Surface Texture

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murtonm

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Hi Guy's

We have recently got a new camera setup and we are getting pleasing results in terms of colour, effects and translucency but we are finding it hard to capture surface texture well. When looking through the view finder I can see the surface texture lovely but when viewing the photo it doesn't show.

Our set up is

Nikon D80 body
Nikkor micro 85mm lens
Nikon R1 Twin hot shoes with diffusers fitted

Settings

ISO 100 to 200
Apperture min f22 to f32
White balance flash or custom 62000k
exposure compensation 0 to +0.7

So far we have played around removing the flashes from the camera but have the best pictures from one flash at 12 o'clock and one at 3 o'clock. I was thinking that getting a shooting tent might help but was wondering if its maybe just settings or technique??

Any help/ideas greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Malcolm
 
NicelyMKV

NicelyMKV

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Didn't someone mention putting fabric over the flashes? Gives a satin finish and shows more surface detail?
 
corona

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have you tried changing the 6200 k down to a 5300 k or a natural setting . this might help you .... is the diffuser not helping ??? can you post a pic ????
 
Gary Grosclaude

Gary Grosclaude

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Your r1 flashes are a perfect compliment to your set up! To obtain excellent photos of texture you first need to change the angle that the light is reflected back to the lens until you see mostly bright light bouncing off the surface of the crows. This will leave those areas over exposed. Now adjust your f stop to a larger number say from f22 to f32 to reduce the exposure.
I hope this helps
Gary
 
Sevan P

Sevan P

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I wouldn't really pass f22, that would me my max. Are you flashed diffused in any way? A shooting tent might help diffuse the light . What surface are you shooting on? Background wise. 6200K is pretty warm with flash, trey 5300k like corona said or even 5200k. Best to use a grey card as well. Have you tried a ring flash? Also seems like your shooting in Aperture priority mode, switch to manual mode set you fstop to f22 iso to 100-200 then adjust your shutter till you get the exposure. Shooting Macro at f22, manual mode is the only way I would shoot.

Also an image might help out as well.:D
 
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murtonm

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Hi,

Thanks for all of the suggestions!!. The twin flashes have the diffusers that come with the kit (white opaque) fitted. They also change the angle of the light slightly and each flash can be angled in and out too.

I am shooting in aperture priority as I am new to this type of photography. ISO is generally either 100 or 200 and im playing with aperture between the range of f22-32.

White balance wise I started with it set on flash but was getting very warm and under exposed looking pics so I started to fiddle :) I settled with 6200 but will try going down a touch.

Here's the best pic of this simple crown, im quite happy with this (flash position was 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock) Photo 25-11-2012 18 33 53.jpg

But out of 35 or so pics of this case most of them came out like this DSC_0530.jpg

I seem to be able to finally take a few 1/2 decent pics of each case but take a lot of bad ones. Just when I think ive got the settings sorted I pick up the camera for the next case and i'm back to square one!!
Photo 25-11-2012 18 33 53.jpg DSC_0530.jpg
 
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murtonm

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Looking at the pics now ive posted them I'm wondering if its a focus issue??
 
araucaria

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i use a canon, and there's a focus adjuster at the viewfinder for the eye of the user - this seems to have helped me with sharpness of images. also i tend to rely on the screen image more as the results for me are better in macro i.e. a greater percentage of my shots are good quality, and i go with f22 or greater.
 
Sevan P

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A: they are slightly OOF Out Of Focus for f22, are you hand holding?

B: Leave the wb to AWB and try that and see what happens if you are new to this.

C: You are underexposed for sure.

Manual mode is not all that hard, Do you know if you have your flash synced to you shutter speed? Like when the flash is on the highest the camera will go to is either 1/200th or 1/250th?

Try manual mode you will get way better results.

Go into Manual mode, iso 200 to start, f22 i/100th leave your flash to ettl or ttl what ever auto is for Nikon try that as your starting point and work on it from there.

Here is a quick demo I just did for you to understand.

My setup, I did want to buy a $500.00 + ring flash so I built my own and used my current 580EX II flash.
afarm8.staticflickr.com_7230_6887630488_8f533736da_o.jpg

The results at these settings iso200, 1/100th, f22 flash in auto (ETTL) handheld. 100mm macro lens 1:1 Canon 5DII
afarm9.staticflickr.com_8202_8219246684_258984baf9_o.jpg
Exif data:
Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Image Date: 2012-11-25 17:03:46 +0000
Focal Length: 100mm
Aperture: f/22.0
Exposure Time: 0.010 s (1/100)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: Yes (Auto, return light detected)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Photographer: Sevan Pulurian
Copyright: Photographybysevan.com
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)

Same settings as above but dropped the shutter to 1/80th
afarm9.staticflickr.com_8202_8219246684_258984baf9_o.jpg
Exif data:
Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Image Date: 2012-11-25 17:03:46 +0000
Focal Length: 100mm
Aperture: f/22.0
Exposure Time: 0.010 s (1/100)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: Yes (Auto, return light detected)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Photographer: Sevan Pulurian
Copyright: Photographybysevan.com
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)


Not much difference and I tried taking the ISO up to 400 and still no much difference between the shots only thing would be is to take the flash into manual mode and adjust the flash power to get it a bit brighter if needed.

Sevan
afarm8.staticflickr.com_7230_6887630488_8f533736da_o.jpg afarm9.staticflickr.com_8202_8219246684_258984baf9_o.jpg
 
PCDL

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Two things that will help you in addition to tweaking your exposure would be B+W and your Surroundings

One of the easiest ways to get your "focus" on the surface texture is to remove the color from the image. You can play with settings, work on your exposure, and all that, but if you want your eye to see Texture, and not Color, then just make the Image B+W...

Another avenue to explore would be your surroundings in your photo. Try not to distract your eye with model work or cluttered background when you are putting the emphasis on texture or some other detail. Eyes are easily distracted...

I just grabbed this shot of a bruxzir and reduced the saturation and upped the contrast a touch. It lets you focus your eyes on the contours, not the color. Granted, this was just a quick example, with some anterior work, the technique shines a bit more.
QuickShotBW.jpg QuickShot.jpg
 
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toothpics

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I have shot natural teeth with lots of texture by using an off camera flash, small light source, not diffused (diffusion will fill in shadows areas and minimize texture, that is why you see photo studios with large light/soft boxes that give an even soft light). Skim the light over the surface. It is the contrast between light and shadow that reveals texture.
 
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Bobby Orr ceramics

Bobby Orr ceramics

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I shoot with a similar Nikon set up ...... scrap the diffusers, ISO200, exp comp +0.3, aperature priority f45,

but most of all...... shoot directly onto surface of tooth without the flash angling away from lens and shutter. Shooting at a slight angle down from tooth surface will deflect light away and let you see better colour and trans. Feel free to call me via PM if ya like.
 
Affinity

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Im having problems with my settings... f/22 in A mode, ISO 200 and the shutter is staying open way too long.. like 10-15 seconds.. Am I not getting enough light? Also have a ring flash that I just bought but it doesnt seem to help...
 
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Kelvin Tantono

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Im having problems with my settings... f/22 in A mode, ISO 200 and the shutter is staying open way too long.. like 10-15 seconds.. Am I not getting enough light? Also have a ring flash that I just bought but it doesnt seem to help...
In my opinion, for a macro shot, we cannot let the shutter to open too long. I know it will get you a brighter photo, but it will cause you a more blur photo. You should make it like 1/100 or 1/125 with ISO 400. For the F, i like it 1/29 or 1/32. dont worry about getting the dark photo, you have the right light to help you :) hope it helps
 

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