Pipe Photography Tips

[ghost]

Hi Everyone! Lately I've been trying to take more and better pictures of the pipes I've been working on. I have a fairly nice digital camera, so I can point and click (after reading my camera's manual, I have some good automatic settings now) and it turns out passable, but some of the photos I see on here are just beautiful. I think my issue is lighting. Anything I take in my basement always has bad shadows, and unless I take a picture during the daylight hours, I'm never happy with any location in my house.
For pipe photography specifically what sort of tips do you have? Another issue I have is I need to compress the pics to be able to upload the files, so I know I'm losing a lot of resolution by doing this. Is there a workaround?
Thanks in advance! Matt

 

[scottishjohn]

Try setting up your picture content on a sunny day outside, but in the shade. Use only that light. It should eliminate most of your shadow problems and give you a nice even illumination.

 

[bentmike]

Great topic!
I've tried many combinations: full sun, shade, cloudy/overcast, indoor with various artificial light. To me it's just fun to experiment. I think in many cases full sun exposure really brings out the beauty of wood grain. I've noticed this not just with pipes but other things made from wood that I have viewed/ photographed outside.
Another good tip is to experiment with your cameras white balance settings. Especially when using artificial light sources.

 

[eaglerico]

Tips on the actual taking of photos I can not help with. I struggle with this as well, especially when trying to take a picture of the inside of the bowl.
However, for compressing the picture...if you "resize" the picture I don't think you lose any resolution. This is a simple function of the Paint program that comes with any PC and I am sure there is an equivalent if you use a Mac. I use a Sony DLSR and I find that I open the picture taken as is as a jpeg in paint and resize to 40% it works well. I use the resize function to 40% and "save as" and rename so I don't override the original. This size works well for everywhere I have posted. Also, if you use a photo sharing site like Photobucket, you can upload the picture taken as is and use their resize functionality thus eliminating any resolution issues that me be caused if you try to do it yourself with no success.
I only "compress" my pictures when trying to email and they are too big. Even here, you should not lose any resolution.
To me the only time you should lose resolution is if you are trying to keep the same dimensions of the original picture while trying to lower the file size. The only way to do this is to lower the resolution.
I hope I answered some of your questions. I look forward to seeing the tips on actually taking the pictures.

 

[dochudson]

I take pictures of pipes, straight razors, fly fishing reels, etc.. this $32.00 investment was the best money I ever spent.
link

 

[rmbittner]

If you're willing to invest in lighting, you can get a really good two-light studio package from B&H Photo for around $300. It includes two good-quality stands, bulbs, and hood diffusers. I've found that that dramatically benefits the resulting photos. (No, I didn't get this to take pipe pictures. I'm stealing my wife's setup; she makes Barbie dresses from vintage hankies and posts tons of photos on Pinterest.)
Here's a shot I took with this setup:

Bob

 

[winton]

I recently bought a setup like Dochudson displayed. Ebay, Amazon, take your pick. I got it for about the same price. I can set it up, but I am still having trouble. Could be the user or the very old camera.
Winton

 

[dochudson]

I added a third light that that shines straight down on the top area. I prefer a darker blue or black background color. I use a $100 Canon P&S on the tripod and use the delay option so I don't shake the camera pushing the shutter release.

 

[ssjones]

Hey, good tips DocH, the delay shutter sounds like a smart idea and that $32 setup looks like a worthwhile investment.

I have a P&S Casio, and shoot with no flash but use two clip on spot lamps. I used the back of an old poster for the white background. DocH's setup would eliminate the shadows I get. My wife has a DSLR, a nice Canon Rebel XTi with a telephoto lens, but I just can't get a good picture with it. She has a wireless/remote trigger for it, I might give that a shot. I struggle with the close-up shots of the nomenclature, I guess you need a macro lens for that kind of work. I've tried using her telephoto and zooming in, but that never works out. Same for shooting in RAW mode.

(see the shadow...) -

 

[ghost]

Great ideas! I'm a DIY guy, so this gives me plenty to ponder.

 

[cynyr]

Just ordered that setup for my wife, dochudson. Thanks!

 

[gmwolford]

Most cameras have a macro setting and that's what you want for nomenclature and other close up shots. Always zoom out as far as possible with the lens and then get your body/camera in the right spot to get the photo. Try to use a higher ISO and no flash if possible. And adjusting the white balance and/or color temperature can make a big difference in your results. I rarely use the DSLR for pipe pics; iPhone 4S and snapseed if I need an edit.

 

[winton]

Al, I really like the pipe in your picture.

 

[ssjones]

Winston: Thanks, that is my holy-grail Comoy's
Greg: Thanks, when I try the macro setting on my wife's DSLR, it won't focus or snap the pix. I'll try the highest ISO and no flash. With the remote trigger trick mentioned earlier.

 

[gmwolford]

Al, that usually (not always) means your distance is off, generally too close. After you take the photo, preview it on the screen and zoom in to see if you got the focus on what you were trying for. Then, if you used a relatively high resolution, you can crop the photo down to show what you want and it'll seem larger and crisper without being huge.

 

[ssjones]

I've tried eight ways to Sunday, but the camera just won't focus and snap the shutter. I'll give it another shot, it sure would be nice to get this pricey DSLR (and lens!) to take a good close-up.

 

[dochudson]

which lens? IMHO, the best way to get an extreme close up is a P&S in macro mode.

 

[ssjones]

It is a Canon EF 75-300 telephoto lens.