Saturday, January 14, 2012

... on light.

I've just learned a valuable lesson. Actually - I think I'd already learned this one, but forgotten it. I'm photographing a couple of new things for my Etsy store, and so, on autopilot, I pulled out this lamp I sometimes use that has a special photographic daylight bulb. I set everything up, turned on the lamp, took some shots, and then opened them up in Photoshop. I was pretty happy with them - until I tried to tweak the levels to get rid of the yellowish look to the white plaster seedpods.
No matter how much I fiddled I couldn't get it right - and the more I looked at it, the more purple the background seemed. What's more, none of the five photos I'd chosen for the listing looked like they belonged together - they all looked like they were taken on different days in different rooms under different lighting. Gah! I was so frustrated I had to walk away and go and play with the chooks for a bit.

When I'd calmed down, I tried again. I re-took all the photos, with no lamp. I opened up the blinds and doors, and just used the natural light - it's an overcast day here in Brisbane. What a difference!
A very moderate tweak to the levels and contrast, and already a much better result. All the pics look like they match. The pods aren't yellow. Thank goodness!

So - remember that, you. Just put that bloody lamp away and never use it again, will you!? Okay!

No comments: