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A MEMBER OF THE ZATZ MAGAZINE NETWORK |
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July 7, 2004 |
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Take great eBay photos with
a $0.69 budget backdrop
This week's news |
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA
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DO-IT-YOURSELF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SOLUTIONS GUIDE
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Buy this guide and you might be able to afford that dream honeymoon. |
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BUDGET PHOTO SECRETS
The $0.69 budget backdrop for perfect eBay product photos
By David Gewirtz
Sometimes, the art of photography can be hard, complex, and very expensive. Sometimes, it's so simple, and so inexpensive, it almost seems too easy. Making a perfect backdrop for small product photos is one of those things that's both incredibly easy and amazingly inexpensive.
I recently had to do a quick product shoot for Computing Unplugged where I wanted to compare the size of two new Pocket PC handhelds, the Dell Axim X30 and the Navman PiN, as shown in Figure A.
FIGURE A
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The two handhelds, side-by-side, makes for an easy comparison. Click picture for a larger image.
As you can see, the result looks pretty much like it came from a standard, professional product shoot. Personally, I think I overexposed the nameplate in the middle of the PiN, but, as always, I was on deadline and the images look good enough and definitely got the story across.
I must have used some fancy studio gear, right? You might think I used a professional lighting setup, a gang of floodlights, and a specially manufactured backdrop, designed specifically for product photography. You'd be wrong.
I used a $0.69 piece of white cardboard and some tape, as shown in Figure B.
FIGURE B
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I taped a piece of white cardboard to my desk and a box. Click picture for a larger image.
It turns out, this approach makes for an excellent small product backdrop. In this case, we're looking at an 8.5" x 11" piece of card stock and some blue painter's tape. By taping the card stock down to the box and the desk, I got a nice gentle curving backdrop behind the products I was shooting.
To be fair, I cheated on the shot a bit. I didn't set up a full lighting rig. I just used available light, augmented by the flash on the camera. This isn't the best way to light a product shoot (we'll talk about that another week), but it was fast and got the job done.
By the way, do notice the blue tape, shown in Figure C.
FIGURE C
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This is painter's tape and it doesn't leave residue behind. Click picture for a larger image.
Painter's tape, like gaffer's tape, is extremely useful in that it doesn't leave a residue behind. 3M guarantees no residue as long as the tape is removed before three days. I bought my roll of painter's tape some time ago at the local Home Depot. It's about $4 for a roll that'll last you a very long time.
In fact, the tape peels off so well, and so cleanly, it even peeled right off the cardboard, neither leaving a residue, nor damaging the cardboard itself. So, not only can you use a $0.69 piece of cardboard for your backdrop, you can reuse it over and over.
I also used my handy backdrop to shoot the tape image, above. You might notice a blue cast on the background, which I probably should have gotten rid of using Photoshop. Again, for the purposes of getting the article done on deadline, I just ignored it. Normally, I'd take another few minutes and either tune the camera's white balance or tweak the image in Photoshop, as I did with the Pocket PC shot.
Once the backdrop's been assembled (OK, taped to the desk), you can set your products on it, as shown in Figure D.
FIGURE D
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The two Pocket PCs are secured with a bit more tape. Click picture for a larger image.
If you look carefully, you'll notice the Navman PiN has a blob of blue tape behind it. That's because, when I set the handhelds on the backdrop, they kept sliding down. A blob of blue tape behind each resolved the problem. It took some additional futzing to get both to line up together, and then I took my shot.
Once the shot was taken, I did the normal Photoshop magic. I cropped the image tight. Because it was intended for presentation on the Web (rather than art for my wall), I down-sampled it to 72dpi and resized the image to 480 pixels high, which works great for a Web-based image.
And, there ya go. A $0.69 piece of cardboard and you've got a backdrop. By the way, you can extend this idea a bit. You can buy larger cardboard sheets at your local art supply store for a buck or two, and you can also get different colors, so you're not limited to white. If you're taking a picture of a piece of silver jewelry, for instance, you might want to try placing it on a piece of black cardboard.
After all, when the backdrops are only $0.69, you can certainly afford to experiment.
David Gewirtz is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines and the author of The Flexible Enterprise and Lotus Notes Revealed! He can be reached via email at address@hidden. You can see David's photographic artwork at his personal Web site, http://www.Gewirtz.com.
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CONNECTED PHOTOGRAPHER NEWS CENTER
This week's news
Want to get the very latest photography news? The Connected Photographer News Center is updated every day with news of product releases, industry info, tips, techniques, and pointers to great photography resources on the Web. Here's this week's news:
Graphicxtras.com updates frames
Graphicxtras.com has released a new update of their frames collection for mac/pc. The collection now includes 2500 frames/edges of mixed design and mixed resolution for use in frame/border plugins and host applications such as Photoshop.
Cristalink Firestreamer DV Backup
Utilizing a patent-pending technology, Firestreamer makes your DV recorder appear as a regular tape drive to other applications running on your computer, so that you can use the powerful Backup Utility which comes with your Windows operating system to back up and restore your files and folders to and from videotape.
Coolatoola DV Backup 1.3
And for the Mac users -- Coolatoola has updated DV Backup, their Mac OS X backup software that relies a digital camcorder as the recording device.
Ekholm JAlbum 4.4
David Ekholm has released version 4.4 of JAlbum, his free Java-based Web Album generator. Available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other Java platforms running v1.3 of Suns Java runtime, it's also available in 17 languages.
Qpict update
RL Development announced availability of QPict Media Asset Management 6.1. Along with major improvements in RAW file support, QPict 6.1 includes more than 40 new features.
Vosonic X'S Drive Pro VP3310
Cardmedia Ltd, official UK distributor for Vosonic, has announced the availability of the X'S-Drive Pro VP3310, a new Portable Storage Device with enhanced LCD display + MP3 player, that features a blue backlight LCD display, supports long MP3 filenames, and has multiple memory card support.
Fujifilm, Calumet Photographic deal
To celebrate their latest exclusive deal, Fujifilm and Calumet have announced three special Pictrography event presentations to introduce customers to the benefits of in-house digital printing with the Pictrography 3500 and 4500 units. Visitors to the events at Calumet stores in Birmingham, Fulham and Bristol, will not only have the opportunity to see the Pictrography in action, they will also be able the benefit from a special event free print offer and three month payment holiday.
Hi Touch Imaging, Highland Games
Hi Touch Imaging, manufacturer of Dye Sublimation Personal Photo Printers, will be supporting the Inverness Gathering Highland Games this summer. Hi Touch Imaging will have a booth at the Eastgate Shopping Center, Inverness, from Monday 19th July–23rd July for product demonstrations and Highland Games gifts.
Digital Imaging Trends
This piece on the Consumer Electronics Association's site outlines the trends in digital imaging for the year 2003-2004.
Kodak monthly Tech Brief
Kodak's July Tech Brief explores how the advent of new imaging-enabled mobile phones that include web access, coupled with online and mobile picture services, will give consumers new ways to access their pictures and share individual images, slideshows, and online photo albums, without relying on desktop or laptop computers.
You call this service?
Going along with our customer service piece in June's Computing Unplugged, is this article from ZD Net's Brian Cooley and his wife's experience with Verizon's customer service.
July 4th
Today, here in the United States, we celebrate July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day. We often don't take the time to think of what that means, but instead live what it means. When we go off to fireworks or picnics or time with friends, we're living that celebration. The historical reason is to celebrate independence from England, but, here in 2004, that celebration is an anachronism. Other than bad food and the somewhat disagreeable Tony Blaire, we really have nothing against our Brit friends. But what we are celebrating is our way of life, corruption, cronyism, traffic, polution, and all. As I hoist my virtual glass of bottled water to all our friends out there, here's a fervent wish that we continue to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States for many, many more years. -- DG
Legends Behind the Lens
This July, NikonNet's Legends Behind the Lens honors the work of esteemed photojournalist and commercial photographer Doug Menuez. Since 1981, Menuez has photographed major news stories from the famine in Ethiopia to South American drug wars for Time, Newsweek, Life, People and Fortune.
I3A Leadership Conference
The International Imaging Industry Association (I3A) has re-engineered its Annual Leadership Conference, with a new format, nationally recognized speakers, and a richer schedule targeted to meet the needs of industry leaders. An outstanding program centering on a single theme, "Imaging 2010: Emerging Trends and Technologies," will provide a unique view into what's ahead in the world of imaging.
FotoStation Pro
FotoStation Pro has been designed for people who work professionally with digital assets. With Fotostation Pro you can acquire images from scanners and digital cameras, flash memory cards, CD-ROMs etc., or you can create archives from offline files and browse and search low-resolution copies of files on external media.
Panorama Factory 64-Bit Edition
The Panorama Factory 64-Bit Edition is being offered as a time-limited, public beta release in a version that corresponds to The Panorama Factory V3.3. The 64-Bit Edition runs only on the AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron processors under Windows XP 64-Bit Edition.
IPIX Interactive Studio enhancements
IPIX InfoMedia, creators of full-360 degree panoramic photography, announced a new version of Interactive Studio which includes new features and functionality that expand the options for creating panoramic photography.
FlashFixers PhotoSaver Service
FlashFixers announced the launch of the PhotoSaver Service, a professional digital photo recovery program for camera stores, photo retail outlets, and computer stores. PhotoSaver benefits include an ImageRecall 2 commercial license, 24/7 technical email and phone support, upgrades to the latest version, and Free Recovery Service if the software fails to recover all the data.
EOS-1D Mark II firmware 1.0.2
Canon has posted a firmware update for the EOS-1D Mark II digital SLR. This new firmware addresses the screen becoming magenta-colored when shooting bulb exposures, values being cleared when C.Fn-06 is set to "2" and the battery is removed, and improves the image quality of NTSC video output.
MyPhotoAlbum official W3G album
MyPhotoAlbum, a service of FortuneCity, has been selected as the Official Online Photo Album of W3G Entertainment Group's M.E.T.R.O Search, an international talent search offering participants access to the resources, information and guidance of their peers who have signed major label deals. W3G Entertainment Group works with up and coming music acts to help them get to the next level of their career, by bringing them in front of major music industry executives and representatives; offering constructive and informative feedback and the much needed marketing and promotion traditionally out of their reach.
Exposure Manager improvements
WebFormation has announced a number of significant changes to ExposureManager, a service that makes displaying and selling photography online quick and effortless. ExposureManager allows photographers to upload and display their photos, giving them complete freedom in the look and feel of their galleries, allowing them to customize a variety of templates through an easy-to-use interface.
ProfileMaker 5 color management
GretagMacbeth has launched ProfileMaker 5, the latest generation of its comprehensive, high-end color management solution for professionals in color critical environments. ProfileMaker 5 software is now packaged in three, vertically focused solutions, PM5 Publish Pro, PM5 Packaging Pro and PM5 Photostudio Pro, that provide optimal price/performance levels for professionals in prepress-publishing, multicolor packaging-textile printing and studio photography environments.
D70 remote, time-lapse by IR
The DigiSnap 2100 now includes an "IR Output" feature, which includes signaling particular to the D70. The 2100-IR cable is also now available, providing a tough, lightweight plastic fiber optic cable which can be taped to the front of the D70, or simply placed near the front of the camera.
New Nikon D70 firmware
Nikon has today posted a firmware update for the D70 digital SLR addressing several issues, such as removal of potential color cast at high shutter speeds, improved Auto ISO when used with speedlight, support for CF card greater than 4 GB in capacity, fixed an issue related to the CF indicator light and power off switch, improved Chinese menus.
Sony DCR-PC350 MiniDV Handycam
Sony's new DCR-PC350 MiniDV Handycam camcorder offers advanced technical features and imaging power in a compact, vertical design weighing less than a pound. This latest Handycam camcorder's 3.31-megapixel, single CCD gives users the highest quality combination of video and still camera optics should be available in September.
Canon imageRUNNER C3220
Canon has introduced the new MEAP-enabled Color imageRUNNER C3220 networked digital multifunction device, a color document management solution designed to support high-value color needs and highly customized workflow capabilities.
Canon 1D Mark II CSpro plugin
The 1D Mark II CSpro Plugin is a new sharpening technology specific designed to accommodate Canon 1D Mark II SLR files. This plugin is compatible with JPEG files straight from the camera or TIFF/JPEG files converted from RAW files.
Sigma 18-125mm F3.5-5.6 DC
This zoom lens was designed for use with digital Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras and has a 6.9:1 zoom ratio. The image circle is designed to match the size of the image sensor of digital SLR cameras.
New EPSON Perfection scanners
EPSON Perfection 4180 Photo, Perfection 2580 Photo and Perfection 2480 Photo are the latest additions to Epson's affordably-priced scanner line up. All three models offer high-resolution scanning for amazing quality, with true maximum hardware resolutions of 4800 x 9600 dpi on the EPSON Perfection 4180 Photo, and 2400 x 4800 dpi on the EPSON Perfection 2580 Photo and 2480 Photo models.
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Copyright © 2003, ZATZ:Pure Internet Publishing, a unit of Component Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
Connected Photographer Magazine is an independent publication of ZATZ:Pure Internet Publishing, a unit of Component Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Connected Photographer, Computing Unplugged, the ZATZ name, and the ZATZ logo are trademarks or service marks of ZATZ:Pure Internet Publishing, a unit of Component Enterprises. All other brands and product names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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