FAQ'S, QUESTIONS & ANSWERS, TIPS & TRICKS, Uncategorized
Photography Questions
22
Dec
Dec
QUESTION: Metal Art Photography
Hello Mr. Worden,
I’ve ordered some of your products and used them with pretty good success but I have a couple questions.
I need a bronze like color, I ordered the oil rubbed bronze (BRONZE F/X™sic) and it is almost black with little to no gold color. Any idea on what I need to order to get a bronze color?
Secondly, When I photograph my pieces, you can’t see the colors very well, if at all. I’ve tried different lights and even standing on a chair over a piece and can’t get a good picture, is there a special technique?
Thanks, Chris H.
Cooper Metal Works
Hi Chris,
Please…just call me Bill. Mr. Worden makes me feel older than I wanna feel! I wrote a really long email to you earlier today, saved it as a draft while I went into the shop to take some photos of my photography set-up, then couldn’t find the saved email draft!! I can write more later, but to re-cap the earlier response, the following text is the crux of what I wrote earlier:
Photography of Metal Art:
- Use a Tripod
- Have lens perpendicular to the object you’re shooting. Stay away from angled shots in most cases.
- Cell-phones have come a long way, so they’re fine as long as your rear-facing camera is at least 12mp. (mega-pixels)
- Use natural, northern light when possible, but don’t shoot in direct sunlight, regardless of time of day.
- Use a solid background. Black is my favorite for metal art & white is a must for product photos, but you can try any color back-drop that you like. One of my earliest backdrops was a tie-dyed, mottled gray & black and it worked well. Before I figured this out several years ago, I used straw bales, burlap, black weed-mat, etc…w/ very unpredictable, non-repeatable results. However..I still use a 4’X4′ sheet of gnarly, rusty 14awg mild steel as a backdrop for some things.
- Don’t use flash. Unless you have a sophisticated DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) with strobe flash delay or specialized flash settings. Flash removes shadows & has it’s place in photography, but it also causes a lot of glare/blow back, light flares & wash-out on a glossy surfaced subject, like finished metal art. A flash diffuser can be used, although I’ve never bothered with that.
- Place object (flat steel) nearly or perfectly vertical.
- Don’t use exposed hangers (nails, screws or your hand), or temporary supports. I have used a magnetic tool bar with some success & still do now & then.
- Don’t stand above & shoot towards the ground…Ever!
- Don’t use your shop walls (indoor or outdoor), or the closest piece of concrete sidewalk, wood decking, tiled or carpeted floor, etc. as a backdrop. All mentioned will “take away” from the subject of the photo.
- Shoot indoors with windows or shop doors open, allowing some degree of northern light to be at your back, if at all possible.
- Familiarize yourself w/ your favorite photo editing software or app. I use a free editor called, “Picasa”, by Google. I use it to change (if necessary), Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows & Color Temp. Sounds complicated, but it’s not at all.
- Use indirect lighting to erase shadows if necessary. Photos are attached below, showing some of my lighting, most of which is not used for my metal art, but required for decent product photos.
- Take 2 or 3 Shots of the Same Piece…(just in case)
- Rename your photos like this: img.(your description here)©(year/date)…Don’t upload photos that just have generic camera info, like DSC-0001 (Digital Sony Camera-Sequence #) “©” is made by holding down the ALT key & typing, ‘0169’ (Windows, that is…I have no idea on Mac. It’s not imperative that you use the © symbol, I just mentioned it in case you were interested.
- Re-size your photos to a maximum of 1024 pixels wide (640-800 is better) & 72dpi or 96dpi maximum, for website or facebook uploading. Your camera will most likely take 3-5mb images & those are way too big. The photos below were almost 5,000pix wide, until I resized them.
And, Regarding the BRONZE F/X™ Patina for Steel:
BRONZE F/X™ is a patina that imparts an Oil-Rubbed Bronze Look to Steel, which is a very Dark Brown. It’s not formulated, designed or intended to give a yellow-brass look. The closest you will come to the yellow-brass look on steel is with BLAZE F/X™ or GOLD RUST F/X™, one or the other…I haven’t tried layering them.
Below are a few images of my photography/videography setup that I took today, to better explain some of the text above:
p.s.
I found my original draft…so, am including it in my response.
Photography/Videography is a an art & science unto itself, with many things to know & even more to learn. Put simply, use northern light whenever possible & a solid background, preferably white or black. No Flash (in most cases). Use a tripod.
Position the viewfinder straight-on to the piece your photographing. Perfectly perpendicular. Don’t shoot from the side or looking down or up. (Not a hard-fast rule, just my opinion & the way I do it).
Get familiar with a photo editor (I use a free editor, called, “Picasa” by Google) to add fill-light, highlights, shadows or color-temp. Sounds complicated, but it’s ridiculously easy & fast. You can even straighten the photo & crop it, add vignette edges and a 100 other special effects that I seldom use.
When I photograph a product, I use 2 or 3 small L.E.D. lights: Left, Right & 1/4-Facing product to eliminate any shadows.
I also used a curved 4’X4′ sheet of 1/16″ HDPE, with a 1′ radius, so there’s no corners for shadows to hide.
Off to the side, I have a tripod/light w/ white, translucent umbrella type shade to diffuse the lighting & another 1500W L.E.D. double light, positioned to erase even more shadow/s.
Next time I’m set up with my photo booth (very homemade but super effective), I’ll take a bunch of photos to show how I’ve set it up.
A professional photographer would see those photos and laugh his a** off! But most of them would also charge 100’s if not 1,000’s of dollars to photograph your finished product portfolio, even if you only had 10-20 pieces you wanted professionally done. You can do it yourself.
But, after a dozen years of using straw-bales, outside lighting (natural, full-spectrum), burlap, weed-mat, visqueen, etc. backdrops…I’ve settled on this & am mostly happy with the results.
My Samsung Galaxy Note 4 takes just as good of photos as my expensive DSLR, so you don’t have to invest a fortune in gear.
If your smartphone has a 12mp rear cam, that’s all you need, although I would get a tripod adapter for it & use voice command for the shutter.
I would search YouTube for videos on artwork photography, as I am not an expert, by any means.
BRONZE F/X™ is supposed to be dark. Very Dark. It’s used to emulate an oil-rubbed bronze look, not a brassy yellow.
BLAZE F/X™ OR GOLD RUST F/X™ (one or the other, I’ve not tried them in tandem), is as close to a brassy yellow as you’re going to get on steel.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.
Bill
Bill,
I’m not familiar with photography setups. Do you use any certain LED floodlights (color or wattage range), and are photography booms the same as microphone booms? Thanks!
Brandon,
I’m learning as I go, but I do use 6500k (Daylight) L.E.D. Lighting from 1 Side & Overhead. I’ll have to check the Lumens Output or Wattage & Get Back With You.
I’ve experimented with a few different filters, but find that the K.I.S.S. Method is usually best, since any tweaks to the photo can be done in post editing. I use PICASA by Google. I have PhotoShop, but have never used it. I don’t have a ton of money invested in lighting, or Photo/Video Equipment, but I have learned one very important thing: When I shoot finished metal items, I use a black background. And, when I’m shooting product photos, especially bottles & jars w/ labels, I use a White, Non-glare background. Basically a Black Sheet & a White Sheet is what I use for background. Take Several Shots & Choose Your Favorite in Post.
My camera is not a DSLR…I use a Point & Shoot Camera: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400VSONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-HX400, but I’ve found that my Samsung Note 5 takes photos that rival the quality of the bigger camera. I have a GoPro4 & a Yi Action Camera that takes Excellent photos, too…as well as really high quality (4k) videos, at 1/2 the price of GoPro. (Way more features, too).
Best Advice from a Non-Expert (me)…Use a Tripod. Always use a Tripod. Thanks! Bill
p.s. The Very Best Source that I’ve found for Camera Gear of all kinds & great pricing: B&H Photo/Video.B&H PHOTO/VIDEO
Hope that helps a little.
Bill