holiday photos…

1] Use natural light where you can. The only lights on for these photos were the tree lights and the little bit of late afternoon sun coming in through the heavy curtains.

2] Check your white balance and keep those whites looking white and not blue.

3] Open that aperture wide, adjust your ISO, and let in the light!

1/13 – f/4 – ISO 400 – 40mm

4] Look for small details.

 0.3 – f/4 – ISO 100 – 40mm

5] Take the wide shot.

6] Narrow that aperture for starry lights.

4.5 – f/22 – ISO 100 – 40.mm

7] Use a tripod to keep your camera steady while you use those slower shutter speeds.

8] Try shooting from different angles for a new perspective on things.

and mostly… just have fun capturing all the memories from this special time of year!

Photographing A Nighttime Christmas Light Parade

I was having such a good time watching the Christmas parade while we were in Topeka that I didn’t really give much thought to what I was doing with the camera. I just kept changing settings as the sky got darker and darker. That’s why when I was asked “how do you take parade pictures at night?” I had to stop and think for a minute about what kinds of things I was, or should have been, doing.

So using some of the same images that you have already seen; I’ve tried to come up with some tips for photographing a nighttime Christmas light parade. I added the EXIF data for each shot to give you an idea of what to do. [or if you don't like the results, what not to do.]

Here we go…

1] Find a great spot! We had a perfect viewing point right on the curb with no one directly in front of us, and an area across from us where spectators were not allowed to stand, and the huge tree on the other side of the street!

1/50 - f/4.5 – ISO 1600 – monopod
street lights to light up the crowd
exposure compensation -2 to help bring out the tree lights
no flash

2] I should have taken the time to move around a bit and to shoot from different angles. Maybe the cold was affecting my creativity. Ya; that’s it. I’ll blame it on the cold.

3] If your camera has an anti-shake setting use it. I had mine on my trusty ol’ monopod. If there is room among the crowd go ahead and set up your tri-pod; just be careful not to trip anyone with the legs spread out.

4] I shot the whole thing with one lens; my 17-40 wide-angle, because I was very close to the action. But had I been any further away I would have used a longer lens and zoomed up on a few details here and there.

32 mm – 1/500 - f/6.3 – ISO 1600 – monopod
light from the flames
exposure compensation -1 2/3 to darken the overall image
no flash

5] Turn off the flash. You don’t need it for the floats that are lit with Christmas lights and passing along under the bright street lights. Besides if you light it up too much you’ll lose that nighttime feeling where all you see is the pretty colored lights. Think about adjusting the exposure compensation as well to add to the dark nighttime look.

6] Use a high ISO setting so that you can use a faster shutter speed; or use a slower shutter speed to capture the motion and excitement of the action. My XTi does not do well in low light; it generates a lot — I mean A LOT — of noise. But I did have it turned up all the way to 1600 before the night was over.  I used the software that came with the camera to reduce as much noise as I could and when there was just too much noise… converting to black and white and going with the graining look was an acceptable solution.

27 mm – 1/40 – f/6.3 – ISO 1600 – monopod
exposure compensation -1 2/3
no flash

7] Shoot in RAW and take lots and lots of shots. I filled up 4 or 5 memory cards before the parade was over.

and the most important part of photographing a nighttime Christmas light parade….

8] HAVE FUN!!

14 No Cost And Low Cost Marketing Ideas For Online Photography Businesses

Recently I was contacted by a wonderful photography friend from Florida who asked for ideas on how to market her online sales. I sent back a quick response with everything I could think of at the time then hurried on with my day. So I thought it would be a good idea to sit down and think of as many NO COST and LOW COST marketing ideas that I could and share them with you all today.

So here we go… listed in no particular order… my no-cost and low-cost marketing adventures…

1. Facebook Page – I have a Facebook Page for my photography; Facebook.com/KKHPhotos. If you haven’t already done so it would be awesome if you would take a look; and maybe even click on that little “like” button! There is an RSS feed that sends posts from this blog to that page, I post the occasional quote over there, sometimes link to or at least talk about others who have an online presence (most in photography but some who are not), post the occasional money-saving coupon code for Zazzle shoppers, I write quick little thank you notes to buyers when I have a moment and include a link to the product or print that they have ordered, I post about stock photos that have recently sold and about new stock photos that have recently been accepted for sale at the stock photo sites, I even post a link or two to KKHPhotos.com. On this page friends, fans, family, fellow photographers, and just about anyone can leave a comment or send a message. Let’s keep those clean please. I also post watermarked copies of photos; I really need to do more of that. And there is a feed going from my Facebook Page to my Twitter page. Another way to get more bang for your buck. Oh wait; just more bang as there are no bucks involved with FB or Twitter.
2. Twitter Page – Take just about everything I said about the Facebook Page and apply it to Twitter! It’s another great way to get your info out there. And just incase you happen to be a tweeter… Follow Me! Twitter.com/KKHPhotos.
3. Pinterest – Pinterest is new to me but I’m having a lot of fun with it. Oh, I use it to pin my (and others) Zazzle products, pin blog posts, pin random photos (mine and other photographer’s), pin stock photos that I think someone else might like to use, and all those kind of awesome free self promotional things; but I also use it to pin some tasty sounding recipes, craft ideas, other cool looking products, garden ideas, and generally just see what a few of my online friends are up do. Like I said; I’m still new to the pinning world but please if you are having some fun on Pinterest feel free to follow me over there too. Pinterest.com/KKHPhotos.
4. Blog – Ok; this one you already know or you wouldn’t be here! This blog is all about my adventures in photography and everyday life. You’re going to see everything from how my little container garden is growing to how to turn your digital photo into a cool looking piece of abstract art! I might even talk about couponing adventures and a craft project or two; but the main focus is photography and sharing a few of my photos.
5. Photography Site – My main photography site is KKHPhotos.com. There you can see, and buy, my photography works as prints and gifts and even as stock photos with easy to use digital downloads. Oh, that reminds me; I really need to work on a new slide show for the homepage.
6. Use Your Social Media Sites, Blogs, Photography Sites, and anywhere else you happen to be online everyday! Post something everyday to keep your fans and buyers engaged. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “out of site out of mind”. Well with soooooo many people out there on the internet, on those social media sites, selling there awesome works, you’re going to be a little bug on a big pond. You’ve got to create a lot of buzz to be seen. And be sure to post at different times of the day and on weekends!
7. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, get the idea. Link all your online sites together, link your blog to other similar blogs, link your store to other similar stores… and get them to link back to you. All those links going back and forth help the search engines to find you.
8. Use Your Words – Keyword/tag/describe/talk it up – search engines read so you need to have relevent text along with your beautiful images. This is kind of important; after all you do want to be found -don’t you?
9. Talk It Up – Talk to people and give them business cards; or something with your business name and address on it. I’ve given out magnets and business cards, and even jotted down my site address on scraps of paper. Get that information out there! I’ve even been known to leave a card on the table at a restaurant, stuck to community bulletin boards, or lying around in waiting rooms. I wouldn’t have been contacted by Kansas Magazine if they couldn’t find me now would I?
10. Brand Yourself – Create a little logo and be consistent with your branding. Pick a name and a logo and stick to it. People are going to begin to notice and look for that little graphic. You’ve seen my little camera haven’t you? And don’t forget to just be yourself. People like to know that they are talking to a real person on the other side of cyber space.
11. Free Samples – Recently I “gave” a few photos from a zoo to a law firm for use on a company pass to their local zoo. The passes let the employees and their families into the zoo for the day at no cost to them. On those passes were a few of my zoo photos with the text “photos by KKHPhotos.com”. Everyone, employees and family members from the law firm as well as employees from the zoo, who took a look at those passes saw the photos and the link KKHPhotos.com. Yep; sometimes giving away a little sample can help!
12. Submit Your Work – I wouldn’t have any stock photos for sale if I didn’t submit them to sites like Dreamstime, Fotolia, 123RF, and Pocketstock. Keep on uploading; the bigger your portfolio the more likely you are to make a sale.
13. Make Connections – Talk to others who sell there works online; you’ve heard the term “networking” havent’ you. I’ve gotten lots of good advice from photographers who have been doing this a lot longer than I have; like the very talented Carolyn and so many more. And I have in turn been able to help others who are just beginning to sell online; like the equally talented Teri. You’ll learn lots of new tricks, get some great advice, and pick up a tip or two along the way. So get out there and make a new friend… or two… or three….
14. Sell In More Than One Place – If you can; sell your work in more than one place. Just as the big soda companies sell their refreshing beverages in both Wal-Mart and Target; you should also sell on your own site, stock sites, and print on demand sites like Zazzle and others whose names escape me at this moment. After all not everyone likes to shop at Wal-Mart. People are creatures of habit, if they normally shop at Zazzle they might not look for you somewhere else, if a buyer uses Pocketstock he may not think about Dreamstime, and if someone is used to looking only for a photography site they may never find you at Facebook. So spread it around!

Now what do you do to boost your online sales?
Share your ideas in the comments!

A Nifty Fifty And A Set Of Extension Tubes

So what can you do with a nifty fifty (a 50mm lens) and a set of extension tubes?

You can have a lot of fun! That’s what.

Adding your extension tubes to any lens will allow you to get in close, closer, and really close depending on which tube you use or how many of them you stack together.

There’s a whole other world in there when you really get to looking at things up close. I love macro and don’t have a dedicated macro lens but these tubes will do the trick just fine.

A few things to keep in mind are:

• the closer your lens gets to your subject the more likely you are to block the light and cause shadows
• you need to get lots of light in there so go ahead and pop up that flash, use those stand lights, or even grab a good flash light
• make use of your exposure compensation settings and step it up a stop or two for even more light
• you’re going to need to close down that shutter a bit so start with an aperture of around 8 or 9 and experiment with different settings, even down to 18 if you need to, until you get the results you like best
• using only one extension tube is good but stacking two or three of them together can really get you close, use caution; sometimes you can get so close that your subject actually touches your lens

For this series of shots of a dry yellow cottonwood leaf I sat my Canon to aperture priority mode and allowed it to choose the shutter speed for me. I sat the ISO at 100 to avoid as much noise as possible, sat the leaf inside my light tent, sat up two lights, and popped up the on camera flash. For some of the shots I used the exposure compensation settings to brighten up the image; however I forgot to note when I did that and what I sat it too.

Here’s what I came up with; I thought it would make a good visual reference for you to see what these little tubes can do. I’ve noted the lens and tubes used, along with the basic exif data under each photo.

50mm – 1/6 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 12mm tube – 1/4 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 20mm tube – 0.3 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 36mm tube – 0.3 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 36mm and 12mm tubes – 0.6 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 36mm and 20mm tubes – 0.8 – f/9 – ISO 100

50mm + 36mm, 20mm, and 12mm tubes – 0.4 – f/9 – ISO 100

*NOTE: the inconsistency in the colors is due to either too little light due to shadows, or too much light due to moving the lights too close; I need to work a bit on keeping that more consistent. These photos are all of the same leaf.*

Now grab your favorite lens and try out a set of these fun tubes. When you do; come back here and share your results with a link in the comments! Have fun!

 

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