What am I going to do?

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Final up date to this thread...I think.
I did a little McGyvering this morning and came up with a solution to the back drop issue I faced.
Still need to iron out a few wrinkles in it (pun intended) but I think I've got it solved now.
Used some velcro strips to tie an old curtain rod to the two light stands I was given. This now serves as the hanger for the quilts while the back drop stands hold, wait for it......the back drop, what else?
I'll be able to use this set up outside when it isn't breezy too so the lens FOV issue won't be a factor either.
Did I just talk myself out of getting a new camera body??????????????????

[mknittle]

Here's one I'm pretty pleased with. Did a little PP, but not much.

That is nice Alan,

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Thanks Mark. It looks fairly simple but isn't really.

[loosecanon]

Surely an important project such as this for such an understanding client would justifying the purchase of all that kit you have lusted after and never bought.

[Loose Canon]

Necessity is indeed the Mother of Invention!

But I'd still get the camera!

[mknittle]

Thanks Mark. It looks fairly simple but isn't really.

Sometimes that's the way it goes something that looks simple turns out to be more complicated and time consuming that we think at first. However in the end we gain some knowledge that will hopefully be of use later on.

[barrydoig]

I think it is a great idea of yours to photograph these quilts. People's quilt art needs to be seen by others not just put on a bed. I too have photographed quilts for a local Quilters group and I know the problem. I'm resisting the temptation to say that you need to buy a bigger house, but maybe there is a local venue where you can take them. Does your Quilters group have a large enough venue? A school Hall? There must be a venue nearby. Don't give up

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Thanks Barry,
It is mainly my wife's idea to photograph them as she has a scrap book she keeps all her pictures of them in. She's been a little upset with me (to say the least) that I haven't used my gear to the fullest extent to get good pics of them. Now, that will change as I have the means to get good shots of well hung quilts. Putting them up on the wall with push pins just wasn't the correct way to go. I did try hanging them outside once, in front of the garage door since it's white, but that only works when it's not sunny and there's no breeze. These stands allow me to stretch the quilt out for a really flat plane.
I just took the plunge this morning and ordered a Sony A7ii (used) so we'll have to see what that camera can do with the lenses I've got to choose from. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more shooting soon.
Oh, and my quilters group consists of one person, my wife.

[xpatUSA]

I just took the plunge this morning and ordered a Sony A7ii (used) so we'll have to see what that camera can do with the lenses I've got to choose from. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more shooting soon.
Oh, and my quilters group consists of one person, my wife.

Have you complained about the aspect ratios of the quilts to your 'group' yet?

I mean, 13:16, what camera can shoot that without cropping?

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'm afraid that would only fall on deaf ears Ted.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

OK.
Rather than start a new thread I thought I'd just add on to this one from May.
I was doing some quilt shooting this morning out in the bright sun. Not a cloud in the sky and 85* warm.
I got all the shots I think I need and am looking at them in my rudimentary processing software.
To get the colors corrected I'm finding I need to increase the exposure setting by almost 3 (is that f-stops?) on most of the photos.
My question is this.
Is shooting with a bright white background causing the camera to over compensate on the metering and stopping down the lens?
Should I be shooting against a bright white background or a black background? or some other color?

Here's a typical shot showing the setup:


SOOC jpeg.

And here is what my wife would like as a finished product so to speak:


Cropped and monkeyed with by yours truely.

I'm using my a7ii with my Nikon 55mm lens in manual mode at f5.6 to f11 and matching the speed to the needle to get the correct exposure in the camera.

I guess filling the frame with more of the quilt would help in getting the exposure more 'correct' for the final product, but it's not always possible to eliminate the back drop completely. I imagine a black back drop will just cause the camera to do the opposite with the exposure setting.

[Stagecoach]

Alan,

My question is this.
Is shooting with a bright white background causing the camera to over compensate on the metering and stopping down the lens?

Yes, but the metering will also be affected with a partially black background and other things.


If your camera has 'blinkies' I would suggest you start with that, taking note of whats happening in the quilt area only.

Here's your image in ACR'

No 1 : As posted it's all underexposed.



No 2 : Exposure + compensated in ACR to the point where the histogram ends far right just before the clipping starts indicating which happens on the quilt area before the white background.



No 3 : Exposure + compensated even more to the point just before the white background clips (RGB value 254 on white as shown). Note that the quilt has clipped (red indication) way before the white.



Perhaps one option to tackle these, if you have blinkies, is to adjust exposure at the camera to a point just before the blinkies show on the quilt area. Only you know, and not the camera metering system, that you are only interested in the quilt because you are going to crop.

Edit : I suspect this will expand into a discussion on shooting RAW/Jpg, internal settings in camera that affect the blinkies on the LCD e.t.c

[Manfred M]

Alan - I would never shoot something this detailed in the bright sunlight like you have. Shots with high levels of detail are best done in diffuse light. Some of the blowing out you are seeing is likely being caused by reflections of the sunlight off the individual threads.

I would shoot a gray card in the shot and use that to ensure that the colour temperature is right. If there is a gray card, most software will set the correct white balance with one click of the mouse. I would also crop the shot to minimize any of the background to ensure and might bracket the shot by a stop either way as well, just to figure out what is happening. You can see that the meter is being fooled, as your white sheet is showing up as gray, i.e. the camera is underexposing the shot.

[rpcrowe]

The best way to fight the reflections of the individual stitching would be to shoot the quilt in a diffused lighting. Another way that might help a bit would be to use a CPL. I would definitely shoot a white balance target to get the white balance down where you want it.

I am also thinking that a black material in the BG might help the image look better than the white material.

This would also be an excellent place to use an off camera meter and meter the exposure in the incident mode.

If I were shooting this, I would also, as suggested above, bracket my exposures!

[mikesan]

My solution would be to simply walk up close to the quilt (so that only the quilt is visible in the viewfinder; but careful not to cast a shadow) and then set and lock in my exposure. Then back off to wherever you need to frame the photo.

Agree, diffuse light (slightly overcast day) would give better results.

[Stagecoach]

My solution would be to simply walk up close to the quilt (so that only the quilt is visible in the viewfinder; but careful not to cast a shadow) and then set and lock in my exposure. Then back off to wherever you need to frame the photo.

But if the quilt was a light colour, lets say predominately white/off white, is your result not going to be greyish (underexposed) unless you compensate?

[Manfred M]

But if the quilt was a light colour, lets say predominately white/off white, is your result not going to be greyish (underexposed) unless you compensate?

The same issue would occur if the quilt is a dark colour.

The camera's light meter will still still meter for a "middle gray" value. Richard's solution using an incident light meter is going to be the best way to get the "right" exposure without fiddling in post.

[Stagecoach]

The same issue would occur if the quilt is a dark colour.

The camera's light meter will still still meter for a "middle gray" value.

Exactly

Richard's solution using an incident light meter is going to be the best way to get the "right" exposure without fiddling in post.

I'll agree with that if an incident light meter is available.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Alan,

Is shooting with a bright white background causing the camera to over compensate on the metering and stopping down the lens?

Yes, the meter is being fooled by the scene it is seeing, how it controls exposure depends which mode you're in.
It seems, on the SOOC shot that you were in Manual, probably because the lens is not a chip equipped one that can tell the camera what aperture it is

Should I be shooting against a bright white background or a black background? or some other color?

This is important: the exposure problem alone is no reason to change the background colour, you're looking at the problem the wrong way. You should be thinking; "how can I change what the meter is telling the camera to do?"
If you had been in Aperture, Shutter or ISO priority, the answer would be Exposure Compensation, but since you're in manual, just don't make as big an adjustment as the meter suggests. It is in your control.

To get the colors corrected I'm finding I need to increase the exposure setting by almost 3 (is that f-stops?) on most of the photos.

It may may be f-stops, but if you make a correction of 3 stops, as Grahame has shown, you'll actually be blowing some colour channels, which may result in the wrong colours being recorded, which if the shots are being used to sell quilts, is a "no-no".

HTH, Dave

[Manfred M]

If you are concerned about the colours being right, the "standard" way of ensuring that they are correct is to shoot a photo gray card, making sure that the same light is hitting the card as the subject. In a PP tool, there is usually some kind of colour correction sampling tool. Clicking on the gray card in the image will set the white balance properly, but you are still going to have to get the "correct" exposure.