Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Photography woes.....

Ok, as some of you know, we just got a new camera and when I took pictures of my cards they were really yellow. This is what I do: I take the 12x12 white sheets that come with the SU designer paper, put one down and one propped up. I put the card in and turn on 2 lamps, one overhead and one closer, shining down (not OTT lights but I will get one soon!) I try to get as much daylight as possible through the window as well. I zoom in a bit cuz that's what I read on Stampin Kub's blog about taking photos. I think it has something to do with shutter speed and letting in more light ?!?!?! I did this with our last camera too. I also use Picture It (Microsoft) to adjust the balance and contrast, so that helps in most cases.

I am trying to figure out the best setting for taking pics of cards so I did a little test yesterday. THANKS to everyone for their advice and to Kelly for leading me to the right page in our manual!! Who woulda thunk it would be called "white balance"?? LOL Here are the photos & what setting I had them on when I took them: (these have not been edited at all)
This first picture is taken with the setting on Program, no flash, and the white balance set to Tungsten, which I'm assuming is regular light bulbs. This one is the best of the bunch, I can definately play with this.
This second one is taken with the setting on Program, no flash, and the white balance set to Flourescent. Not bad but kinda dark.

This third one is taken with the setting on Program, no flash and the white balance set to FlourescentH. Not sure what the H stands for but it sure is yellow...yuck!!!

This fourth one is taken with the setting on Program, no flash, and the white balance set to AWB (auto white balance). Yuck too!

This fifth one is taken in the EASY setting with no flash. Not bad but not great either!

This one is taken in the AUTO setting with no flash. Kinda dark eh? But wait, check out the next one WITH a flash.....dark too....go figure!!!! So, it looks like I've found my solution: PROGRAM setting, Tungsten white balance setting with no flash!!! Glad I took the time to figure that out - thanks again everyone for your tips. I would like to know more about the photo boxes & photo tents some of you mentioned.....hint hint!

About this card - it is for my niece who turns 4 in Oct. The paper is Regal Rose and Berry Bliss DP (both SU). I coloured her with my koh-i-noor pencils and gamsol. She is popped out on the swing (as I said before, it is WAY easier to cut her out than to mask her for the swing...I'm terrible at centering things, even with my Stampamajig!!! LOL) The primas are from my stash as are the dewdrops and rhinestone brads. The pearl is from my Pretties kit!

I didn't put my watermark on any of these - if someone REALLY wants to steal the nasty yellow photos...go right ahead!! LOL HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!!!! I am meeting my new class for the first time today - teaching a Grade three/two combined class again, so it should be really fun!!! I'm SURE I will have funny stories for you over the course of the year...I always do!!! Kids crack me up!!!

6 comments:

Bunny B said...

LOL! Great tip! Thanks for sharing. Sweet card :)

Deb said...

great idea Chris, so useful for you to check back on too!What a difference it makes! Hope your first time with your new class goes well, the holidays seem to pass so quickly this year!

Donelda said...

Wow, leave it to Kelly -- she is the All Knowing!! A great idea to try all the settings and actually check it out! Maybe I should try that :-) but then why bother with this camera since I'll be getting my new one soon :-)

Love that Tilda swinging on the swing -- adorable!! AND, nice watermark!!

Hope your day went well with the little ones!! I hope you have a great year!!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you found an answer to your problem - hey a problem shared is a problem halved!

Hope today was great with the little ones.

:) Marcia

Jodi said...

What a cute card.

I think I'll be checking my settings shortly.

Anonymous said...

What a precious card! Great job- beautiful blog, too. I noticed an owl pop up on the right as I was reading- so CUTE! Keep up the gr8 work. ~ Ali in Nova Scotia

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