# Photographing baits



## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

I am in need of some serious help photographing crankbaits. Seems most of the pictures I take are trash and I'm not sure if its all me or the camera. The two pictures posted were taken within about 2 minutes of each other, same lighting and the same camera but if you will look at the backgrounds on the two they are completely different looking. A lot of my pictures have that yellowish look to them and it will not edit out. Changing background material does not change the results, they still have that same yellow looking tint to them.


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## fugarwi7 (Sep 20, 2006)

Whittler,
I use my editor to clean up dull or flatly lit photos...I typically don't use a flash and use my editor to brighten...I hope vc1111 responds as I believe he is also an accomplished photographer.
I took your photos and ran through my editor to see if there is any improvement...what do you think?


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

Thanks for your reply and for editing the picture. The problem is in my lower picture, the bait and the background are both off compared to the upper photo. The upper photo was not edited and came out exactly in the picture as it really looks but the botom picture is not even close to the original setting. I use a light box and the camera is rigidly attached which makes me think that the background should at least appear the same in both photos. even on a flat white background there is a lot of difference.


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## vc1111 (Apr 13, 2004)

Whittler, I had a Canon digital that did the same thing. One picture would be find and the next or even a series of photos would be tinted. I never figured it out. I tried changing batteries, changing the settings on the camera, etc. Nothing worked. I finally bought another, a Sony this time. 

It appears that maybe the sensors aren't reading the light properly in the second shot, or that maybe the camera or its batteries are not fully cycled somehow for the second shot. 

I wish I could add more, but its hard to tell, and I'm no expert on the mechanics of digital cameras. 

On the Sony I shoot some pictures with flash, some without. I clean up the contrast and exposure with the software programs occasionally, but I try to properly light the picture going in.

Post two pictures with your camera, both shot with flash and see if you get the same results. That might be a good first step in trouble-shooting the problems.


I'm sure we also have others aboard who could help on this question.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

A good FREE and easy photo editing/resizing program can be had at 

www.picnik.com

We use that at work (WKYC TV) all the time. 

I use my Nikon software when I upload. It has a great color balance feature that gets all the colors nice and sharp.

Experiment and keep working at it. A lot of times your light source will leave spots on the baits from reflection... Just takes some trial and error.. You'll be fine. 

Just for fun, take a pic on a black background, then the same lure on a white background. You'll see which way to lean on backgrounds, dark or light.


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## Rowhunter (Jun 21, 2007)

Whittler,
I know what you mean about the photo process and same situation, different quality. I have a cheap Cannon and all my photo's reflect that perfectly. I can guarantee that all my lures look way better in person!!! LOL! Sorry can't help you here , but I will say that your lures would still look great shot through any camera! 

Douglas


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

VC1111, I think you may have hit the problem, the camera is a Canon and it will do the same thing on other pictures also. If the light source, background and subject do not change, at least in my thinking, then the picture should remain the same. Using the flash will washout the picture every time and I turn it off while in macro settings.


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## vc1111 (Apr 13, 2004)

Mine also washed out photos when using the flash. What model Canon is it?

Of course, it could be something else, but I find that to be quite a coincidence. I know enough about photography to understand that the settings on mine were not the problem. It seemed as though some of the circuitry was failing occasionally.

Eventually it would not produce legible photos at all.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut (Feb 8, 2005)

It could be any number of things really. When I take pics with my digital I rarely shoot in the "auto" setting. Switch it to manual, mess with your ISO settings, etc. I rarely use a flash as it always seems to wash out the pic, especially at close range. My Fuji has setting for florescent light, natural light, etc. For your average, everyday person most of these settings are just extras but for what you guys are trying to do, it might be a solution. 

Jake


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## socdad (Jul 25, 2005)

I do not know the pic quality settings available on your camera. If your camera has an Image Quality setting NEF RAW ... TRY IT! (normal settings are JPEG normal, fine .) That setting will allow you to balance color with any basic photo program. (it also will use much more memory on your SD card)


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

Thank you gentlemen for all your help. I will try the manual settings and see if it will correct the problem. The camera is a Canon A70, tried it outside and it was fine but inside on baits same thing. I shot 4 pictures 1min apart, same light same subject and 3 had the yellow background and 1 was good. Might be time for an upgrade on the camera.Thanks again


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

As a retired photographer, it looks to me as though it's a color balance problem. When TV news went from film to tape it took us a while to figure out color balance. If you use flash, try using a reflector to fill in the light on the background. I also like to get the subject away from the background, but this can present a problem with lures. I always try to use my manual settings when possible as the camera might choose the background over the subject for setting color balance, focus and aperture setting.

Sometimes I miss good old film cameras. I have a bunch of great Nikons I'll be selling on e-bay or somewhere. When in one of my crazy moods, I've thought about buying a 4"x5" view camera and just shooting scenics, but why?


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## tornwaders (Oct 2, 2007)

maybe try to get color corrected light bulbs. Regular bulbs give off a orange or yellow cast and flores. bulbs give off a green cast. Absolutely use a manual setting, control the shutter and appeature (spelling?) and even mess with the flash compensation. A diffuser on the flash or lighting can help with harsh light. The best light to use is natural ambient light use a window or go outside and set up the shot. And the most important rule is a tripod even on a point and shoot get a small tripod and use the self timer to prevent and movement.Dont want to sound like a know it all but I have messed with photoghaphy for a while.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

Tornwaders is hitting the mark. Light source color is expressed in degrees kelvin. Daylight I believes runs from about 5,800 to 6,400 kelvin. The quartz lights I used in TV production were 3,200 degrees kelvin. If I remember correctly, most incandecent bulbs are 3,800 kelvin. When it comes to flourescent, forget it as they come in many varieties. The worst were those pink sodium lights in factories.

Here is what I would do: Shoot outdoors and use white foam core or paper, or even crumpled aluminum foil to reflect light into the background or back of subject. If indoors, turn off all room lights when ready to shoot and use flash with the same type of reflectors. Since flash is not hot enough to burn cloth, you might try diffusing it with a piece of guaze type of material.

The nice thing about digital is that you can experiment without paying for film & processing.


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

Thanks again for all your help. I'm slowly getting there, made a foam light box and tried a lot of different settings on the camera and its gradually beginning to look better. The background is at least coming through white instead of yellow.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

whittler said:


> Thanks again for all your help. I'm slowly getting there, made a foam light box and tried a lot of different settings on the camera and its gradually beginning to look better. The background is at least coming through white instead of yellow.


That's what makes photography fun. It's like fishing or hunting; you keep trying things and the more you try the more you learn.

I once had the assignment of photographing some special jewelry. I need to show the detail without reflection. I finally used clothespins to hang my wife's white sheets around th entire display. I gaffer taped a piece of foam core with a lens sized hole in it to my camera. The lights were aimed through the sheets. I used a long exposure and then fired a flash across the display to bring out the detail. I love it when a plan comes together. Keep at it and share your successes with us.
Bill


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