Photo Set Up
Last Thursday, I spent most of the day at the church where the guild holds its sales photographing work to use in future show advertisements and on their website. Our sale runs Thursday – Saturday for obvious reasons and the church apparently gives the guild favorable rental terms. It doesn’t hurt that it’s huge and that there are numerous rooms at our disposal. Some might consider it sacrilege, but we did our photographing in a small intimate annex chapel with the set up above – notice the cross behind the photo tent. It worked so well, I think I’m going to abandon photographing outside with my ghetto setup. The room was completely dark except for the lighting on the tent. We were able to get some great shots this way.
Platter by guild member, Kathleen Laurie, photographed in our set up
Meanwhile, during the marathon photo session, a few swear words escaped our lips – and we all laughed nervously while asking for forgiveness.
I’m feeling the urge to do a little glaze testing. Last night, I dusted off my copies of Mastering Cone 6 Glazes by Hesselberth & Roy as well as my copy of The Ceramic Spectrum by Robin Hopper. I’m feeling pretty relaxed now that the sale is over and I really do need to expand my glaze palette.
My in-laws are flying up today for a few days. They didn’t want to miss my daughter’s performance at the Shakespeare Festival on Friday and then we’ll spend Mother’s day together as a family.
Tonight, my husband and I are going on a rare date. We”re going to see Justin Currie, former lead singer of Del Amitri at the Toad Tavern. I’m not normally a live music fan, but this will be in an intimite venue – so I won’t feel so claustrophobic since there shouldn’t be any large crowds to speak of.
Happy Wednesday,
~Cynthia
May 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Love your photography lighting setup.
Very professional !!!
Hugs
Chae
May 7th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Yes, that’s a sweet lighting rig you have!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Hi, I’m struggling with photographing pots inside. Could I ask: what type of light bulbs do you have in your lamps and are you using a digital camera? Thanks…
May 7th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
This does look great — and the results are really worth it! Have fun tonight. Two weeks ago I went to a live show with maybe 60 people there (Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers) though they can fill stadiums in Arizona (were they’re from).
May 7th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Thanks Chae – I can’t take credit. But, I am going to co-op the set up for my own use.
It’s perfect for ceramics, Dan. I know you don’t do this type of photography, but I would think that you would make a killing helping other artists photograph their work.
Hi Fred – the bulbs are compact daylight florescent bulbs in basic Home Depot Aluminum reflectors. I used a 4 year old digital Olympus c-7070 to photograph the work. We had 2 other very fancy cameras to use, but since I was doing the photographing and know how to use my camera I used mine. The tent is a white photo tent that folds up flat with a graduated background velcroed into the tent. Very effective.
Thanks Andrea – I’m getting excited to go see the show and have been listening to his music today to “get in the mood”. I’m hoping Justin’s concert will be as intimate as the one you attended.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I like that photo set up, tho I would want to set it up permanently somewhere.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:50 am
That stand for the lights looks pretty zoomy. Is it something someone made or bought? The stand I currently am using is extremely make-shift. The one in your picture looks like it would add much greater flexibility. Very nice shot of that platter btw.
Anne
May 8th, 2008 at 5:56 am
I only wish I had the space to leave it permanently set up Janet, but alas, the tent folds up, the background rolls up and the stand breaks down. My next house/studio…
Yes, that’s a handmade stand Anne. These are just dowels stuck into the bottom pieces. The guy who made it from the guild should have been an engineer I think. He’s very crafty! The stand does allow you to slide it forwards and back if you want to change the way the light hits a piece either to achieve more back lighting or other effects. As it were, we photographed 400 pots, and were moving assembly line fashion and just kept it in one place.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:20 am
Thanks for posting your photography set up, it is very helpful as the photography aspects for ceramics are all new to me. May I ask where the tent, and the graduated background were obtained? And how is the platter you showed held up for the photo – without the risk of it slipping down?
Do you use a tripod to hold your camera while taking the photos?
A search on the internet provided me with a place called Alzo but I have nothing to compare their prices to, to know if they are reasonable or not.
Can’t wait to see your new glaze colors. By the way I like the iron rich red color of your bowl on Etsy.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Hey Linda, the tent and backdrop were both purchased at Denver Pro Photo http://www.denverprophoto.com/
I’m sure a quick google search will bring up other places online for both.
I do use a tripod and I use the camera’s auto function to take the photo so that I don’t inadvertently jar the camera and make it blurry. Thanks for the comment on my bowl!
The platter is actually held up with kiln posts that have been covered in shelve liner so that they don’t scratch the backdrop.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
It takes me some time to keep up with blogs these days! But it’s good to see that you are obviously far too busy enjoying your work to be an idle woman!
Great show set-up. Congrats all ’round.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I think you’re right the guy should have been an engineer. My husband still treats any little quibble I have with “Let’s fix it,” engineer attitude. I just try not to quibble. What a clever fix for using what you have.
Sorry to be so late, but the photo advice is always wonderful and I meant to get here yesterday! Sigh!