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Location: Cork, Ireland | What's the best way to take photos without getting glare off the top etc? Flash off camera, use room lights and adjust the colour balance in Photoshop, or what? |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Outdoors in natural light. |
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Location: NJ | Having it held by an attractive female bedecked in scant (if any) wardrobe, helps.
The guitar might STILL look like sh!t, but nobody'll notice and/or complain.
Marketing. |
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Location: SoCal | Use an old Kodak Brownie camera.... |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Mitchrx:
Outdoors in natural light. ...natural INDIRECT light to minimize glare AND shadows.
If shooting inside and your camera flash is capable, use a bounce flash off a white ceiling. This will greatly reduce the glare. |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Originally posted by cliff:
Having it held by an attractive female bedecked in scant (if any) wardrobe, helps. I think it was Pompeo Posar (famous photographer for Playboy) that said the way to get good pictures was to find the most beautiful setting possible, then hide it with the girl.
So, find a beautiful girl and hide her with the guitar. Perfect. |
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Location: Rego Park, NY, | Originally posted by cliff:
Having it held by an attractive female bedecked in scant (if any) wardrobe, helps.
The guitar might STILL look like sh!t, but nobody'll notice and/or complain.
Marketing. If I can pull this off with my Elite 1778T Red Flame, will it go on every month in the next OFC calendar ;) ? |
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Location: CA | Also — simple — just don't be directly opposite the top of the guitar when taking flash photos. Stand off to one side a bit. Otherwise it's like taking a flash photo of yourself in the mirror, the light just bounces right back at ya. (This is also why you get flashback when taking pics of people in front of windows.) |
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Location: Utah | They make a dulling spray to put on glossy surfaces to kill reflections during photography. I forget what the stuff is called, but it (used to be) easily removable. |
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Location: New Hampshire | I like the idea of a non-clothed attractive female the best...,
but if you are trying to market the guitar to a women (presumably a clothed female who plays guitar), would she want a non-clothed athletic male?
... or would she prefer that you dull his glossy surface to kill reflections during photography |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Phil, the answer is yes.
You guys got it easy taking pictures of Ovations. Try a shiney polished National. |
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Location: NJ | I've taken pics of some of your guitars . . . it ain't easy . . . |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Use available lighting , so that ye can see ( absence of ) reflections , Outdoor/Indoor setting is a Personal choice , try to include a Nice Loudspeaker in the picture..or a loaf of bread , but hey , if ya can get Paris to pose next to it.. :)
Vic |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Paris would fill both of those requirements...loud speaker and a loaf! |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Paris would fill both of those requirements...loud speaker and a loaf!
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:D |
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Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks, I was thinking it was about lighting but obviously the props are just as important. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | If you've only got a point 'n shoot camera, and you've GOT to take it indoors, try taping a bit of tracing paper (or something similar) over the flash, and, as mentioned above, angle the soundboard away slightly.
Best way to enhance colours is to take the photo in natural (shaded) light, but still use the tracing paper over the flash for a soft fill in.
Good luck finding a scantilly clad lass at this time of year in Ireland. |
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Location: Cork, Ireland | They're used to the cold. Anyway they can wrap a bit of tracing paper (or something similar)around themselves if it gets chilly |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Hopefully, a very SMALL bit, and VERY transparent. :D |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I think I'm o.k. arranging the subject matter, but I don't know squat about camera settings and lighting technique. I bought a very expensive 35mm camera with numerous lenses in the pre-digital years. It could do anything and everything in the hands of a capable photographer. All I ever used was the AF. Now I'm doing the same thing with a digital. I'm a point and shoot guy, although I now know how to change the setting for those super close-up shots that some folks are very good at. My preference is to add more guitars, add more lights, repeat a few times, turn everything on so that it resembles a Where's Waldo poster, then shoot wide. There's usually so much in the shot that nothing stands out. |
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Location: NJ | The bit about tissue/tracing paper over the flash is a good one (especially if you don't have a flash unit that "swivels").
Find & Learn how to use the "Macro" setting.
Even with a digi-Point/Click, use a tripod.
If y'can't shoot outdoors, try t'use indirect outdoor light while indoors (don't shoot at night). Incandescent lights (on their own) tend to give you a very "yellow" cast, while flourescent lights can give you an ugly "greenish" result.
(both of which can ultimately be "overlooked" with the inclusion of the aforementioned nekkid lady . . .) |
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Location: Denmark | Many good proposals by everyone. What about a OFC photo contest? Or some examples to demonstrate the techniques. |
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Location: NJ | d'You get a Calendar?? |
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Location: south east Michigan | Take a look at the OFC calendar.
We have some talented photographers here. |
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Location: Jet City | Sycamore,
All these answers are fun, but it's a shot in the dark (pardon the pun) without knowing what equipment you have to use.
I've done both indoor and outdoor with success. If you're indoor, a camera with a directional flash is best. Bounce it off the ceiling as stated above. If you do not have an adjustable flash, try using the available light without flash and slow down the speed of the shutter. If you can't do either, don't expect pro quality.
If outdoors, just stay out of the sun. A pretty easy thing for us to do up here in the NW.
Either way, if you have a Photoshop version or beyond, the auto color correction usually does a great jpb of fixing color, white balance, and contrast with the click of a single button. Note I said USUALLY.
I have examples of both indoors and outdoors in my gallery. |
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Location: Jet City | Oh, meant to add...
If you can slow down the shutter speed, a tripod will probably be needed too. |
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Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks all - have SLR, tripod, seperate flash etc. but never got to grips with the flash yet. Will try outdoors I think - and post the results |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Sounds like a challenge here.
He(or she)who gets a pic of a guitar (Ovation)and a model(male or female) with the least amount of clothes wins.
:D :D |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Jim, with the demographic of the membership of this board...
... are you sure you want to go through with something like that? :eek: (You weren't here when the coconut bras and grass skirts were embedded in our mind's eye? NOT a pretty sight!)
And Sycamore - even if you do take the shots outdoors, don't forget to take a few with the flash too.
Yep! Outdoors, daytime and flash. Just don't shoot directly at the soundboard. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by AussieJames:
Sounds like a challenge here.
He(or she)who gets a pic of a guitar (Ovation)and a model(male or female) with the least amount of clothes wins.
:D :D Well, Fender OWN Ovation now... :D
Now if I could just PhotoShop out the strap and shoes... |
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Location: Rego Park, NY, | A circular polarizer filter should help cut down on reflection. Also don't take the picture perpendicular to the guitar. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Yeah Muz, not to mention the guitar.
Phil lighten up, we Wongs should stick together
AJ :D :D |
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Location: Rego Park, NY, | AJ any chance you could get Olivia Newton John to pose? ;) |
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Location: NJ | . . . and t'have her do it 20-something years ago?? . . |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Hey Cliff, she looks ok now !!
Ok Ok, Grease was a few years ago
AJ |
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Location: Stow, Ohio | How I use to take pictures.
Now i just bounce the flash off of the ceiling and hope for the best :) |
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How to photgraph a guitar