Picture taking on a budget

When taking photographs, especially to showcase work you have done, it can be very frustrating to find the colors do not appear true. Most often pictures turn out poorly due to the lighting used. Photography literally means to write with light. It is the best tool that you have when taking a picture. The first pictures made relied solely on sunlight and length of exposure. Although digital photography has opened up the possibilities immensely, to the average Joe, all of that technology is based on those very first images. Professional photographers use lighting equipment that burns at 5000 degrees Kelvin or higher. I have recently discovered bulbs that you can get at the grocery store that also burn at that same temprature. They are very affordable, usually under $10.00. They are sold for those who suffer from seasonal effectiveness disorder, but can be a great help when taking pictures. For the examples I chose a soda can because it is something that everyone will have a reference point for.

In the first example we have regular florescent lighting that burns at about 3200k. You will notice that it turns everything a little yellow.

This picture was taken with one of the bulbs that burns at 5000k or higher. You will notice a truer color to the can, as well as my drapes are no longer yellow.

In this picture a flash was instituted. With the light not coming from directly over head the shadows are not as harsh, and the subject is more evenly light. When using the flash that is put onto most cameras you will want to remember that they are designed to be used about four feet away from the subject.

Here you see how getting closer to the subject with the flash, about two feet, the back ground begins to fade off, and the subject begins to seem too bright for the over all picture.

And here , about eight inches away you can see that the background is completely lost, and you lose perspective of the subject.

Having the lighting on the same level as the subject gives a better sense of the dimension of the object.

Having two sources of light helps to outline the subject. For this you will need one main source of light, the bulb, and one secondary source, a bounce.

You may be asking what is a bounce? Well mine looks like this. You can get one at any camera shop for any from 30.00- 300.00, depending on the size you need. But all a bounce really needs to do is reflect light. A very effective one could be made from an embroidery hoop and some aluminum foil. Even a white sheet of poster board could work with a very bight light source.

Do not be afraid to move around your subject, to try new backgrounds, or lighting options. A photograph can make a big impact or it can misrepresent your hard work. I hope this has given you new ideas on how to best represent your work. My recent dicovery of these bulbs will have me updating a lot of photographs in the near future.