The *OFFICIAL* Throwdown Photography Tips Thread

It means nothing to me, can you send the frame and trash bag to me for review?

Thanks CD... That helps a ton. Looks like I have a fun little project for the weekend!

Hey, where'd you get that light bulb? Those are illegal now! :tsk:

So now you're telling us that we've got to deal in contraband in order to win a throwdown?

I better stock up, I may have a chance now.

Gore said:

Hey, where'd you get that light bulb? Those are illegal now! :tsk:

So now you're telling us that we've got to deal in contraband in order to win a throwdown?

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Actually, incandescent light bulbs were never going to become illegal, they just had to be more efficient, but congress saved us from more efficient light bulbs by repealing the new light-bulb efficiency laws. :tsk:

CD

Back in the late 1970's when I got into Photography I used some special
light bulbs that were expensive; they were 500 watts each, and they
really made the electricity meter spin unbelievably fast.

Why?......because Photography lighting is based on "Color Temperature"
and the standard it is based on is our "Sun". (obvious choice)
This can get kind of complicated as the "Color Temperature" of the Sun
will change throughout the day by its position in the sky etc.

To keep it simple; you can buy some inexpensive Photography light bulbs
today that are CFL bulbs they are "5500 ° Kelvin" which is the "Color
Temperature" of the Sun for Photography purposes. As you can see in the
picture below they are MUCH bigger than a regular CFL bulb.
You can buy a 4 pack of them on Amazon.com for $21.

The pictures below show the "setup" I use to filmy my cooking videos for
my website cookngobble.com
But they work just as well for "Still Photography" too.

Yes....it is a junky little "setup" ....but I live in a junky little Condo. And it
works well for taking decent looking pictures. I still run the pictures
through a "photo shop" program to adjust them for contrast, cropping etc.
because I only have a $25 camera for "still photography" that is about
10 years old....but it works OK for now.

The Youtube video at the end is a cooking video I shot for my website; it
will show you how the Lights in the pictures below will work for lighting up
the "Scene".


.

.


Guacamole, Homemade - YouTube


Lastly here is the link for the "Light Bulbs" I used on Amazon.com

Amazon.com: Cowboystudio Full Spectrum Light Bulb- Four 45W Photography Photo CFL 5500K - Daylight balanced pure white light: Camera & Photo@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wW4LTe1KL.@@AMEPARAM@@41wW4LTe1KL


.
.

Using daylight balanced bulbs is not as much of an issue with digital photography, since you can adjust your white balance to match the color temperature of your light source to a large degree.

Mixed light sources are still a problem, as there is only one white balance.

On my setup above, I actually left the camera set on "auto white balance," and it turned out fine. The incandescent bulb was the only light source for the photo, so the camera handled it pretty well. The colors are pretty accurate.

BTW, I would not recommend lighting food from the front -- with the light coming from where the camera is. Your food will go "flat." I light mine from behind or from the rear-corner. The trash-bag diffuser and lamp above was at about 2-o'clock in relation to the food, with the camera at 6-0'clock. That creates shadows that give the food depth and dimension.

CD

Anybody have any thoughts opinions on the new S100?

caseydog said:

Actually, incandescent light bulbs were never going to become illegal, they just had to be more efficient, but congress saved us from more efficient light bulbs by repealing the new light-bulb efficiency laws. :tsk:

CD

Click to expand...

CD I was just going to say that!:clap2:

Some really good tips here, Thank you.

Will work for bbq said:

Anybody have any thoughts opinions on the new S100?

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I did a bit of research on the S100 vs the S95. If you read back a few posts I have made some comments. Also, search for a thread in the Woodpile about my upcoming trip to Alaska. Overall, the S100 seems to get mixed reviews and many people say the S95 is better for still photos. The S100 has full 1080p video and GPS and such so it has more features. I picked up the S95 just before Christmas for a steal so that made the decision for me and I love it. I would suggest first looking for a deal on an S95 as stores are clearing them out. If you cannot find one, the S100 will still be an outstanding camera. Check out the reviews on Amazon too.

I'm seriously considering an upgrade to the new D4.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/838794-REG/Nikon_25482_D4_Digital_SLR_Camera.html

If so, my D3 will be on the market for about 2,500 bucks, if anyone is interested. :becky:

CD

colonel00 said:

I did a bit of research on the S100 vs the S95. If you read back a few posts I have made some comments. Also, search for a thread in the Woodpile about my upcoming trip to Alaska. Overall, the S100 seems to get mixed reviews and many people say the S95 is better for still photos. The S100 has full 1080p video and GPS and such so it has more features. I picked up the S95 just before Christmas for a steal so that made the decision for me and I love it. I would suggest first looking for a deal on an S95 as stores are clearing them out. If you cannot find one, the S100 will still be an outstanding camera. Check out the reviews on Amazon too.

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Thanks Brad, that actually helped a lot. The reviews on bestbuy.com where mostly a love fest but the Amazon reviews seemed to be more technical. I ended up picking one up and so far think it is great the battery life does stink and I have a lot of learnin' to do.

I'm a tard when it comes to takin' good food pics, I will say that for the folks that have to use their smart phone, look for the free HDR Camera app in the android store...

It will only work for still shots, but it gives a pretty decent, no editing needed photo.

When you take the picture, it will take 3 consecutive pics, 1 over exposed, one under exposed and 1 normal, it then overlays all 3 pics so that the highlights and shadows are deeper & richer than normally would be with your regular camera app.

Since it takes 3 pics, you've got to hold very still otherwise your pics will turn out deguerred, kinda tough when you can't really mount your phone in a tri pod.

I don't have any examples right now, but I'll take a few later and post them.

Here are 2 pics, full sunlight, first with reg Samsung Galaxy S camera app, the second with HDR camera app on the same phone.

Natural light plays with it a little more than indoor lighting...





HDR App




Next 2 diff exposures on the same camera, indoor light a mix of natural & artificial



Little better



HDR App

With a lot of help from CaseyDog in this and another thread I started, I've gotten better results here of late. Ended up buying a Nikon L810 used for the first time in the Taco Throwdown. Also using a slight modification of CD's lighting technique. Still a learning curve for sure.

Here's a link to a cool tutorial I'm just starting:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

Since we only get to use one of 5 senses for the TD's, Why not go for max effect?

caseydog said:

I'm seriously considering an upgrade to the new D4.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/838794-REG/Nikon_25482_D4_Digital_SLR_Camera.html

If so, my D3 will be on the market for about 2,500 bucks, if anyone is interested. :becky:

CD

Click to expand...

Did you do the upgrade? I'm on the lower end for my stuff, but waffling between the d5100 and d7000, though the d3200 seems to have a lot to offer for less.

I've had a D7000 for about 6 mos now. It is a great camera. You probably can' t do much better than this in a non full frame sensor camera. Spend the extra dough on a great lens.

Sent from my SCH-I905 using Tapatalk 2

cmcadams said:

Did you do the upgrade? I'm on the lower end for my stuff, but waffling between the d5100 and d7000, though the d3200 seems to have a lot to offer for less.

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I still have the D3. D4s are hard to get, and I'm still balking at the price.

CD

Sale on Canon S95 (refurbished) from the canon website (courtesy of slickdeals), $224:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/769...aw-mode-digital-camera-w-hd-video-refurbished

I just found out my camera fund supports me getting a Nikon d7000! I'll be ordering soon!