I posted a sign on the portfolio page (The Village Florist) and the goldleaf really doesn't come across. Is there any way to make the gold pop when taking a photo?
Posted by John Arnott (Member # 215) on :
Photograph it when its foggy. Gold seems to look best in the fog!
Posted by Richard Bustamante (Member # 370) on :
Don't use a flash. If you do; stand off to one side. Early morning or dusk is the best time. Over`head lighting, incandescent bulbs...
The background is what usually screws up the shot; all those damn reflections. To cure that; simply use a polorizing filter. You'll like that one.
Hold very still. 90% of all photos get screwed up during the time the shutter is activaited. Looks like its out of focus.
Use a very narrow "Depth of Field". 2.8 F (F= F-stop) or even 1.2
Bounce cards. Sometimes you can use big white bounce cards (4X4 foam core) to fill in areas that seem dark. Used for "bouncing" light.
If your camera allows you to adjust your exposure settings, try underexposing a stop or two after taking a shot at the setting the camera selects. I find that the default exposures usually overexpose the Gold, turning it light. A slightly underexposed shot will not bleach out the Gold color and won't muddy up the other colors too much. You may also be able to manipulate your photo in PhotoShop or PhotoPaint and bring out the colors as desired.
Posted by BrianTheBrush (Member # 1298) on :
Terry... Try standing about 10 degrees to one side, and/or 10 degrees above or below your subject matter; and provide some indirect light to the gold. This shows the burnish or turning, without getting any head-on reflection or flash burn.
