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How to get this shot: close up of your own eye


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Originally uploaded by Tukay Canuck

Here’s a picture of my eye.

It probably wouldn’t be anything special, except that I took it myself, which may make it a bit challenging (or lucky, if you shoot blindly).

Here’s how I did it.

  1. I mounted my camera on my tripod.
  2. I used my 24-70 mm lens, with a close-up (Cokin) attachment
  3. I had a flash on the camera (SB-900), with a ring flash attachment
  4. I sat in front of my TV, and hooked up my camera to the TV.
  5. With the camera on LiveView mode (what the camera sees is projected upon the television), I positioned myself and the camera to focus on my eye.
  6. I set the camera on remote control mode, so I could fire it by my remote.
  7. I aimed an LED flashlight at my face to better see my eye on the television, and to aide the camera in focusing correctly.
  8. Since I was using a flash, I could use a narrower aperture setting, creating a wider depth of field (in case I moved too much).

Clearly, from this picture, I need more sleep.

That’s it for today’s tip.

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Product Photography




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Originally uploaded by Tukay Canuck

How to get this type of shot.

This was shot on a glass coffee table.

First, clean the coffee table thoroughly with glass cleaner.

Next, tape black construction paper to the bottom of the glass, near the rear of the table.

Thirdly, prop a black background in behind. I used the black side of a circular reflector (the “gobo” side).

For the lighting, I used a ring flash, which is a circular flash that wraps around the lens. This is good for macro and product photography.

I also used a remote flash off to the left side.
I held a white reflector on the right side to fill in the shadows a bit (I actually used some paper towels, as they were handy).

Because I was holding the paper towels, I had the camera on a tripod and I set it to timer mode, so I had time to press the button, then hold up the white reflector.

For the beer can, I sprayed it with a water bottle to give it more beads of water.

Et voila.

After the “money shot” was verified, I enjoyed the beer.