Shooting for texture & color

[rk_clark]

<p>What background is best for shooting an object which is <em>black in color</em> and has <em>texture</em>. I want the image to look professional.<br>

<br />If I'm posting in the wrong area, direct me to the right one, please!</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Shooting black textured objects isn't about the selection of background, it's about lighting. You have to provide light to illuminate the object, but you also must provide light to show the texture. This is often best done with side or back light that creates specular highlights that show the material and texture.<br>

If you tell us more about what you are trying to do, we can probably be more helpful.</p>

 

[rk_clark]

<p>First off, thank you for your response. I'm really very new to photo.net and I see the only way I can offer a photo is if it appears online somewhere, which it doesn't presently. The item I'm working with and want to photograph is a handcrafted object, knitted, and I would like the stitches (texture) to show clearly. The yarn is shiny black. I don't know if this description is of much help. Thanks again!</p><div></div>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>What lighting equipment do you have, or have access to? What tools you have available will dictate the advice I give you.<br>

If you look at your photo, you can see that the "knottiness" of the knot is shown by the highlights off the shiny yarn. You need to both illuminate the object and provide a source of light for those shiny highlights that are defining the texture.<br>

You can use a couple of household lamps to see the effect by putting one on the other side of the fabric and bouncing it off the fabric toward the camera and the other directly over the fabric. Household lamps may cause other issues, such as white balance or unwanted reflections, but you'll be able to see the desired effect.</p>

<p> </p>

[rk_clark]

<p >Again, thank you for your response. Lighting, I have nothing except regular home lighting. Then I thought I remembered I had some books on photography. I looked and found I had, "Low Cost High Impact Photography", by Steve Johnson. Hope it helps and I know I can always come back to photo.net with any questions. Thanks again!</p>

[William Michael]

<p>It appears that you are using a Nikon Coolpix E4300.</p>

<p>The sample shot appears to have used the in-camera flash on that camera. (that's termed "Front Lighting"). Notice how the illumination fades a bit and the knitting (and table) is darker at the back than it is at the front (that's termed "Flash Fall-off"). </p>

<p>Using that camera, it probably will be better to use Natural Light (Sunlight) or House Lamps, rather than the Flash in the camera. If using natural light, then the harder light (the direct light from the sun) could be used from the side or the side/top of the object - and - you might use a reflector to bounce in some more sunlight from the front. A reflector is simply a big white board, it wouldn't need to be too big for small Objects, but you might need an helper to hold the white reflector for you.</p>

<p>I would not lay the Object on a table but maybe put 'hang it' on a coat hanger or string at a small angle to the camera – for floppy items you might need to put a bit of stiff card inside them.</p>

<p>Depending upon your Post Production tools you could clone out any string that hangs the Object. Much depends on your Post Production Program that you have, especially if you use House Lights, because you probably will need to correct the Colour Balance</p>

<p>WW</p>

[rk_clark]

<p>It appears that you are using a Nikon Coolpix E4300.<em> It is!</em><br>

The sample shot appears to have used the in-camera flash on that camera. (that's termed "Front Lighting"). Notice how the illumination fades a bit and the knitting (and table) is darker at the back than it is at the front (that's termed "Flash Fall-off"). <em>Right! I only took this shot so anyone responding would have more of an idea of what I was talking about.</em><br>

I would not lay the Object on a table but maybe put 'hang it' on a coat hanger or string at a small angle to the camera – for floppy items you might need to put a bit of stiff card inside them. <em>The object is a work-in-progress and when completed I would be using a Styrofoam mannequin head to display the knitted piece.</em><br>

<em>Thank you very much for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind when I'm ready to shoot the final product!</em></p>

[Bill C]

Hi, a variation on Charles' suggestion is to use the ordinary household lamp above and behind the subject, but instead of a second lamp

use a white reflector on your side of the subject. Obviously this blocks the camera's view, so you cut an opening to shoot through (white

poster board from an art/craft store works well). Keep your camera pulled far enough back that the lamp can't shine directly into the front

of the lens; this causes what we call "flare" on the image, and the effect is the same as when the sun is in your eyes when you are looking at

something, such that you hold up your hand to shade your eyes.

 

Sometimes it's tricky making a black object look black in a photo; I'd try a couple shades of lighter grey and see how they look. You'll want

to use both manual exposure and white balance; check the camera user guide for exact details. Best of luck on it.