Old machine photos

From: Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner <spc_at_conman.org>
Date: Sat Jan 11 22:00:01 2003

It was thus said that the Great Erik S. Klein once stated:
>
> - Use a medium or dark colored matte item as a background. I have an
> old black bed sheet that I use as well as a large piece of cardboard
> with a matte black finish. Between the two I'm able to pretty much
> black out everything but the computer.

  I would probably recomend a neutral color background---black may be a bit
too dark to use effectively.

> - Use multiple diffuse lighting sources. If you can't get those big
> photography lamps and diffusers then just bounce the light from spots or
> lamps off of a wall or use something else (like a cardboard box) to
> block the light that would go directly from the source to the
> photographic subject. The goal is to light the computer well and
> eliminate glare - especially on screens.

  A large piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil makes a good
reflector, and to reduce glare on monitors you may want to try hairspray.
Professional photographers use it to reduce glare on glasses so it might be
worth trying on a monitor if you don't think it'll hurt it.

> - I like ACDSee for photo editing. It's a great tool for cropping,
> adjusting levels, changing image formats and sizes and generally
> preparing a picture for the web. I rarely use Photoshop for much
> anymore.

  I use the GIMP under Linux with no problems (although you *may* want to
have lots of memory before doing this---at 32M of RAM, my 120MHz Linux
system is a bit sluggish 8-)

> - I try to do multiple angles and inside shots as well as detail
> pictures of interesting items (such as cards, unusual cables and the
> like).

  If it's a digital camera, go wild with the pictures. Take lots of
pictures; more than you think you need. Then select the best from the lot.
Why not? It's not like you have to pay for developing the pictures.

  -spc (Go for quantity, then select for quality ... )
Received on Sat Jan 11 2003 - 22:00:01 GMT