something about photos

[weihk]

some very very nice reviews we have on OC3D, good read, me like

but

photo quality can be a little bit better....

im not sure what kind of camera reviwers use for taking photos of said product.

but to give OC3D a more 'serious' and 'pro' look, a better photo can give that impact to someone who first come across to OC3D due to searching for a reviewed item.

example, flash spot - this can be avoided if you set shutter times slower with lower (depending on lighting, +0.5-1EV) +EV, also use tripod or put camera on table or something and set timer to avoid shakes.

thats just one of the many ways to avoid flash spot.....

theres many way to get a good quality results even using a 3.2mp camera phone.....just need to be a bit more creative in how.

i'll try and write a small guide that human can understand (trust me, those WHSmith photography guide are for aliens, no one can understand them).....

i hope my suggestion hasnt put anyone off.....and please dont send Fragtek with his guns around....i dont want to end up looking like a honeycomb.....yet

 

[weihk]

i can give you a quick idea what i mean by flash spot.

the first photo, is me 'trying' to avoid flash spot by taking the shot by an angle, which, failed, leaving me a flash spot which is not very nice.

the second photo, is me pointing the flash gun up towards a reflective object(this time, white roof) to spread light evenly, which gave me the end result of a more clean picture.....

 

[Ham]

We take the best care we possibly can while taking the photos of the products we review.

Personally, i never use a flash, just the create enough light around the thing too start with. And always use a tripod unless its nearly impossible too get the shot you want. All done with a pretty standard 6mp camera.

The CP we use for creating these reviews resizes all the images too 800x600 (i think it is). Which is perfectly reasonable as we take a ridiculous volume of backups each day and don't have unlimited capacity. But will reduce the quality slightly.

By all means write a guide, i think it would be most useful too the reviewers and members a like. Just bare in mind we do try our best. And the volume of work XMS and Kemp do especially, sometimes its just not feasible too spend hours taking pictures 'till they're perfect

 

[PV5150]

What Ham said^^

the second photo, is me pointing the flash gun up towards a reflective object(this time, white roof) to spread light evenly, which gave me the end result of a more clean picture.....

I don't own a flash gun....a professional photographer I'm not! But what you say does make sense about flash spot, it's just that if I turn my flash to the ceiling all I see is white paint

 

[shiftlocked]

If you do a quick guide Id be MORE than thankfull. Weve got a rig at the office that im struggling to get product shots with so any hints and tips would be great

And if you can tell me how to take a decent picture of a silver case. Long time loving guaranteed

 

[weihk]

HAM - honestly, i really really am greatful just for reviews alone, i for one dont have that amount of time and dont have the slightest idea how to review a product, let alone 'write' something for people to read!

like i said, it really is just a suggestion really, im just hoping maybe i can offer some idea on how little i know about photography, since i dont pay for membership on OC3D, its only fair members can offer something back, right?

PV5150 - i know what you mean! i had the exact same thought when i first learn how to take pictures a few years back! LOL

shiftlocked - i'll try my best! im still in the middle of the guide, i hope what i know can help you or others soon.

 

[FarFarAway]

Well personally when I take my pics now I avoid flash spot as I NEVER use a flash, but with some products light on them is unavoidable. I don't have a DSLR but my camera is very good. I also have a photographic tent but need a couple more lights to get more light in there. We will continually try to make the pics better

EDIT and remember all pics are resized, bordered and watermared by the server automatically

 

[JN]

I think the biggest problem is because we are a global site with reviewers all over the world, not every reviewer can have the top photographic equipment, or even something as basic as a flash gun, tripod and photographic tent

 

[weihk]

Well personally when I take my pics now I avoid flash spot as I NEVER use a flash, but with some products light on them is unavoidable. I don't have a DSLR but my camera is very good. I also have a photographic tent but need a couple more lights to get more light in there. We will continually try to make the pics better

EDIT and remember all pics are resized, bordered and watermared by the server automatically

I think the biggest problem is because we are a global site with reviewers all over the world, not every reviewer can have the top photographic equipment, or even something as basic as a flash gun, tripod and photographic tent

yup yup, i understand that, im trying to put together a guide at the moment in using very simple camera equipment.

i hope to get the simple guide done later on today or hopefully tomorrow, by using just a very very simple camera which most people would own.

even with the best equipment, a photo can only have a 'wow'' factor of 'thats nice', not ''damn, this shot is a work of art!'' (and mine are damn crap! )

anyway, i hope i can help in one way or the other....

 

[Rastalovich]

Can I firstly jump way off topic and point out how real sexeh the mobo tray looks.

2ndly I think it`s a good thing that the photos don`t look `too` professional, iykwim. Imo, the photos I`ve seen in the reviews are excellent - and to be fair alot of the peoples who post their rigs`n stuff are kewl also.

But I get what the op is saying, prehaps the professional element could be increased - but it may be just me, but I like the way `some` of them look as if I`ve "just opened the box in my house" - does that sound right ??!! When specifics are mentioned, I do think the reviewer takes extra care to put-over what they`re trying to show/explain.

What impresses me about OC3D generally in these cases, is that they don`t leech other sites photos on a grand scale, like other sites may do.

Basically I`m happy, but if weihk`s suggestions help peoples out - more the better

 

[JN]

What impresses me about OC3D generally in these cases, is that they don`t leech other sites photos on a grand scale, like other sites may do.

Cheers Rasta. We do indeed try our best to use our own photo's whenever possible. We don't like using photo's from other sites, and would certainly never do so without crediting the place it was taken from.

I must say that we are very lucky to have a host accommodating enough to allow us to do this. Shifting over 28gb of bandwidth *A DAY*, a large portion of this is down to our photo's!

 

[FarFarAway]

Apart from very special circumstances I would never use any other sites photo's in my reviews

 

[Ham]

Apart from very special circumstances I would never use any other sites photo's in my reviews

1 of the reasons for that, its easier to set up a backdrop and point and click a few times that faff about with copyright.

 

[limqareb]

i would love weihk , i think you were referring to about the 3.2 mp phone cam i have taken pics with the proper cam but havent got the time yet to transfer them onto the pc .

thanks in advance for the guide

 

[Rastalovich]

Hmmm just had a quick look through PVs thingy on the gpu block (just out of hardcore interests).. the large watermark in the background of enlargements is a bit obtuse.

Is that new ? I don`t remember it, I can remember the nicey chip icon in the corner.

 

[weihk]

ok....let me start by saying how to avoid the very common 'flash-spot'.

the very simple equipment im going to use, is just a 3.2mp camera phone, together with 3 photos to show how much of a difference a small 'pull back' can make.

frst of all, lets forget the 'zoom' of those 3 picture above, its only intended to show how much a flash spot can ruin a resonably good picture, and with same settings of flash/white balance.

first photo, taken at around 20cm from battery, showed a huge flash spot which made bottom half of battery packing white instead of light grey.

second photo, at around 45cm from battery, showed flash spot isnt making the light grey into white, and colour wise is a little bit better due to flash light has a wide range to cover and not a more focused spot and has reflected less light back into camera lense.

third photo, taken at about 1m away, has the 'best' balance in colouring, the reason being the flash light has more area to bounce light back, meaning the flash light is 'less-focus'.

a perfect example to know how light works, is to use a torch, point the torch close to a wall, you'll see a round light spot, pull back a bit, you see a bigger spot but not as bright, pull back even more, you get a much bigger light spot, together with faded colour(or being too dark).

'dark is bad!' thats what most photographer would complain if they need a shot of a product, unless the dark faded colour is needed due to what ever reasons.

but! theres a cure for it, 'make your flash softer!', how? butter paper, yes, the ones used for baking cakes.

cut a piece of it, and stick it on your flash, it'll make your flash light 'softer'.

'softer' light, is a good thing for creating 'faded flash spot(think of a circle drawn by a pencil, but with the lines smudged', 'less sharper shadow lines behind object(a shadow without hard outline)'.

it also serve as a 'liar' to your camera, most 'point and shoot' camera is advance enough to calculate how far you are from said object, how much light is needed(shutter speed) to show the 'focued area', how powerful the flash needs to be, and what white balance it needs in auto mode.

but sticking a piece of 'butter paper' on your handy-cam, your camera will retain all those 'calculated' numbers, yet, you'll still get a softer light.

softer light can also mean your flash isnt strong enough, giving you a darker photo, but this can be solved by just upping your flash light level or move your camera closer to object.

-----------the above is a very very simple way to cure flash spot-----------

 

[weihk]

there are, however, many more different ways to avoid flash spot.

some people (like me) try to avoid taking pictures directly, im always at a angle to it. it might not be a good way to avoiding flash spot, but it is a effective way if said object has a very high reflective surface.

or, if i have option to choose my shutter speed and flash level, i'll slow down shutter speed and lower flash level to a point where my hands can handle, why i mentioned my hands? because of camera shakes, unless i use tripod or have supporting walls/tables i can rest the camera on.

but unless i cannot avoid using butter paper or a handy cam, i always use my D-SLR for any photo shot.

a D-SLR might look very hard and complex to use, but the speed it has allows you to take a shot, review it on the small screen, open up detail box for lighting numbers, and adjust settings and re-take photo within 5-10 seconds make up for the complex settings thats needed.

also with the added option of a added flash light on top of the camera which you can turn or point to almost any direction to bounce light off, to make a even softer light, makes up for the price needed for equipment in the first place.

the other option that i can provide in avoiding flash spot, is to use a tripod+slower shtter speed+low flash+better lighting.

slow shutter speed - means more light is entered=brighter photo

low flash - used together with slow shutter speed=much softer lighting

tripod - wont get blur photo due to shaky hands while using slow shutter speed

i can go on and on and on about how to take a perfect photo, but im only intended to solve the common flash spot thats created by most handy-cams.

theres also things like white balance/position of lights/background colour that can be added, but those are not really needed and sometimes is too much of a hassle to setup.

as Rastalovich has mentioned and i also do agree, is photos that can be proved it is indeed been man-handled or is owned by someone that use it, not a photo thats been released by a big company who has a photo booth.

BTW, shiftlocked, for taking photos of anything silver, you'll have a hard time, BUT! theres ways to deal with it.

it depends on how reflective that item is, if you are having a really hard time with reflection, try getting a CPL(Digital Circular Polarising Filter) filter for your lense (when you mean rig, you mean a SLR right?).

Digital Circular Polarising Filter(CPL/PL-C....etc) is a EXTREMLY useful and 99.99% of (D)-SLR user will have due to the way it can almost completely take out reflection on glass or highly reflective surface. http://www.digital-cameras.com/lens..._pro1_digital_circular_polarising_filter.html

or the other way to do it, is to have a strong lighted booth or room and use tripod to hold camera, and use a very slow shutter, but you have to make sure all lighting are spreaded and is lighted evenly, or you'll still end up with something that looks like flash spot.

also....ermm.......i really dont want to say this, but small photos is a highly effective way to hide imperfections in photos, although its a cheeky way to do it, but most photographer do use this method to hide flaws.(i for one use this method for posting pictures when im very bum lazy setting up my camera)

its also used in many websites to hide flawed photos.....but i dont want to name them.....incase i get in trouble, hehe

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i hope i've helped in one way or the other, and by no means im a pro in taking photos, but i'd like to share what little i do know about it, and i also would like to thank everyone who are willing to let me try and humiliate myself on OC3D for posting something that might be a complete waste of time for reading.....

thanks for reading...

 

[FarFarAway]

Not being funny, but your pics look fuzzy and blurred - which is my pet hate

Can't beat a good camera and a nice reflective surface

 

[weihk]

yeah, i used a camera phone for those 3 photos

the colours came out crap, the image came out crap, even the flash was crap.

but, it did gave me a flipping big ugly flash spot where i can show people how effective it is a simple 'pull back' can make. great eh?

Kempez - your photo, looks great, for the 90%, but over exposure in the bottom of the block showing your source of light has pretty much turned a resonably good picture into a flawed one.....due to the size.....like i said, the bigger the image, the more imperfection it'll show, big is not always good in photography.....

[edit]i should have explained it better first......blah.....

 

[weihk]

4 flash settings for 4 different out come of same thing.

if i had a white photo booth, with 3 more flash light, i could create a image where each side of the case is evenly lighted.

but if i were to not use flash on any of the shots i made, i would either get 2 'flash spot' like problem from the 2 wall mounted light i have, and i would never have enough light and the whole picture would be really ugly.

flash is there to be used, try not to avoid using it because it cause a huge flash spot, it does take a few goes till you get the best picture, but even pros can sometimes get a few acceptable ones from 1k worth of shots.

dont be afraid of taking more than 1 shot of the same thing, but you dont HAVE to go all out for it, at the end of the day, you arent displaying images at 3008x2000 or prints in A3.

the images that are up in display in the current GREAT reviews done in OC3D, are perfectly acceptable, it can be better, but thats too time consuming.

if you have a problem with 'lighting', try to bounce light off....and use tripod or rest your camera on something for slow shutter speed.....