At the last meeting

At the last meeting we enjoyed a very informative session with Andrew Barcham of Screaming Pixels. He was kind enough to enlighten us (with our different level of understanding of digital photography) on all the basic differences and similarities of the still and digital cameras. He generously shared his secrets and the aids he uses to get good results.
The basicly we can take digital photos in any environment so long as the focus, the angle, and lens opening are carefully controlled. A tripod is a handy adjunct to good photography. Save your pictures as Jpeg format so it allows for manipulation in Photoshop; but email it in the PDF format.
Andrew takes his pictures in “raw” format as with the aid of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements he can enhance the colours, change the back ground, elongate the object etc.
The narrower you make your lens opening, the greater the depth of the zone of sharp focus on the object. A shallow depth of field may also be appropriate to blur the background and focus on the sculpture. He suggested from 2.5f - 4.5f lens opening would be good for our purposes
Still pictures, his suggestion was to taken if is possible with natural light on an overcast day or indoor take two or three diffused lights sources (never use a clear globe!)
White paper held against the camera blocks out harsh glare from an automatic flash. And white walls can be a source of bounced light. He frequently uses matt black back grounds.
When Andrew came to my studio he had rolls of black and white material (umbrellas, and different lighting props).
The end result of our photo sessions was incredible. No one should underestimate the value of years of experience that someone has to make the most of an art work!
Presentation, an introduction of a good piece ......... my advice is have a professional to shoot the pictures.
I always thought that my photography was acceptable until I took my friend’s advice and asked Andrew ........... it was worth it.
Next time we have a session come along and share the learning curve with us. You always can learn or be generous and contribute to the discussions!

Suzanne Kaldor