Antique Lure CollectiblesDigital Photo Techniques for Antique Fishing Lures
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I've had a number of requests for a description of how I take my digital photos. The digital camera I use is Sony's Mavica FD-71 and a Sony Mavica FD-91. The only reason I prefer the Sony is the use of the removable 3.5 media which basically costs only 30 cents. The advantage of this media is storage and use in any computer.
I feel the less expensive FD-71 is the better of the two cameras for this project as extreme close-ups are not necessary. The trick is to push the EV setting (light and dark variable) to +1.
I don't use the flash, but rather over-head flood lights with normal bulbs. I found the flash to wash out the photos a lot, but I think the settings could be adjusted to utilize the flash with the styro-foam background. There are some advantages to using flash, but the results are variable. Just experiment, but the idea is to get repeatable photos with given settings.
The main trick is the use of a $6 styro-foam drink cooler cut to give a 270 degree white back-ground which tends to disappear in the photo no matter what camera you use. It's the lights and cooler that are important. The use of a Plexiglas stand to hold the lure and box away from the background is important to avoid showing the texture of the styro-foam background.
| A single lure shot
close-up with over-head floods.
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| Use of clear Plexiglas stands aids in floating the lure above the back ground. If the depth of field is correct, the back ground disappears. If you put the lure against the back ground, then the details of the styro-foam is picked up because you will be within the depth of field where the background is in focus. |
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| Side view of the ice
chest that has the front cut off at an angle, and the top removed.
The edges are taped with clear packing tape to prevent beads of the foam
from flaking off.
It is essential that the interior angles of the box be rounded as opposed to sharp angles. It's a matter of reflection being best with the rounded surface. |
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| Front view with lure
position about eight inches away from the back of the box. This
allows the back-ground to go out of focus.
When lure boxes are involved, I sometimes find I have to tip the chest back to get enough light on the front of the lure box. To do that, I just place an object under the front edge of the chest to raise it up in the front about three inches. |
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| Over-head flood lights are about six feet above the light box. They could be closer if you have a way to position them. Actually a couple of goose neck lights on the work space will work. |
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