The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

johnreid · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject: Some photo observations/tips

Some recent discussions have been made amongst friends about the photos that we post here, I am by all means not the one to criticize and in fact at the moment am almost blind so I am sure that my pictures do not come up to high standards either. However, I thought that it might be useful to point out what makes some pictures look bad as I am still able to take bad pictures.
When I was a student, film was a big expense, plus the pictures had to be developed etc and then digital came along and there is no film or chemicals. Take a lot of pictures and then choose the best one, that is tip number one.
Next, we need to discuss lighting. When you want to take a good photo you want the light to your back, and in fact if you can find open shadow the lighting is even better,
Note the first picture, it is my MM1 placed by a window for light, but the MM1 is in fact backlit and thus the engine is hidden in the shadow. Not a good picture.

Then I took it outdoors for sunlight ( sunlight is the best ) but again, made the same mistake, the sun is to the back of the MM1 and it is still in the shadow. Another bad picture.

Back indoors I decided to get a nice close up of the engine, I wanted my forum friends to see a detail so I sat the engine on my stove and got real close, thus the camera doesnt focus well and it is all out of focus, a real bad picture not worthy of posting

All I needed to do was to step back and allow a some distance from the engine

Then I cropped the picture and here is an in focus close up

Alas, the flash reflected on the brass boiler and in fact the picture wasnt as good as it could be anyhow

SO, outdoors again. the idea is to place it in open shade so there are no harsh shadows and no bright spots.
Oops, I didnt pick up the trash, a good picture is ruined again.

Is the camera level?

Is the MM1 laying on its side? Boy that is distracting.all it would take is to rotate the image.

Finally a halfway decent photo, taken in open shade with a plain background.

If you do not have a place to photograph your engine where the background is plain, you can use a bath towel, a bed sheet, a Shop Apron, even paper towels if need be. A plain background lets your engine be the subjet of the photo not what is in the background.
There are many programs on the net that you can download that enable you to crop, rotate, and manipulate your photos, well worth the time and effort.
One other thing, resize your pictures, 800X600 is a great size for posting to the forum, yes it is good that your camera takes higher resoluton pictures and if you ever want to print one the bigger picture prints better, but on the forum bigger pictures make threads hard to read for many members, not only does most software resize but Photobucket does too! And its free!
Here is to many good pictures on the forum. If you like, I would gladly get into more detail and give even more tips, I even went to Photo school and graduated with two majors and a 4.0 average. Of course that was back in the 1970s

Old people forget a lot

One can use artificial light, tents, and other techniques, but all I am trying to do is give a few easy pointers, hope it helps, ask questions, make comments, just dont hate me

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Caprice · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the tips, I loved the first three photos...oh wait.

Seriously... good advices, too dark pictures is something I sometimes is guilty of.

C.

Edit: Regarding big pictures, sometimes it's good IMHO to add a link to the high resolution photos (besides the more normal picture). With a note how big it is so one can decide if one want to look at it or not.

Especially if there is interesting details that get lost with down sizing.

Ross · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:39 pm Post subject:

i recently found my macro button on my camera admist loads of other buttons my picture quality has been alot better now no more blurey shots

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Sandman · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:46 pm Post subject:

Great stuff there John.

Just follow Johns tips and you'll not only enhance your chances of selling on ebay, but you might just win a prize in the fast approaching STWWW.

Not only that, but good pics are always best when showing off your latest pride and joy.

Thanks a mill for taking the trouble to write a guide John. It is much appreciated.
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Bugsy · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:47 pm Post subject:

Good advice, John!
My pet hate are huge images.

640X480 is a great size for posting, and I think it's the default size.
It's difficult having to scroll horizontally and vertically to see all of a photo.
Phil
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MooseMan · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:11 pm Post subject:

Brilliant John! I'm going to make this thread sticky for a while, and then we'll move it to the reference section. Everyone should read this!!!
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Sandman · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:12 pm Post subject:

davidcurtis021 · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject:

Bugsy · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:42 pm Post subject:

johnreid · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:44 pm Post subject:

A word of caution when using Macro mode, you need to use a tripod 90% of the time when that close up.
Tripods are great when the light is lower or there is motion, no tripod? set the camera on a ledge or a book and use the self timer. Whenever the camera moves there is a chance that the picture will be blurry.
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igy569 · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:48 pm Post subject:

I am guilty of the busy background....

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johnreid · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:58 pm Post subject:

I noticed on your signature, there is a Volvo in front of that mini Wilesco

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Dampfmaschine · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:04 pm Post subject:

Great post - That sorts the photo issues - If only the forum had a built in spell checker

johnreid · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:15 pm Post subject:

The Firefox Browser does, but I still misspell words, cant see the red lines that tell me I didnt spell right.
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robertosala · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:46 pm Post subject:

Very good tips.
Thanks!

No excuse now to take good pics.