My goodness; thank you for all that. We're going to give it another go in a few days. I won the bid ($25.45 incl. shipping) on a Spyder2 Express in like new condition with original box. It was shipped from the west coast on the 29th; I live in the east, so it'll be a few days yet. You said the images look dark on your monitor. I'm gonna trust that your monitor displays more accurately, but they aren't especially dark on mine. I'm gonna try to beat this thing into submission so that I'm not beating my head against the wall. The primary image for each yarn shows no background. My next attempt, I think, will use those images. Peace. Dave
Faithful Color Reproduction
- Thread starter BrWhatsit
- Start date
LCD monitors are typically too bright, and images adjusted there can appear less bright on a calibrated screen.
But I question if that is the situation here. That final red/orange yarn has tones about 250 on the left end, and some on the top too, which is about as bright as it can go. It would clip if brighter. But maybe only about 80 on the second twist, and towards right.
Maybe it is just me and my dumb opinion, but yet the picture just looks dark. Maybe the lighting could be slightly more even, or maybe the background could be white.
But I question if that is the situation here. That final red/orange yarn has tones about 250 on the left end, and some on the top too, which is about as bright as it can go. It would clip if brighter. But maybe only about 80 on the second twist, and towards right.
Maybe it is just me and my dumb opinion, but yet the picture just looks dark. Maybe the lighting could be slightly more even, or maybe the background could be white.
Last edited:
Nothing wrong with opinion, especially when it's been requested, but in most cases, colors really pop when placed on a black background. The green without yellow (on the left in earlier images) and the red-orange are deep shades, but I really do want to stick to the black background. How can We make that work?
These 3 images are more typical of what I would call non-problematic photographic subjects. The image on the left is the one we would display in our Etsy pages; the other two would only be visible if someone clicked to see more detail. These were both made before we spoke with you, and knew anything about RAW. We used a custom WB setting on the Nikon D40.
Peace,
Dave
These 3 images are more typical of what I would call non-problematic photographic subjects. The image on the left is the one we would display in our Etsy pages; the other two would only be visible if someone clicked to see more detail. These were both made before we spoke with you, and knew anything about RAW. We used a custom WB setting on the Nikon D40.
Peace,
Dave
Last edited:
It has been a while since I've posted to this thread, but I have been following it all along. Thank you all so much for your help and your patience. I've made some adjustments to my procedure - put the white card to the right of the yarn instead of in front of it, adjusted shutterspeed until there was no clipping from the white card on the right end of the histogram. The trouble is, when I do that, the yarn appears much too dark. I can adjust the levels in Photoshop so that the midrange colors are lighter, as they should be, but this still leaves harsh, dark, unnatural-looking shadows, not only on the black background, but also on the yarn itself. We really like the black background when it works right, the way it makes colors pop and often shows a subtle reflection. I can expose it so that the yarn looks great on the black background, at least in terms of value / contrast. But color is still off, and if I do this, then the white card is blown out and clipped, and it no longer works properly for WB. Would more lights hitting the yarn from different angles help, or would the additional light on the white card cause the same problem? We have the fixtures, but only the two of those incandescent bulbs that I'm already using, or I would have tried this already. Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks again,
Will
Will
Not sure of the exact situation, but try to put the white card farther back, so it does not overexpose. The white is probably pretty dramatic on the black, etc. If only possibility back there is where it has to be visible in the picture, then do it in a test shot, and then remove it for the session. The same WB applies to all (select them all, and set WB, etc).
I guess I am saying that I normally put the white card maybe six inches behind the subject in tabletop scenes, and don't have any issue with its exposure.
Last edited: