Friday, April 21, 2006

5 simple steps to he help you get great photo's of your valuables


6 simple steps to help you get great photographs of your valuables.

Having good photos of your valuables is vital should you be unfortunate to be robbed or loose them in a fire. Use these steps to get these pictures.

1) Focus your camera. If you do not do this correctly your images will not be sharp. Digital cameras with auto focus are often difficult to focus precisely, especially when shooting small objects. Read your owner's manual and be sure you understand how your camera's auto focus operates. Most digital cameras are designed to easily focus on large objects but have difficulty on small subjects. Test this with some shots and see how they look. If you have to borrow a better quality camera to get a good shot it will be worth it.


2) Use a tripod if you have one. If not try and improvise with a pile of books or put the camera on another solid object. A beanbag works well as it is easily adjustable. Even the slightest movement when you are taking a picture will cause a photograph to blur. The closer you get to an object the more obvious the blur becomes. Do not use a photograph that is out of focus or blurred, as it will not show the details you need other people to see.

3) Use soft lighting. Your camera's built-in flash will rarely give good results for product photography. You can check for a “soft light” by holding your hand out flat under the light source and holding out your finger about 2 inches above your palm. A soft light will not make a definite shadow. If you have a definite shadow outline of your finger then you have a “hard light”. For soft lighting either shoot outside on an overcast day or use a soft light box.

A soft-light box is easily made using some thin white sheet fabric or tissue paper in large sheets. Hang it on a frame on both sides and rear of the object to be photographed. Put the sheet at least 12 -18 inches away from the object. Place regular desk lights on both sides (outside) of the “light box”, also far enough away so you do no burn the fabric or paper with the lights. They generate a lot of heat and can start a fire if they are set up to close. .

When you turn on the lights you will have a nice soft even light. You will need to have high wattage light bulbs to do this, 150 watts would work. Play around with it till you have nice, even lighting on the picture. This is very easy with a digital camera as you can see the results instantly and make the needed corrections.

4) Use computer-imaging software if you have it. Even inexpensive imaging software on you computer can make product photography much easier. It may seem like it's faster to use an image exactly as it was shot. But in reality, it is difficult to shoot an image exactly how you would like it to appear in its final form. Imaging software allows you to crop an image (cut it to remove unwanted elements), resize it, adjust the exposure, and even sharpen the image very quickly.

5) Avoiding dark images when shooting against light backgrounds. Cameras tend to underexpose (not enough light) images when capturing subjects with white or very light backgrounds. The easiest way to prevent dark, underexposed images is to use exposure compensation. Most digital cameras have fairly easy-to-access exposure compensation controls (labeled as "EV" for Exposure Value). Again take some shots and look at the results. You will be able to easily see the improvements.

If your images are too dark, try adjusting the exposure compensation. A setting of +1 is a good place to start. If you end up setting the EV too high, the image will appear washed out or very faint. Simply go back a step or two until the exposure looks OK. You can also experiment with your light box and add a different color underneath and behind the object, leaving the sides white.

6) Keep the background plain. Keep it plain and simple so your object stands out and the details do not blend into an unwanted background

Following these 6 simple steps will get you an acceptable photograph of your valuables that can be used for identification purposes for the police and insurance companies should you ever need it

About the author.

Tony Skerritt is the presdient of CTW Inc, the owner of the http://www.officialstolenlost.com web site. This site is a data base for people to list their stolen and lost property.
The company founders have done red carpet security for celebrity events, movie premiers, large concerts, general event security & personal celebrity security. We have extensive experience with private investigations with the legal profession. Personal and home


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