UKC

I m trying to take pictures of a stainless steel coffee machine for ebay, the ones I ve taken with my ipad look very poor. I cant put my finger on why just either under or overexposed (as in some are under some are over) . Any ideas ?

In reply to mike123:

We get our stainless work stuff professionally photographed, most of it is brushed but we do occasionally use black polished sheet, he uses a couple of big diffuse lights and a lot of bland (usually white) drapes around the machine and the workshop to make sure the reflections are simple and white. Doesn't look easy!

jk

In reply to mike123:

Does the iPad have a flash? Are there bright lights in the room? If you can see the reflection of the lights/flash then it's effectively like you're taking a picture of them and it will throw the exposure right out.

Similarly, if the flash fires but it's reflected entirely away from the camera (a more matt object would always reflect at least some of the flash back to the camera) then the camera will have metered expecting a flash-illuminated subject but not got one.

Also, it's possible that the camera is focusing on the reflection, not on the surface, which will make the subject out of focus.

In reply to mike123:

Does your iPad have an HDR option in the camera app? I believe newer ones do, try that.

Experiment with differently coloured card, paper or cloth for the background (white vs black).

It's all about the illumination - flash off, try diffuse light; by which I mean it reaches your object not directly from a light bulb, but after scattering off walls, card etc. You may be able to improvise by setting up a large, white object out of scene and pointing a desk lamp at the object.

In reply to mike123:

As above; you need diffuse light and something to help the camera focus.

Does your ipad let you choose the point of focus? If so, use this to point it at something with some contrast (an edge near to the ipad) so that it can find focus.

The best answer for lighting would be to place is on as plain a background as possible and near to a window. Turn off any flash. If your room is a bit dim you can still get this to work; prop your ipad on something solid so that it can use a long exposure without wobbling around. A white sheet or mirror to reflect back daylight can also help to increase the amount of light, but gets a bit fiddly.

In reply to mike123:
hey thanks very much all, lots to try, will give it another go tomorrow. Just taken another look at the ones I ve taken and yes they are slightly out of focus. I should have mentioned that I do have an LX3 but have lost the usb lead and the slot in the laptop wont read the memory card, photos directly off the ipad are the only option at the moment.

In reply to jkarran:

Diffuse lighting and a load of drapes is the way forward. A few translucent plastic wallets in front of your light may help and then just try to make sure your background is really plain.

In reply to mike123:

lots been said above but one app I find very useful for lots of fine control over the camera exposure, iso and and filter options is 645 pro, they've done a lot of tweaking recently as well. well worth the money and will enable you to control your exposures/ speed etc.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/645-pro-mk-iii/id518235205?mt=8

In reply to mike123:

Naked

In reply to DreadyCraig:



yep, thats certainly an idea.

In reply to mike123:
done.
i ll ask our lass if she ll email it to you

In reply to mike123:

you'd certainly get more views on ebay

In reply to mike123:

Make a light box to diffuse the light. I did one for pics of an engagement ring and it worked a treat.

You don't need anything fancy - see the last pic in this lot for the setup I used:

http://www.spectral3d.co.uk/Personal/pics/2011/ring/