RFP: How to get the best shots of your Guitar/Bass

[Wyliee]

Hey everyone,

I'd like to put a short tutorial up on how to get the best glamour shots of your guitar/bass.  I'm not a photography expert so I'm hoping a few board members can step up and help.  How can the average camera owner step up the quality of their photos?

- Proper camera setup. (For the average or slightly above average camera)
- Lighting / shadows / reducing glare or hot spots
- Photo perspective / composition

Are there any good online tutorials available that we can freely reference?

Thanks.

 

[line6man]

There is a good thread on TalkBass about taking good pictures of your guitars/basses.
I would link it, but I'm on my iPhone and too lazy to search it up. :blob7:

 

[exaN]

My dad has been doing professional photography for 35 years (and plays guitar too) so I'll try to ask him about that.

Camera setup can be a little hard if you don't know your way around because every camera is different.

If you don't have access to spotlights, exterior lighting is always very good. The easiest time to take pictures is when the sky is a bit gray with no sun light blasting everything. Of course, you don't want to be facing the sunlight either because it will do something like this: http://www.art-logic.info/annecy/IMG/jpg/bouquetin-contre-jour.jpg

Then you can always setup a solid color blanket under and behind your guitar to subtract any distracting elements from the background (or not if you're a pool shot lover ).

A little reflection on the guitar finish is always good to show a super nice gloss, but try avoiding any kind of object reflections.

The best way to get a good shot is to take a lot of them. Try different settings with both your camera and the placement of the guitar versus light to get the best light exposure as possible. Ideal exposure is when the object has enough whites without light blasting, and enough blacks without loosing details in the shadow.

Some example:

Overexposed shot (light blasted): http://www.lakedistrictdesktops.com/photography/images/over-exposed.jpg
Underexposed shot (all details are lost in the shadows, common with contre-jour shots): http://images.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/4640-Toodark01.jpg
Good exposure: http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d152/sunnycarey/c8e296e9.jpg

About composition, its a good idea to take a centered frontal shot of your guitar so it's easy to see all the components. The important thing in frontal shots is to get at the same level as your guitar, so position your body before taking a picture.

If you want to show more of the finish, try taking more dynamic shots. 3/4 views is a good way to do it. They key to more dynamic shots and better composition is to not have everything too centered, but spread across the whole picture in a pleasant way. Though it's very easy to reframe your shots in Photoshop to rearrange the overall composition.

Dynamic shot example: http://www.linternaute.com/photo_numerique/prise-de-vue/photo/30-exemples-de-beaux-cadrages/image/composition-dynamique-505991.jpg
Same shot but I highlighted some strong lines: http://www.picsend.net/images/252897stonglines.jpg

For close up shots, you will need to explore with your camera a bit more to get a good depth of field feeling. So adjust your focus to get a certain area of the guitar clear and the rest more blurry.
Example: http://www.linternaute.com/photo_numerique/prise-de-vue/photo/30-exemples-de-beaux-cadrages/image/composition-dynamique-505991.jpg

So to summarize:
-Good lighting conditions
-Avoid background distractions, the guitar is the star
-Find the sweet spot between overexposed and underexposed
-Be always aware of the position of the guitar in the frame for better composition results
-One of the most important thing is to take A LOT of shots, no excuse now with the numeric age

Hope that helps a little, I'll still try to get my dad's opinion on this. ccasion14:

Edit: if there's something that's not covered just tell me

 

[tubby.twins]

BunnyBass had a good tutorial some years ago.  Here's a link with the content and photos:

http://liutaiomottola.com/BunnyBass/intro.htm

 

[exaN]

BunnyBass had a good tutorial some years ago.  Here's a link with the content and photos:

http://liutaiomottola.com/BunnyBass/intro.htm

Aaaah you telling me I typed all of this for nothing :doh:

 

[Steve_Karl]

Good lighting is the first task for me, and having a tripod really helps.

 

[-CB-]

Good lighting.....

For guitars, some side light or back light is the ticket.

Some tips on lighting:

Lighting can be either diffuse or specular.  Diffuse lighting is like an overcast day, specular lighting is like that from direct sunlight, or from a flash (with no diffusers on it).

The key... is the mix of the two.  The reason plain ol' flash pics are lifeless (usually) is that they are from the direction that the camera is in, and because of that, dont reveal any contour or interesting shadow.  If you could somehow move the flash to the side, or slightly in back of the guitar, you'd get a lot of contour and shadow and "life" to the picture.  But if you dont have any "fill" from a diffuse source... you'll get very harsh results.  So the key is to mix the two, getting enough specular light to give it life and depth and contour, but providing enough fill so the picture isn't harsh.

Unless you have a light setup - with a broad light source, like an umbrella or softbox, or even a reflector, to provide a soft fill, and a smaller source to provide some specularity, you'll have to improvise.  The best improvisation comes from using locales that are already available, and close to the top of the list is the light from a north window (or south, below the equator).  If the room is light colored, and the outdoor light is sunny, you'll get a great mix of main and fill light.  You can use some white paper or even cardboard with tin foil on it as a "reflector" to get more fill light (use the dull side of the foil).  Position the guitar not terribly close to the window.  Too close and the light from the window will overpower the light in the room - and harshness returns.

Think of the old masters of painting - they used skylight, facing north, and window light, facing north.. this was the light for their studios.  The same works great for photography.

Fingerprints are gonna show up like crazy when you do this.. so a clean axe is needed. 

The other "problem" for shooting guitars is the background.  Vic has done GREAT using a plain wooden table top for his pictures.  I dont have one handy (Max you got one?).  You want something that will not detract from the guitar, and hopefully, complement it.  Usually that "plain white sheet" is not good.  Something with texture works well (usually). 

Use your aperture control (if ya got one) to control the depth of field (how much is in focus behind and in front of the main spot you focused on).  When your shutter speed is long-ish, use a support like a tripod... you can even just lean on a chair back or stack of books or whatever... when a tripod isn't available, that helps.  Using a high ISO will create more "grain" than a low one - try a medium setting, or, play with the ISO so you can get more or less depth, and maintain a good shutter speed.  Thats all part of the creative process.

Lens selection - if you have a zoom, or interchangeable lenses, the wide lenses will exaggerate the length of the body or neck, while a slightly longer lens (zoomed moderately, or a more "normal" lens on cameras with changeable lenses) will provide a more natural perspective.  Extreme zoom or long lenses can be used, for a very "flat" perspective, but remember as the zoom level increases, your blur due to camera movement increases dramatically... so a support is needed.

Thats all I got time for now.  Hope that helps

 

[Mor Paul]

The other "problem" for shooting guitars is the background.  Vic has done GREAT using a plain wooden table top for his pictures.  I dont have one handy (Max you got one?).  You want something that will not detract from the guitar, and hopefully, complement it.  Usually that "plain white sheet" is not good.  Something with texture works well (usually). 

Actually, I've got an 800 or so pound workbench, maybe mahogany. Maybe I could get one part smoothed out and waxed, and have a nice area.

 

[-CB-]

I meant a sample of that tabletop picture Vic took, Max.  Wasn't there one of his thinline on a wooden table that just looked outrageous?

I cant find it!

 

[-CB-]

Found some

First - window light only

Then with flash

You can see the difference, and see how that background sort of compliments the guitar.

 

[Mor Paul]

Darn it, CB, you beat me by seconds.

 

[OzziePete]

Dunno much about photography and possibly less about photos of guitars, but I do know that good guitars have to have photos by the poolside!  :laughing7:

With that Maton Custom Acoustic I have, Max suggested getting a professional photographer to do some decent shots, and I have tried sounding out a few in my local area. Most have merely suggested coming to their studio with the instrument to discuss the photoshoot I had in mind and to discuss price.

 

[exaN]

Found some

First - window light only

Then with flash

You can see the difference, and see how that background sort of compliments the guitar.

I think the background is just too similar to the guitar wood texture and color, it blends in the guitar a little too much. Maybe a lighter colored wood background.

One thing that I didn't mention but that is VERY useful is to learn how to correct photos in Photoshop. Even pros photographers nowadays use Photoshop for all kinds of stuff. It's a good finishing touch to your photos, like correcting colors, balancing whites, brightness/contrast, etc.