digital photos of jigs

[dlaery]

I am trying to take some pictures of jigs I make and put them in a paper catalog, Black & White. I have an older digital camera. I am trying to get rid of background or just white background.

The Chart jig picture is what I want and the other is what I did but want the background white like the other. I searched for an earlier post for info on how to take pictures but couldn't find. The photo software I have is Jasc Paint Shop Pro. Thanks for any suggestions.

[/img]

[Legendary Lures]

I'm not familiar with the software you use. If it has capabilties to edit pictures, there is probably a feature similar to MS Paint. BTW: If you are running Windows, you already have Paint.

I spent just a few minutes and used Paint's Erase tool and simply changed the background to white. You can change it to any color you want. Use the Magnifier tool to get in close to what you want to keep.

Help this helps.

[dvowell]

The easiest way to get the effect you are looking for is during the initial shoot. If you don't have the money to spend on several different lights, I highly suggest shooting the photo outdoors in natural light. If there is anyway possible, try to have your jighead positioned *away* from your background, that way you can control where the shadows will fall and keep them out of your frame. If it is too close, you'll have shadows for sure.

Now, check your digital camera manual and see if you have a feature called exposure compensation, or something of that nature. The automatic light meter inside of your camera can and, most likely, will be fooled by the white background (if you'd like a technical explination for this, just PM me). To make up for this, use the exposure compensation and set it for soemthing like +.7 or +1.0, or even higher. Shot several frames at several + settings until you get a nice white, or something very close to it.

In your photo editing software (in your case Paint Shop Pro), select the curves function and you should be able to select a white point, a mid point and a shadow (black) point. Use the white point tool and click somewhere on the white. You can then adjust contrast out and it should be no problem.

If you need any more help with this, please do not hesitate to ask.

-Danny

[dlaery]

Thanks for the suggestions,

I tried the Paint program and it worked pretty good. Looks like I need to do a better job of taking the pic first. I'll try to set up something outside. I guess I was to tight to buy batteries for the digital camera, cause I was using the plug-in cord on the camera and kept me going outside. Seems like everytime I would put new batteries in, they would be dead next time I used it. So I bought some rechargable batteries and will take my picture taking outside.

Thanks,

[LaPala]

I did post something about taking pics but was too late to find it for ya yesterday since I don't really remember where and when either LOL. Found it today: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=5393

And ya go by what dvowell says, he's the pro If it's not 100 jig photos to do, I'd be happy to "clean" them up for ya with PhotoShop, just make sure u take sharp photos LOL, I can't do miracles If u don't mind the higher learning curve, GIMP (open source free program) is the program to use compared to Paint from MS. http://www.gimp.org/

[Tally]

Hi Dave,

May not remember who I am but I was one of the guys that Nathan brought over to see your operation. If you can't get the right picture or are still having problems, I would be more than happy to take the photos for you and it won't cost you anything. Send me the jig(s) you want and I will shoot them and email the photos to you. Once we get the photos like you want I will send you the photos on a disc along with the jigs. Seeing your operation and having you "show and tell" was well worth the trip to your shop and now I want to repay you for spending some of your day with us. Thanks again and just email or pm me if you decide to take me up on this.

Tally

[dlaery]

Thanks LaPala, thats the link I was looking for. A white background and no shadows is what I am looking for. I am going to try this.

Thanks Talley, yes I remember all of you and looking foward to going back to Nathans next year.

I'm going to try this box of LaPala's to see if I can get it to work. If I don't get the results I want I may send you a few lures. But you can keep the lures for the work.

Thanks,