I am so frustrated, as I am doing the thumb-nail challenge and I probably should have chosen another topic. I chose Angels watching over my Grandchildren. I have never had so many problems trying to take these pictures without getting a reflection or even getting the pictures to show up well. If I do an 8 X 10 then they turn out to big, the 5 X 7 isn't showing up very well. I am putting way to much time into this and am not happy with how it's turning out. Any help would be appreciated, as this is the first contest that I've ever done.
In regards to the pictures, I've taken the glass out of the frame. Put the camera on a certain setting, one that doesn't use a flash. I can't think what you call it, but it's just one of those point and shoot camera's. If their is any light in the room, I keep getting reflections, even with the glass out, blinds closed and I'm only on the third day.
I hope I've given you enough information to try and make this easier for me, as I'm about ready to delete the one's I've done and start another topic, like just Angels.
Have you tried putting up a sheet or something to maybe to block the light? Maybe take it outside to get natural light and use something to block the reflection there too. I find being in the natural light is the best with point and shoots. Hope this helps. :)
I will try it in natural light, I hadn't thought of that at all. Do you suggest that I still take the glass out of the frame?
In regards to the sheet, we have so much natural light in our home, I close blinds, but to many sliding glass doors that let in a lot of light. I will try and find other places in the house also.
What setting do you suggest on a point and shoot camera? No flash, right? Anything you tell me will be helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to write me with your suggestions.
dont know if this will help or not, but to get a natural light instead of the yellow hue from taking photos inside, I put a white envelop up against the flash.. it bounces the light back and gives it a more natural hue.. thinking that it might also work and not give you reflections.. ??????
@granny7 Don't despair! I know exactly what you mean, having struggled the same myself. In the end I found that gentle natural light, (nothing shining on it at all) and a slight angle to the side of the photo worked best - I cropped it afterwards to try to make it rectangular again.
I've done like 10-96 with shots, stuck a bit of paper over the flash which brightens the shot without shining light directly on it.. (quite fun as you get different effects with different colours of paper!) Worth trying? I have a little P&S too and can't adjust much except the basics. Good luck!
@nikkers Do you mean, you put a white envelope right in front of the camera lens? I've been doing it with the flash off to not get a white reflection and also tilted the picture a little bit and most of the time that works. But, I think what I need to do is use 8X10's as the 5 X7's aren't showing their faces at all and then when they are tilted it doesn't look right. I took mine off for yesterday as it got no comments and I wasn't happy with it, so I'll start again today. I've also took them with no light on them, but that's the ones that I took from above and didn't look right. Thanks for the suggesting, I'll try them.
@filsie65 Wow, I've never been so frustrated and I suffer from Panic Attacks, so when I get overwhelmed, like now, it hits me twice as hard. I'm also finding that doing it with 5 X 7 isn't showing their faces and doesn't make much of an impression. I feel like starting over and doing something entirely different now, but I tried to do my favorite subjects, beside scenery and old buildings and that is Grandchildren and Angels. I'll just have to keep working on it, I just have so many other things that need to get done. When you say natural light, do you mean outside? I see doing it from the side, but I still got reflections that way and I've even taken the glass out. Or do you mean just no light inside in a room? Are you using a flash or not, I haven't been. By the way, what is P&S and I am finding that it's very hard for me to stage shots. Now I can really appreciate why photographer's get paid their money.
I am doing the thumbnail challenge too. Instead of doing my usual 8 X 10 size, I am doing a square crop with Picasa. I am learning to put a lot of space around my subject so I can get this square crop. I am taking some of my shots with natural light. I usually place my subject on a desk or a table by my dining room window. This window is on the north side. The south light from my living room seems to create more of a silhouette effect in the summertime. I find the best light at three times of day-depending upon the subject. (at 10 a.m., at 1 p.m, and at 3-4 p.m.). I sometimes find that moving over to catch the light hitting the subject sideways is best. Sometimes, it is best to catch the subject when it is back lit. I have been experimenting with this. I sometimes use a reflector (sheet of paper or cardstock). I sometimes turn on the overhead light. I try not to use flash. Try not to get anxious. I am treating this challenge like a series of science experiments and trying to learn from the process. I wish you the best.
@daisy Hi Kathryn, I don't have Picasa, I have i-photo on my Mac that I use, so not sure how I would do what your talking about? I can also do mine in the dining room as that is the place that faces the North and just not use any over head light, only the light from the side on the breakfront that wouldn't give me that overhead light that reflects. No one yet has said, if they take the glass out of the photo? Also mine all have frames' so I can't scan that into my i-photo, which I just now thought of. I can do that with taking a picture of one on the wall and edit it, but when your doing a combination of three or more, you can't edit out the frame, so this is getting more confusing to me.
I really wanted to know also, how do you like how my picture's are set up that I posted this morning of my 3 grandson's, as now I have to come up with one with 4 boys. Any thoughts, I hate to place them on the wall and leave holes there. So, still not sure what to do but will wait to hear a little more from you.
@granny7 .. Linda you put the envelope or piece of white paper even in front of the flash... turn your flash on... get your paper ready.. set up your shot and bring the paper up and hold in front of flash.. when it goes off it will bounce off the paper and give you a more natural light..
@nikkers Thank you, I'll try and do that. Would you please check my picture for the thumbnail-challenge that I posted with the 3 boys and the angel? I don't like how it turned out and need some advice on what I'm doing wrong?
Light the photo with 2 soft lights, one on either side, play with the angle of the lights to the photo so as to get rid of glare/reflection. Put black cloth on the surface in front of the picture to cut down on glare bouncing back into the shot. If you are getting reflection of yourself put on a dark jacket/blanket/whatever it takes to cover yourself and cut the glare.
@granny7 Hello again! (typed this earlier, had to dash to work and realise I hadn't pressed send! Some of the points may have been answered above in the meantime, but here are my thoughts just in case they help)
My P&S is my point and shoot :) By natural light I mean good daylight rather than electric or flash, which would be a direct source and more likely to reflect off a shiny surface... is it a glossy photo?
I've just had a look at your challenge and think it's great, the 2 photos of grandchildren are just lovely. How about hitting it from another way... doing the photo and then giving it a soft focus to disguise any shine? (Ribbet is really good, and free, as is picmonkey).
Or alternately having the shot of them a little further away with the angel nearby - you'll know they are there and a shot of the scene might be enough to portray what you were thinking of?
Whatever you do, don't let it get you upset or frustrated... if needs be leave a gap then do it another day with fresh eyes :)
@filsie65 Thanks so much Phil, at least I know what P &S means now too. It's not glossy and I took out the glass also, it's a matte finish but you can still get reflection. Good suggestion about the Angel and moving the scene. I'm glad that you liked the photo of them, it's just that the scene isn't looking directly at their eyes, which I don't like. Where is Ribbet and pic monkey, don't you have to be a member to use one of those? I use i-photo from my Mac. for downloading and cleaning them up. I just don't have to many days and my house is a disaster from moving pictures all over the place. Oh well, their are worse things in this life, right?
@granny7 Hi again! Try out www.picmonkey.com or www.ribbet.com - you don't have to be a member to use them, and it's free to try out most of the effects etc. You click on the box to upload a photo (just as you do here on 365) and then play with it and save it back to wherever it came from. It has saved my sanity on many photos, especially this challenge as you can crop pictures square etc! Wonderful grown-up playtime too..! :)
If it gets tricky fitting them all in, how about focusing the shot on the angel's eyes as if they were all sitting / playing blissfully unaware while she is watching? Make it work for you, you're doing grand!
@filsie65 Hi Phil, thanks for all your suggestions. I have got it to work now. The big problem I am having now is a very large picture of the grandchildren that I commissioned. It's done with chalk, can't think what that medium is called, it's late and I'm tired. Anyway, it took a van to bring this picture to my home, as it's done with chalk, has an ivory linen matt and I didn't have the artist preserve it, as I knew it would dull the color. So, It can't be moved very easily, as the chalk will fall down on the ivory matt. Even though it's blocked inside and the picture is not right up against the matt.
I took several pictures of it last night, turned off all the lights off in the room and turned on some in the kitchen. I was still getting vertical lines in different places, can't tell where they are coming from either? I tried to clean them up with the little brush that takes out unwanted things, but it didn't work when it had to go through a face.
I'm going to try again tonight and play with the lights in the kitchen to see which ones are causing the vertical lines.
Any help would be appreciated. This is my next to last photo for the contest and I really want to use it as it's beautiful.
Thanks again to everyone who has posted suggestions, but for those of you who don't know this picture can't be taken outside.
@granny7 Hello again! Woke up in the middle of the night and came down to get cold hoping when I go back to the warm I'll fall asleep...! Not thinking very clearly but caught your message and wondered if the lines you refer to are more like folds/ shadows than reflections? I'm not sure what the pic is.. Have you tried several lights and seeing if that would work - if they are on different sides they might cancel each other out? I'm thinking soft lights really.
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In regards to the sheet, we have so much natural light in our home, I close blinds, but to many sliding glass doors that let in a lot of light. I will try and find other places in the house also.
What setting do you suggest on a point and shoot camera? No flash, right? Anything you tell me will be helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to write me with your suggestions.
Granny7
I've done like 10-96 with shots, stuck a bit of paper over the flash which brightens the shot without shining light directly on it.. (quite fun as you get different effects with different colours of paper!) Worth trying? I have a little P&S too and can't adjust much except the basics. Good luck!
I really wanted to know also, how do you like how my picture's are set up that I posted this morning of my 3 grandson's, as now I have to come up with one with 4 boys. Any thoughts, I hate to place them on the wall and leave holes there. So, still not sure what to do but will wait to hear a little more from you.
Thanks for your help, it's very appreciated.
Granny7
Thanks,
Granny7
My P&S is my point and shoot :) By natural light I mean good daylight rather than electric or flash, which would be a direct source and more likely to reflect off a shiny surface... is it a glossy photo?
I've just had a look at your challenge and think it's great, the 2 photos of grandchildren are just lovely. How about hitting it from another way... doing the photo and then giving it a soft focus to disguise any shine? (Ribbet is really good, and free, as is picmonkey).
Or alternately having the shot of them a little further away with the angel nearby - you'll know they are there and a shot of the scene might be enough to portray what you were thinking of?
Whatever you do, don't let it get you upset or frustrated... if needs be leave a gap then do it another day with fresh eyes :)
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Granny7
If it gets tricky fitting them all in, how about focusing the shot on the angel's eyes as if they were all sitting / playing blissfully unaware while she is watching? Make it work for you, you're doing grand!
I took several pictures of it last night, turned off all the lights off in the room and turned on some in the kitchen. I was still getting vertical lines in different places, can't tell where they are coming from either? I tried to clean them up with the little brush that takes out unwanted things, but it didn't work when it had to go through a face.
I'm going to try again tonight and play with the lights in the kitchen to see which ones are causing the vertical lines.
Any help would be appreciated. This is my next to last photo for the contest and I really want to use it as it's beautiful.
Thanks again to everyone who has posted suggestions, but for those of you who don't know this picture can't be taken outside.
Granny7