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Post by lyn on Jun 19, 2020 9:58:58 GMT
A while back I excitedly announced the arrival of some light softboxes (admittedly they were not expensive) and I hoped they would solve the problem of photographing felt at any time of day no matter what the weather.
Well, I have mixed feelings. They can be handy for photographing small items but sometimes the colour gets a bit washed out or confused. They are certainly better than having no lights at all.
However, I am convinced that the only way to get the true look of a piece of felt is to photograph it in natural diffused daylight.
What do you think?
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 19, 2020 14:33:23 GMT
I have looked at the fabric lightboxes. Some come with external lights and some with LED lights inside. They always look so small I haven't ordered one. I want one about a 2-foot cube so everything fits inside. The last batch of pictures I took ware under my apple trees and other than having a trailer, ATV or garbage cans in the background it worked well. I need to be careful not to get a spot of sunlight on things. It is funny how you don't even see things like a spot of sunlight until you are looking at the pictures later. that of course only solves the problem on nice summer days. I am not sure what to do for winter or rainy days. I need to invest in a fairly large piece of white photo backdrop paper to use. I have seen pieces of white fake felt used for the backdrop.
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Post by lyn on Jun 19, 2020 14:58:01 GMT
I also thought dappled sunlight might be a good idea but the spots look like mistakes on the felt don't they. The softboxes I have are like this: softbox lightsOne thing though, the diffusers only have velcro here and there so in places they hang down like droopy knickers - not a bit like the photo on Amazon! If I have to take a photo indoors I use my craft room that has a bay window facing south-east. I've got the ceiling and walls painted white, a pale coloured floor covering, and I have white lined voile curtains. My tables are also white. It's a very light room so I'm off to a good start.
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Post by MTRuth on Jun 19, 2020 16:00:43 GMT
It is definitely an art form taking photos of artwork. I have a light set up and backdrops but they are so big I don't get them out. Usually I use a piece of white foam core for a backdrop. I got some new lights for the studio room and they give pretty good light. But not as good as natural diffused light.
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Post by lyn on Jun 19, 2020 16:21:30 GMT
I used to work with a young woman who took a two year degree course in photography at university. She could take a photo of anything, anywhere, in the blink of an eye, and it looked good (she's a wedding photographer now).
Thing is, to get that serious is a full-time hobby and that wouldn't leave room for what I really want to do i.e. textiles.
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Post by felicity on Jun 20, 2020 18:04:46 GMT
I've got this box and quite happy with it. The most of my fish and medium sizes object were photographed using it. At least there is no need of thinking of blank background and diffused light. I would like to be more skilled in making pictures but at the moment I am OK with it. I use a proper camera though...
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 21, 2020 1:06:58 GMT
I see Lyn, it's lights. I was thinking of a box like Galina has or they have fabric tent ones. I have a friend who has a roll of the photo paper hung from her ceiling and just pulls it down to take photos in her living room. She does have a couple of lights with defuser disks.
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Post by lyn on Jun 21, 2020 8:54:06 GMT
That looks great Galina! And your fish photos are lovely.
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Post by felicity on Jun 21, 2020 16:47:38 GMT
Thank you Lyn! It could be made flat (which I rarely do) and its size matches the size of my items. Not sure about a scarf or a large bag. Most important for me that it has in-build light. I do not have space for a studio (would love to have one ) so it's good enough at the moment. My box is "medium" size and cost me £15.
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Post by koffipot on Jun 22, 2020 8:24:22 GMT
Thank you Lyn! It could be made flat (which I rarely do) and its size matches the size of my items. Not sure about a scarf or a large bag. Most important for me that it has in-build light. I do not have space for a studio (would love to have one ) so it's good enough at the moment. My box is "medium" size and cost me £15. Your photos always look very professional Galina. Where did you get your box?
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Post by felicity on Jun 22, 2020 9:28:16 GMT
Thank you Judith! I believe a year ago (or two? The days blurred ) there was an advert on Facebook, but that box was too small and too expensive. After a bit of search I've found a proper size at reasonable price. Just Google "foldable lightbox studio". "Mini" is too small, fits just for jewellery items, I think.
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Post by lyn on Jun 22, 2020 15:04:14 GMT
I think this is the same one. I found a short YouTube video and the company has released a larger box called 'Foldio3'- it's 25" wide. link
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Post by Shepherdess on Jun 23, 2020 19:23:50 GMT
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Post by lyn on Jun 23, 2020 19:59:34 GMT
Yes it's a lot more expensive but it's a better size for larger pieces of felt. However, some of the reviews for the larger one are less than flattering.
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Post by felicity on Jun 23, 2020 22:14:30 GMT
Honestly, I do not think it worth such amount of money! May be for somebody who produce and sell a lot as a production line And I'm sure it can be find cheaper. This one (see the link) is 60cm x 60 cm and costs £32. The disadvantage of the box is that it's tricky to make a styled scene with it. It's too small for it even a large one. £15 was the price and it was OK for the purpose, not more than that. I try to dissuade you to spend these money
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